Testimony
(A deeper walk day by day)

I had not been raised with any religious beliefs. A belief wasn't discouraged, it just wasn't encouraged.

One day in the late 70's (I was in my mid 20's) I expressed my concern about the way the world was going to a friend of mine. I didn't know it a the time, but he was a Christian. He explained that we were living in the end times. That the things I was seeing were and indication. The next day, he gave me a Bible. Over the next year, I read and accepted it.

During the next few years, it seamed that every time I had a question about God's kingdom, someone showed up to answer the question. Many times, I never asked the person the question, the answer just came up in conversation.

In the mid 80's, while working at a customers site, I offered to take an employee of the customer to lunch. We went to a restaurant a few miles from the plant. When the lunch was served, the person I invited prayed over his lunch. I told him that I had been reading the Bible. During the ride back to the plant, he asked me if I had accepted Christ. I guess I thought I had because I read the Bible. (Reading the Bible will teach you about God, accepting Christ will give you a relationship with God). He led me through the sinners prayer. Within a week, a person approached me on the street and forced me to mumble some satanic rubbish. The devil was not happy about my accepting Christ, he tried to rob me of that. He almost had me convinced. 

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Romans 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The new job was as a 'Factory Automation Engineer', it was in a sweatshop, but this is where God became very real to me.

Just before Christmas, 1992, I began feeling very tired, my heart was pounding and I couldn't sleep. This came on suddenly. I don't like doctors but I didn't wait long before seeing one. I called for an appointment and they said come right in. They put me on an EKG. That test looked OK so they did a blood test. It took a few days for the results to come back, when they did the doctor said I had a low white count (1000) and had me return to repeat the test. As I waited for the second test results, I went to the Library and researched what the problem could be. The only problems I could find that fit the symptoms was Aids and Cancer. I had done nothing to expose myself to Aids so the only thing that it could be was Cancer. I still didn't believe this, I figured there must be something else that could cause this.

The second test results came back, my white count was 800. (Normal is about 25,000). The Doctor referred me to a 'Blood Specialist' and I made an appointment. It took a couple weeks to see the specialist, I still felt lousy, I scraped my finger and it would not heal.

Then the appointment with the specialist, surely he would have another explanation. I walked through the building hallway looking for his office number. It was at the end of the hall. At the entrance to his office were large glass windows with large lettering on it "Center for Cancer Therapy". I stood there for a second before I determined that I had no choice but to go in. I told the receptionist who I was and had a seat in the waiting room. I closed my eyes and prayed "God if you will heal me, I will do what you have for me".

The receptionist called me into an examination room, the Doctor came in. He asked who sent me, what he had found, and what my symptoms were. Then said "well, before I put you on chemo, we'll do one more test. I have the equipment here and we can get the results immediately". I thought I was soon to be dead. They took some blood.

A few minutes later the Doctor came back into the room with a strip of paper and a confused look. He showed me the paper. I thought it said 2500. I said "2500, I'm getting better?". He said, "No, 25,000. Your healthier than me!". I was healed! He gave me a complete physical and found everything OK. He asked me to return in a couple weeks to repeat the blood test, I did and the results were that I was healed. I noticed when I left the building, the symptoms were gone, I felt fine.

The devil was not at all happy about this. I said something stupid, not giving the glory to God for my healing, and the devil jumped on this. A few months later I was fighting Bronchitis. I was on anti-biotics for about two years. If I stopped taking them for even a week, my lungs would fill up with mucus.

Sometime in 1995 I felt that there were things in my house (cultish things) that God was asking me to get rid of. When I would get rid of some things, I would be reminded that there were other things to get rid of. (I still occasionally find thing around the house that I feel are displeasing to God and throw them out).

The job I had at this time (the sweatshop) required that I be 'on call'. One Sunday morning I was called into work. As I passed a certain Church, I glanced at the full parking lot. I 'heard' myself thinking "You should be here". As I drove to work, I noticed other churches. I looked at them and 'heard' nothing. "Interesting", I thought. Why did I think to myself  "You should be here". Shouldn't I have thought "I should be there"? And why just at that church?

Then, God sent a couple of people that I worked with into my life to (boldly) guide me. One insisted that I attend a retreat. I had no idea of what to expect and he wouldn't tell me. I said I would go.

I've had bronchitis for close to two years at this time and I'm driving somewhere, praying for my bronchitis to be healed. I heard "Go to church and I will heal you".

A week or so later, I was at the retreat. This introduced me to "full gospel ministries". They believe that everything in the Bible is the true word of God and that the miracles are for now. They don't believe that God stopped the miracles with the end of the apostles. What I saw there was a bit shocking. People were "talking in tongues". At the time I didn't understand it but I didn't drive myself there so I was there for the duration. When I returned home, I open my Bible and researched "tongues". Sure enough it was there.

Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

And the miracles did not stop there!

Sometime in 1997: While at work I asked a friend of mine a question. He wrote the answer on a note pad. I asked him about the pad. He wrote "Doctor says Cancer returned to my throat, not allowed to talk". On the way home that day I was listening to Sid Roth on the radio. I began to pray for my friend, asking for his healing. Sid says "I feel someone's throat has been healed". Right there over the radio. I praised God. I didn't see my friend the next day but the day after he was at work. He was talking. I asked him about this and he said that he had seen the Doctor the day before and that he had an infection in his throat. His Doctor gave him some antibiotics. I told him what had happened. He accepted it and now attends church. Praise God!

One day God asked me to forgive someone that I thought had played a major part in getting me on the lay off list at my previous employer. I forgave him in my heart and God gave me a word. God showed me how it was someone else that actually was the cause of my layoff. (I forgave him also. After all, the sweat shop job was bad for the flesh but great for the spirit).

Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other:

I have written this and posted it not to give any glory to myself. I give all the glory to God. God can and will use you just as he used me if you are willing.