Part III /4 Çecv ‘ptvtcU tfie ‘Tfte&üttfA By D A N IE L ROSE (as told to Anne Hazelton)
T h e night was cool enough for a fire and I was glad. Now I watched the warm flickering firelight catch in pin-points of radiance on polished wood and bronze lamps in our California living-room. Its rosy glow played also upon the faces of a group of Jewish men and women who sat uneasily about the room, their faces masking a variety of feelings. Music from the strings of a violin skill fully played, throbbed and swelled through the room. There is something about an open .fire and music, I thought, that speaks of peace and home and puts people at ease. I felt a gradual lessening of tension as these who had been strangers to me such a short time before, waited to see what I was going to do. Five years before, my wife Selina and I had come to California for a visit, a visit that had grown into a permanent residence. The thirteen or more years prior to this, following our conversions, had been years of happy service in Ohio. It had been the stress of service, in fact, that had necessi tated a rest and had culminated in our visit to California. In addition to the demands of an established busi ness by which I earned our livelihood and my responsibility for street meet ings and mission work in areas where there were Jewish people to be con tacted, I was serving as Sunday school Superintendent in a Baptist church in Cincinnati. When the pastor fell ill, I assumed a large part of his pastoral duties, not the preaching, but the visitation and other responsibilities that made heavy demands on time and strength. At the end of the year, health demanded a change and in 1915 we had come to California. During the five years we had been here, the opportunities for witness and service had not been lacking. The first building of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles was just being completed and I found there the fellowship I needed and valued. I found, too, that Los An geles offered many of the same kind of opportunities for witnessing in street meetings and to Jews that I had known in the East. There was, indeed, a very great need and I was happy to join with others in going to districts where there was no other witness for Christ. It was not easy. Many times our lives were threatened, There were times when we needed police protec tion. Almost every evening, as we began to speak, a concert of auto
horns would seek to drown us out; bricks, t om a t o e s , a n d eggs were among the things thrown at us, and other methods were used in an at tempt to discourage and discredit us in our efforts to preach the Good News of Salvation. Very few Jewish people were being converted at that time, and there was both fear and re sentment at our mention of the Lord Jesus Christ. But while not discontinuing this, I was more burdened‘ for the people that lived in my own neighborhood. It was a more fashionable neighbor hood than the ones we visited for street meetings and house-to-house visitation, but it needed the gospel just as much. As the burden grew, a way was opened. Selina and I and Carrie, who was with us, had talked it over and had decided to open our home for evening meetings, meetings where en t e r t a i nmen t and refresh ments would be the “ bait” for lonely Jews, but where a Gospel witness also could be given. With painstaking care, we had ob tained names; then we had tele phoned, written, and visited each con tact to obtain a promise from him to attend our home gathering. Some had come reluctantly ; most of them came out of curiosity, but they were here and much depended upon this first meeting. We had worked hard to pre pare for them. Attractive refreshments were ready for the serving; the home had been made as inviting as we knew how to make it. I had engaged a young violinist to play, for Jewish people love music and will go out of their way to hear it. By the time he had finished, the atmosphere in the room was re laxed and friendly. With no percept- ( Continued on N ext Page) Enthusiastic and zealous BIOLA students form a gospel team which holds street meetings every Saturday night in Holly wood.
SYNOPSIS OF PREVIOUS CHAPTERS From a background of a religiously orthodox Jewish home, Daniel Rose found himself, at thirty, a successful enough business man but one seeking always to quiet his unrest and anxiety of heart in worldly pleasures. His wife, Selina, who had been a Catholic when they were married, accompan ied him on his endless round. One night they departed from the usual and entered a church because Daniel loved music. Unable to sing the Name of Jesus, a Name he had been taught to hate, Daniel covered over the words with his fingers and sang the rest of the hymn. When Daniel’s sister, Carrie, wrote that she had found the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, Daniel was stunned. Carrie came to visit them and tried to witness but Daniel would not listen. He was under such deep conviction he could neither eat nor sleep. Ten days and nights of torture brought him to the place where he could endure it no longer. H e must either accept Christ, or reject Him. “ Oh, God,” he prayed that night, “ the God of Abra ham, Isaac and Jacob I do want to know the truth. I cannot face another day of this torture. If Jesus Christ is Your Son and my Messiah, I w ill ac cept Him, but show me the truth!” Instantly, God’s Spirit bore witness with his and he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Messiah and Sav iour. His shouts of joy brought Selina and Carrie running. Soon Selina had been saved and when Charles, Carrie’s husband, was led to the Lord, the four close friends were complete in Him. On June 22, 1902, all four were baptized. Then began Daniel’s attempts to witness to his former worldly compan ions. Rebuffed, but not dismayed, he went on seeking new ways of witness. Hearing of another Christian Jew who was conducting missions for Jewish people, Daniel made the journey to Pittsburgh to talk with him. H e was amazed at the story of this man’s suf ferings for his faith and thrilled at the opportunity for witness in the street meeting to which Morris Reu ben took him. Even tomatoes and eggs thrown at him could not daunt his enthusiasm in this his first street meeting, which was indeed, to be but a forerunner of many other such meetings, even as far away as Cali fornia! M A R C H , 1 9 5 9
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