My Story: By Becky K. Martinson
My name is Becky Kasi Martinson, (or Rivkah). I was born in Tacoma, Washington, USA in 1986.
Some of us come from stable homes in Elohim (praise Yah!). Others of us come from broken families (praise Yah again!). My case is the latter. (Maybe others can relate.) It was a difficult childhood. Praise be to Yahweh, He makes all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
My mother was a Bible-believing woman who raised me to be devout in the Bible. I received my first (KJV) Bible from my mother when I was around 6 or 7 years of age and began reading it regularly. We did not attend church per se, which was a blessing in a way. What I knew about Scripture and Elohim came from reading the Tanakh (OT) and the Brit Chadasha (NT), from a Protestant Christian perspective.
In 1999, my parents separated permanently. My mother, sister, and I moved a lot. And since we did not have a church to attend, we would keep Shabbat together at home by reading Scripture. (I do not remember how we came to keep Shabbat. Except that it was just what we read in the Bible.)
We eventually settled on the East Coast, USA, at which time we began searching for a church home. We tried attending several churches. And in 2004, I was immersed.
However, something always seemed wrong with each church. There would be differences between what was written in the Scriptures and what the church/pastors taught. And it became clear that the church system’s main focus was to provide entertainment and to grow the number of congregants, rather than to transform people into true disciples. It seemed like we were more spiritually fed by reading the Scriptures together at home than in any church. So we left the church and returned to home Shabbat study.
I was still in a young, early stage of basic Christianity. I could tell that something was not right with modern-day Christianity, but I did not know what it was. Christianity seemed superficial, the church system always seemed to contradict the Scriptures, and the majority of Christians did not even read the Scriptures, or practice what Yeshua taught. Looking back, I can now see that Yahweh was already beginning to lead me out of Christian doctrine, (where Yahweh’s laws are all ‘nailed to the cross’ and done away with) and into the original, Judeo-Christian Nazarene faith. But this transformation would happen gradually over several years.
2013 was another difficult time period. Circumstances led me to focus heavily on my career, and by 2016, I had accepted a full-time salary position. I felt blessed to have a good career, with steady pay and a plan for the future. And I enjoyed the work. However, as time went, my career and my spiritual walk began to clash more and more. And I basically came to what I would call a Matthew 6:24 decision. I realized that I did not want to compromise my spiritual walk another day. And in winter 2019, I resigned from the company.
Come 2020, the United States seemed to reach a new low in Christian values. The Covid pandemic had just begun, and societal restrictions were being applied everywhere. I joined the Trump-Patriot movement, which at that time, seemed like a way to stand up and declare the country for Elohim, and to stand against religious violations. The fact that Trump was not re-elected led me to prayer for answers. At which time, I realized that the patriot movement was not what I thought it was, and that participating in such things is equivalent to supporting the Babylonian system, (something Yahweh did not like).
Some people can pinpoint a specific time that they came ‘to repentance’. I do not know if it is just me or not, it seems like I have had more than one time of repentance in my life. But I would have to say that the winter of 2020 a time of significant repentance. I realized that I had been doing a lot of things that seemed good in my own eyes. But I was not listening to Elohim or doing the things He wanted. And I needed to begin listening to His voice and doing the things that He wanted. And to find my idenity again in Him.
I could no longer relate to Christianity as I knew it. I no longer had the career position that I had identified with. Having learned things about my country, I could no longer identify as an American patriot. And I could not relate with friends as none of them were in Elohim. There were a lot of things I could no longer identify with. And the one thing that had not changed was what was written in the Bible. It was the one thing that had held true throughout my entire life, and had never failed.
I recommitted myself to Elohim. I got serious in my walk with Him again and got back into Scripture and daily prayer. I still had many questions that neither Christians nor church ministries were able to answer. So I relied on the Scriptures and prayer, and searched out answers online.
At this time, Yahweh led me to YouTube videos by Nazarene Israel. I had never heard of Nazarene israel before, yet the video topics were the same topics I had been praying about. So I decided to listen. (That moment would change everything!)
I had been reading the Bible since I was a child, and yet I never knew Yahweh by name, Yeshua’s real name, or anything about the idenity of the lost ten tribes or the two houses of Israel and Judah. And I never knew that Christianity was not the original faith described in Jude 3, or that the house of Israel (Joseph) was hidden inside of Christianity.
Like most bible-readers, I had been reading the Scriptures with blinders on, from a Christian persepective. Instead of reading the Scriptures from the perspective of the Jewish writers, and practicing the original faith that the Hebrew Mashiach (Yeshua) and His disciples kept. And now everything made sense. And I understood the reason Christianity and the ‘church system’ did not make sense!
How can we emulate Yeshua, and be His disciples, if we do not practice the original, Hebrew, first-century faith that He and His disciples practiced in the first-century? How can we be disciples of the Hebrew Mashiach Yeshua if we do not keep the Torah like He and His disciples did? Yet, Christianity does neither of these things!
Since early 2021, I have been blessed to serve as the Nasi’s assistant, in service to my King Yeshua HaMashaich.
Since coming to Nazarene Israel the original faith, my life has been blessed beyond words. It seems like an entirely new life from my former one. Before, I was serving the Babylonian system, giving my life for everyone and everything other than Yahweh Elohim. And now I am blessed to be in service to my King, Yeshua HaMashiach, giving my life to the One who gave His life for me. And Yahweh Elohim has blessed me beyond words.
Each day since has been a continual transformation in both my physical and spiritual walk with Him. It is a disciplined walk, and I know He has so much more to teach me, so that each day I can become a more faithful servant of His, to serve Him and His Son. I am eternally thankful for His patience and forgiveness, and for the blessing to serve Him. And for my family of edifying brothers and sisters in Yeshua.
Now when I think about what I have committed my life to, I am at peace and have great joy. Because come the end of my life in this world, I know that there could be no better thing to have committed my life to than to the service of my King, Yeshua HaMashiach. And I have hope for the future His Father Yahweh has planned for His people.
May He please bless both the house of Judah and the house of Ephraim with those who love Him and dedicate their lives to Him.
Amein.
