|
| |||||
|
|
|
| ||
THE LORD IS MY SHEPERD
|
=== === === ===
MY TESTIMONY
I have been searching for God all of my life. I have been through many doctrines of different denominations and never found the answers to all my questions. Through these years,since I was 16yrs old, I read tarrot cards and played with ougi boards trying to find out about the "un known ". Lots of people told me that I had some sorta gift, a talent for reading people. So this is what I did, I read tarrot cards,as a hobby. I met alot of interesting people through all stalks of life.It is in my nature, to help others. All that I do is strictly from my heart.
At 38 yrs old,God pushed His way through my life. I started meeting " born again " christians. At my job, which was people oreintated and through my friends that their parents were christians. I started going to " The Upper Room " which is a huge church on Long Island, NY. I would feel strange going there, I felt odd feelings that I never experienced before. Sure, I knew what spirits were and ghosts and demons,but this feeling was different. I wanted to latch on to it forever,it was like floating on a pink cloud. At home, with my family, I felt different around them. I felt dirty, unclean. EVERYTHING seemed wrong and out of place. I thought for sure I had changed into some other person, but I was still the same. I noticed one thing about myself. My attitude of a quick temper and angriness disappeared. I took more things in stride, which I used to do before,but now it was MORE intense.My understandings about people got more sharper.I was reading people now still,but without tarrot cards. I never got down on my hands and knees and gave myself to God. HE, the HOLY SPIRIT just jumped into me....BANG!! It was awesome!!
At 40yrs old, I had to leave my family . My father and daughter disowned me because I married a long time friend of mine who was a christian preacher. We moved out of NY and moved to Missouri. I left all of everything that I owned and went to start a new life with my husband, and God. Talk about a life change at 40!! What a culture shock! Missouri was soooo laid back. We traveled through all of the state and settled in a town called Birch Tree.People were so different from NY. Friendly and considerate. Truely the Bible belt area. I met my good friend and sister,my extended family, till this day;there. (Hey Sandi! web site : www.ourchurch.com/view/?pageID=115960) My preacher husband and I tried to build a church and open food partries in that area for the people. I think it was because we came from NY that it never got off the ground. They didn't trust us I guess. They just didn't know us. It was a very clickish area. Families that where there, lived there for many generations and well, you get the picture. Regardless of that, I got a very good education on christian people. It helped my walk with Jesus flourish.
In 2002,I started talking to my dad again.We were in alot of arguements over rehashing our past together and why I left so abruptly. I finally forgave him in march of that year for being such a losy father to me.I told him that I forgave him and it was already forgotten as far as I was concerned.I also told him to get off his high horse and come to Christ before it was too late for him.(He and I had two different beleifs about Christ.) That day in March was the last time I got to speak to him because he had gotten ill and my daughter made sure I never got a chance to speak to him agin. He died in December of that year. At least I got to forgive him.God will take care of the rest.
When I came back to NY, in September of that year, my husband and I found ourselves on the streets of Long Island. We didn't make enough monies to get an apartment and socal services wouldn't help us because we had no children. I had a very bad bout with my diabeatis. I was in and out of hospitals during that time period. We were sleeping in our car, in the middle of the winter, with our white lab in the car also. What saved me was the hospitals. What I didn't know was the fact that my husband slept with my girlfriend while I was in the hospital. When I got out, in the latter part of Febuary, my girlfriend just told me out of the blue because my husband had told her that I condoned it because I was sick and couldn't live up to my wifely duties. I never said that of course,we never even DISCUSSED that!! I forgave him.I thought it was the christian wife thing to do. In April 2002, he did it again.Now I am totally better,still living in our car and going to church. We parked our car in the church lot at night and slept there, so we wouldn't be bothered by the police. It is almost a crime to sleep in your car here. My husband had a habit of talking to everyone about Jesus. A couple of days before Easter Sunday, he met a christian woman who invited us to stay at her house for a couple of days.I got talked into it.I didn't want to go.I didn't know her.We hadn't been back from Missouri that long and coming back to NY didn't seem like a good idea after all.It had changed so drastically. People were very different then I had remembered them.It was almost like a culture shock coming home.I got talked into going to this woman's house anyway.It only took 5 days this time for me to find out about my husband's " work " again;only this time ,this woman came to me telling me that GOD had LEANED on her to tell me that my husband and her had fallin' in love with each other and I had to leave.Leave the dog too.I laughed at her and thought she was joking. I told her that she had fallin' in love with a SNAKE CHARMER.She didn't think it was very funny and she wasn't kidding.I then confronted him and he walked out on her and I leaving me with the dog and her. She proceeded to kick me out of her house. Where was I to go ? I hadn't driven in a very long time (10 years) due to no feelings in my feet.I didn't have a licence or a gas cap key.(which I found out later) So there I sat, on her couch, with my dog, trying to figure out what to do next as this woman was calling a friend of hers to get me out of her home. She wasn't very hospitable then. She was fuming that my husband walked out on us.Well,in comes this guy. He looked like a lost soul too.I thought to myself this very thing and wondered how I was going to HELP him when he was told to come HELP HER get rid of ME!! As it turns out,I gathered my things, got my dog and I into my car, and drove the car back to the church's parking lot where I remained for a couple of days.The guy,his name is Tommy; helped me by bringing food and water for me and my dog and some money for a burger and let me use his cell phone to call someone for help. I left a message with my aunt that I was in the street and alone without my husband,(who she didn't like anyway)I was in a domino effect of days to come. I prayed and prayed to Jesus to cover me while I was out in my car alone.I don't beleive He ever left me.What happen next just happened so fast.I wasn't in the car but more then 4 days.The only thing that was terriable was that someone called the police on me because I had a dog in the car with me and that to this state now, was illegal. The police came and had my dog taken away.I am still heart broken over it.(I had already left my other dog in a shelter back in Missouri,trying to give her a chance for a life with another family,that too had an impact on me.) Now I lost my dog and my husband. I felt so alone. I remember clutching the bible in my arms as I wrapped a blanket around me that night.I had remembered that the Bible said to put the armor of God around you when you were out in the world,that's what I did. He sent this guy Tom, to me everyday and night to watch over me.Tom never left me.He made sure that I had food and water and company.On the second to last nite before my aunt and I had seen each other,I found myself going to an all woman's chrisitan church. At the church, I went to the stage to have hands laid on me.I wanted to feel Jesus, get His help, something. The woman preacher couldn't even touch me.She said the HOLY SPIRIT was all over me and didn't I feel it? What I FELT was me being lifted off the ground. I reached out and grabbed her arm because I felt like I was going to float right up to the ceiling!! It was soooo cool!! She began to speak in tounges. No one understood her but me. It was God speaking to me in my ears. He said to " GO THROUGH THE DOORS ". What did that mean ? I didn't know. The next day I found out.Tom picked me up very early in the morning and dropped me off at Social Services.He told me to try it again.That was the first door.That door led me to an apartment in a very drug infested area were apartments are rented by poor people on welfare. t wasn't for me. I knew that in my heart. There were drug deals going on right in front of me as the landlord discussed the rent with me. It was like an everyday thing, that wasn't in my everyday. I remember walking out of that door and down the block to a deli, where I bought a soda and andwich and sat a the table crying. Where was I going to live and how was I going to take care of myself and all these questions started running through my head....then it dawned on me to try calling my aunt again. After finally getting a hold of her, I cried to her on the phone about what had haqppened and where I was. She asked me if I could get a ride to a diner near her house and my cousin would pick me up there. I then went and called that fellow Tommy to come and pick me up and drop me off there.Another door I went through. By night fall,I was at my aunt's home.Safe and out of the street.THANK YOU JESUS!! Releif!! Another bunch of doors opened and after a very quick divorce,I now live with Tommy in my aunt's basement. A normal life again.
Jesus sent an angel to help me get through the rough times of my life. He didn't leave me, both Jesus and Tommy. Now, I am involved with this web site of Ourchurch.com through Sandi. I saw how she is spreading THE WORD and I wanted to give back to God what He did for me. So here I am. trying to tell the world how what it would be like in a world without Jesus. I have first hand knowledge. I lived it. It is very lonely without Him. I don't ever want to be without Him. I would die for Him without a second thought of it. He has done it for all of us. Now if only these people out there could really realize it without being so opionionized about it. This will be a good start for another story...wouldn't it? .......to be continued.....
=== === === === === === === === === === === === === === ===
LIFE'S MOST IMPORTANT CHOICES
by Brother bob...<><
The Bible is full of wonderful assurance and promise for all who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But each person must accept Jesus as his or her own personal saviour before he can claim these promises personally. How can these promises be yours? The Bible tells us that each of us must.....
RECOGNIZE that you cannot be saved by trying to be good, or by doing the best you can, or because you are a member of a social group or religious organization.......for God says that we are not saved by our good works......
CONFESS that you can not save yourself...in fact there is nothing you can do to undo any of the sins you have already commited, or change their consequences. You need to be forgiven for commiting these sins, and for rebelling against the will and holiness of the Living God. The forgiveness you need must be a divine act of God, because of His mercy which He extends to us. The Bible says...
BELIEVE the good news that Jesus Christ, God's Son, died to pay the the penalty for your sins. He therefore died for you and settled your debt from sin by His death on Calvary's cross. Believe the blessed news that Christ was raised from the dead, and now lives in eternity to save all those who will come to Him by faith. All promises and spiritual powers are released to a christian through our response of believing the revealed Word of God.
HUMBLE YOURSELF before God in prayer. Talk to God, just like you would talk to a good friend, and yet reverence Him because of the Almighty and Holy God that He is. See Him as the Creator and Lord of the universe, the sovereign King over all.... and yet He is kindly and forgiving to the person who will turn away from pride and self-involvement, and submit himself to the safekeeping of God
CALL on Jesus Christ, Himself, to save you and to come into your soul, and to make you a new person. The christian life is not a list of do's and don'ts, of religious rituals or observances..it is rather a personal, living, eternal relationship between you and Jesus Christ. Jesus says....
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
if any man hear my voice, and open the door,
I will come in to him, and will fellowship with him,
and he with me.
(Rev 3:20)
The door Jesus is talking about is the entrance to your innermost being... your soul or heart..the real you. It is the crossroads of acceptance or refusal. On the one hand, do I accept the free offer of eternal life and fellowship with God, that He is offering, or do I refuse His kindness and go my own way and continue in my sinful behavior? Jesus Christ wants to live inside your soul with you, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to guide you and give you comfort for life's difficult journey, and to give you a purpose for living. Where there was only confusion and aimless drifting before, now there will be peace and purposeful activity. What is your response?
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil,
to give you an expected end.
Then shall you call upon me,
and you shall go and pray unto me,
and I will listen and respond to you.
And you shall seek me, and find me,
when you shall search for me with all your heart.
And I will be found of you, saith the LORD:
(Jeremiah 29:11-14) .
RELY upon God's promises in the Bible, not on your feelings or worldly teachings. Your life is new from this point forward...the old things must be thrown out and forsaken....Old sinful habits must be done away with by the power of Christ Who now lives inside you. You may never have had the power to overcome these things before, but Christ in you can overcome them by the Power of the Holy Spirit who lives in you now...
Old opinions and ways of thinking must be replaced by God's Words and instructions from the Bible. You must consciously choose to do things God's way, and to leave behind old opinions and ways of thinking and acting when the Bible tells you that your way is wrong. This is how spiritual growth occurs.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new.
(2 Cor 5:17)
And so, dear brothers, I plead with you
to give your bodies to God.
Let them be a living sacrifice,
holy--the kind he can accept.
When you think of what he has done for you,
is this too much to ask?
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but be a new and different person
with a fresh newness in all you do and think.
Then you will learn from your own experience
how His ways will really satisfy you.
(Rom 12:1-2 LIVING BIBLE)
TELL someone else about your decision to receive Christ, and what He has done for you...tell your family, your friends, your co-workers or fellow students. Tell the people who have wronged you in the past. Forgive them with the Holy forgiving attitude of Christ, just as you were forgiven by Him.
And plan to be baptized in your local church, as a testimony to your faith in Christ, and plan to attend a Bible- believing , Christ-centered church. Become involved in its ministries, and get to know with your new family in Christ. As Jesus said.......
He told his disciples,
"I have been given all authority in heaven and earth.
Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations,
baptizing them into the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and then teach these new disciples
to obey all the commands I have given you;
and be sure of this--
that I am with you always,
even to the end of the world."
(Mat 28:18-20 LIVING BIBLE)
WALK AND TALK every day in fellowship with Jesus. Someone has once described fellowship as "two fellows in the same ship". The ship is your body and soul... the two fellows are you and Jesus. You have the privilege of sailing through the waters of life, calm or rough, with Jesus as your Captain and Navigator. He knows the way to get you to His destination safely and with maximum spiritual profit. Talk to Him continually through the day. Ask for His strength, His guidance, for the words to speak, for the necessities of life and ministry. Praise Him continually for His care and provision. Jesus puts if this way.
If you love me, obey me;
and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter,
and he will never leave you.
He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all truth.
The world at large cannot receive him,
for it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him.
But you do,
for he lives with you now and some day shall be in you.
No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm--
I will come to you.
In just a little while I will be gone from the world,
but I will still be present with you.
For I will live again--and you will too.
When I come back to life again,
you will know that I am in my Father,
and you in me, and I in you.
The one who obeys me is the one who loves me;
and because he loves me, my Father will love him;
and I will too, and I will reveal myself to him."
Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but his other disciple with that name) said to him, "Sir, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us disciples
and not to the world at large?"
Jesus replied, "Because I will only reveal myself
to those who love me and obey me.
The Father will love them too,
and we will come to them and live with them.
Anyone who doesn't obey me doesn't love me.
And remember, I am not making up this answer to your question!
It is the answer given by the Father who sent me.
"I am telling you these things now while I am still with you.
But when the Father sends the Comforter instead of me--
and by the Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit--
he will teach you much,
as well as remind you of everything I myself have told you.
"I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart!
And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives.
So don't be troubled or afraid.
Remember what I told you--I am going away,
but I will come back to you again.
If you really love me, you will be very happy for me,
for now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am.
I have told you these things before they happen
so that when they do, you will believe in me.
(John 14:15-29 LIVING BIBLE)
May your life and your family be blessed as you decide to live for Jesus..............
in Christ....brother bob.......<><
please go to PART II
www.ourchurch.com/view/?page=ID=202566
.
| Site Tools |
|
|
|
|
|
Verse of the Day |
|
|
