Whats Your Testimony?

[Madad21]

Please share your testimony with us, what happened the day your life began??​

​

I'll start but I really hope you guys wont leave me hanging...... OK!!!


When I was a kid my mother dragged us to Jehovahs Witness meetings and home groups and I learnt that God was a very scary angry being and I would never have any hope of being good enough to go to heaven. A couple of years later my mother and older brother start asking them questions and soon they were disfellowshipped. My brother took it the hardest and they tried to separate my him from us and take him back. Not long after that my brother died, his car flipped 11 times on the southern motorway. he was exhausted and highly strung, he suffered mentally with a chemical imbalance, he fell asleep at the wheel.

I blamed God for it, I cursed Him out and hated Him for taking my brother from us.

I spent the rest of my life getting wasted, I would drink to get off my face and smoke dope like it was cigarettes. I was a criminal who broke in to houses and cars, I drove drunk because I was always drunk, I had sex with anything with legs (excluding animals). I beat people bloody that I decided I didnt like. I did anything to get the cash I needed to get wasted and reckless. I had a painting business that failed because I run it into the ground, I spent all my money on drugs and booze and lose women.

I had a major run in with the law in my late 20's and I have scars on my right calf where the Police dog took out chunks of muscle. I decided to try and turn my life around so I hit the gym and studied to become a security guard which I have been ever since. However the substance abuse was still very prevalent. I was depressed all the time and I hate myself with a deep loathing, thoughts of suicide became common place.

One day I was at work and I was waiting for some nurses to finish work because I had to walk them to their cars, and on the coffee table in the waiting room was a fishing magazine, so I picked it up, under it was a bible.
I picked up the bible and had a skim through it, As I did this I felt oddly at ease, kinda warm like it felt right.
This went on for a few days, then one night in the Patrol car I grew tired of listening to my usual thrash metal CD's and put on the radio, there was this song, it was beautiful and the words of the song gave me the same feeling that bible did, i really liked this random song it made me tear up and put a lump in my throat. When the song finished I realized it was a Christian station so I quickly turned it off.

A few days later a new guy started with us his name was Kaneto, he was from Fiji and it was my job to train him up. I wasn't very nice to him, I was very impatient but he was always calm and pleasant acting.

One night near the end of a shift as he sat in the passenger seat, he turn to me and out of the blue asked me if I beleived in God? I said that I believe there is a god. He asked me if I beleived in the Bible. I said that I did not because it was full of storys and contradictions, I said it was hypocritical (I had no idea what I was talking about)

He said to me "Do you know if you believe in Jesus you need to believe in the Bible because Jesus is the word of God."

I just said yeah ok and we continued on with the job. On his final night of training before he got out of the car to go home he said to me "If you ever want to ask Jesus in to your life, you just need to say, 'Jesus please forgive me my sins and please come in to my life and into my heart."

I said oh okay thanks for the heads up, see yah later. And he got out of the car.

A few nights later at work I had been sober a few days because I had run out of money and I couldn't get any of the pills that would keep me going through the night, I had crashed big time, I hated myself and I felt as low as I ever have in a longtime, I was rock bottom and digging and I was contemplating seriously hurting myself. I knew this would be the last time that i would not merely contemplate it. I had a wife and kid, but that wasn't enough to keep me from my decision. I seriously hated myself and I was planning on ending it. I parked up down a dark industrial side street, it was a Friday night and it was pouring down with rain. I had come to the end of myself and I knew it.

I put my head on the steering wheel and I cried like I have never wept before, I kept focusing on all the crap I had been putting myself and my family through....then I herd Kanetos voice, telling me how to ask Christ into my life.

Through my tears and pain with my head on the steering wheel I said "Jesus if you are real, Im sorry for everything I have done, please forgive me, please come in to my life and in to my heart."

​Just then immediately I felt this physical weight come off my shoulders, it took me by surprise. And then almost at the same time i felt my heart being lifted up, I felt the physical feeling of being wrapped up in an overwhelming blanket of love, I felt my heart being filled with this same love. I went from crying in loathing pain to crying in pure joy. "Thank you Jesus!" was all I could say over and over as I felt myself being raised up out of my pain and depression.

I spent the rest of the night smiling from ear to ear like a mad man, I felt so tied up in knots because I had this new joy in me that I didnt know what to do with.

Things didn't get immediately better after that, actually honestly somethings got worse, I still went back to my addictions, but this time was different I felt rebuked and I felt a desire to change. I was Baptized in 2007 I was 32.

A lot has changed since that night Im am almost completely different person, It has been a real struggle as I deal with my problems head on. But I am driven with this new hope to be better and even though I fail I always get back up again.

I still remember that night like it was yesterday, I remember how for those few weeks I was chased down starting with that bible on the coffee table, the song on the radio, training that funny little Fijian Kaneto.

To be honest for me everyday is a struggle, but I know I dont struggle alone, and when I look in to God word I see Jesus, I am filled with that same love I felt all those years ago when i first picked up that bible. I dont know why God would want someone like me, Im not intelligent, I struggle with sin and addiction daily, I have been an evil person and I can never seem to get anything right.

But I do know that I love him and I am incredibly grateful.

I live day by day according to His grace, I will never take that for granted no-one can ever take him away from me.


Pleas tell me your story.

.

 

[RANDOR]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAD GOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE BUMPS THROUGHOUT THAT TESTIMONY.
Why?...........because my spirit recognized that same Jesus who came into your life. Our glorious savior....
Thank you Jesus for saving MaDad Lord................keep him strong Father..........I see a warrior emerging to the depths no man can render.

MaDad..........Do I know you?........no............Have I seen you?........no......Have I been to your Home...............no........have I talked to you by phone....NO

Exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just like John & Jesus............jumping in the womb!
The same spirit recognizes itself....Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

MaDad.........I was satan's right hand man......................no saving this kid..............nope............to bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had to be radically saved I guess...............so I would really know there is a God......and it doesn't matter if
you told a lie..or you were a serial killer....there was nothing bad enough Jesus could not forgive.
HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry.....I know you have a hard time reading my fonts.......bare with me
BUT I GET TO EXCITED
I love hearing people's testimonies,,,the wilder the better....
I always ask....sooooo....what made you come to Christ?
Hey..............................If ya think I'm happy.....what about all the angels in heaven rejoicing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And by the way...................if ya want my testimony.....you're going to have to pay for it....he he he he....I know you have a job
Yep...it came out in February...kinda hurt ya haven't picked it up yet
Yep...if ya want the truth...............this be it......................NOT ONE OUNCE OF FICTION!!!!!

People.............if ya be reading these testimonies and don't have one....GO GET ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




CHECK IT OUT

WWW.CHRISTAWAITS.COM

RANDOR...YOU NEED TO SETTLE DOWN......BUT MOM................

 

[Madad21]

alright!! taking a look at it now

 

[lforrest]

It is always uplifting to see these examples of how much Jesus loves us in these testimonies.

 

[laid renard]

Nope. Not gonna tell mine. The few times in my life I have shared to others about what I have been through is the start of them slowly removing themselves from me so as to not appear unchristian. Why ? They can't handle the truth ! Ha ha--famous movie line....

Demons, and I am talking about the really dangerous ones here, have been stalking and attacking me all my life. After much prayer and meditation, I have come to the conclusion that it is because of the pure heart I have for God, and that He must have something really awesome for me to do if they are such relentless hounds towards me.

My second most important prayer for me is to pray for Abba to send into my life a strong Christian man who will say, "Is that all that happened to you ? Sheesh ! Come walk with me woman. I will kick those demons in the rear and laugh at them as I walk away."


....... someday. :wub:

 

[RANDOR]

Nope. Not gonna tell mine. The few times in my life I have shared to others about what I have been through is the start of them slowly removing themselves from me so as to not appear unchristian. Why ? They can't handle the truth ! Ha ha--famous movie line....

Demons, and I am talking about the really dangerous ones here, have been stalking and attacking me all my life. After much prayer and meditation, I have come to the conclusion that it is because of the pure heart I have for God, and that He must have something really awesome for me to do if they are such relentless hounds towards me.

My second most important prayer for me is to pray for Abba to send into my life a strong Christian man who will say, "Is that all that happened to you ? Sheesh ! Come walk with me woman. I will kick those demons in the rear and laugh at them as I walk away."


....... someday. :wub:

Ha!...You are covered in the blood!
At least you have a Testimony................................................................

I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION...........ACTUALLY ALONG TIME AGO......................

THE ONES WHO HAVE A TESTIMONY.......................LOVE GOD MORE!

Many views on a thread like this.................and no one shares...............why is that? It baffles me.

Hell...................ya would think everyone would be standing in line to share what Jesus has done for them..
Some have said...........we are to loud and shiny................Ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another so called Christian telling another Christian to be quiet................HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't....I have to much to shout about!

AINT GOT A TESTIMONY?...........GO GET ONE!
RAISED RENARD..DON'T EVER STOP TELLING YOUR TESTIMONY

 

[DanielGarneau]

Hello Raised Madad, Randor and Laid Renard, and whoever reads this post next,

I'll just share some chunks of my testimony here, skipping huge portions.

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

One day I read in the Bible that God will reveal Himself to those who seek Him.
So I prayed that if He existed, he revealed Himself to me.

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

At another time, as I had read the Bible a little bit, trying to understand it as best I could, I read that God wanted all men to be saved, and also that any prayer we made according to His will, he would answer...

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

At some other time, while hitch hicking from Calgary Alberta to Vancouver British Columbia, it turned out that I teemed up with another guy and we began hitchiking together. As we waited, I learnt he was from some kind of a Christian background and new his Bible quite well, but instead of using his knowledge to help me understand what it all meant, he tried to destroy Christianity with what he knew.

So, I said «God, if you exist, give us a ride with someone who knows the Bible and who will be able to answer this guy's criticisms against Christianity». Not long after that, a man picked us up, and before we had time to say anything at all, he came up with: «I never pickup hitch hicker, but God told me to take you two in my car and give you a ride». There was a Bible on the dash of his car, and right away we began talking about God. The other hitchicker argued against everything the man said as he had argued with me. But later when I tried really hard to not believe in God because I did not want to change my life and abide by His ways, this story stuck with me.

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

Eventually I chose to repent and to obey God. That is when I right away got involved with evangelism on the Military Base I worked at at the time (Valcartier, Quebec) as a corporal in the Military Police. My conversion to Christ radically changed the way I did my police work, and since I was also patrol chief for the team of a few men I was leading, I imposed very strict conformity to the respect of every servicemen we had to arrest, even if they became extremely injurious against us. As a result, I got instant respect from the entire group of 50 or so Military Policemen, as well as the civilians that worked for our Military Platoon, as for example, the secrataries.

Why this respect? Because I went from a bad mouthed cursing lad with a code of ethics that needed much improvement to a cleaned mouth and cleaned attitude person whom no one found anything to criticize. In brief, I became perceived as very coherent in my new walk with Christ, and it gain me a lot of respect from everyone around...

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

At first, I was hoping God would not ask me to share my faith on the military base where I lived. But it only took a few weeks until huge doors opened up for me, and I organized what could almost have been called evangelization campaign, going from tent to tent on the base and sharing the Gospel to anyone who wanted to hear. Even once, I went to the military base bar, where I talked about nothing other than what God had done for me by way of salvation and what He could do for those listening to me. In that context, there was a woman who seemed very impressed with my testimony, she asked me a ride home after the evening, and invited me in, mentioning her husband was away somewhere on military duty and would not be back for a few weeks. Then I realized I had naively walked into some kind of a trap, and left right away, before anything could develop that would destroy everything I had said that evening.

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

One guy I had preached the Gospel to in the military quarters where we both lived found himself in the hospital and had one of our common friend ask me to visit. So I went. And while in that military hospital on the base, I preached the gospel to his three other roomates who all seemed to me very interested in what I had to say.

Then, a few days later, I was invited in the Military Police commander's office. He gave me the order to stop talking about my religion while I was on the military base, whether I was on duty or not, because, as he saw things, I was misusing the authority that came with my rank and trade. To which I answered: «With all due respect, Sir, I cannot comply to this order, because it goes against what the Bible teaches ». He asked me to put this in writing, which I did. In my written statement, I assured that I was willing to comply to any order I was given that did not conflict with what God clearly tought in Scriptures.

A few days later I was sent to a psychatrist operating on the military base. My pastor had advised me to tell him nothing except that I had been sent there to be examined, and then to answer whatever question he would ask of me, sticking to the facts, and not volunteering anything I was not being asked for. This was sound advice and my interview did not last long and I was deemed normal.

However a couple of days or so later I was discharged with a clause that went something like this : «developed a weakness that he refused to correct». I then immediately became involved in my local church on a full time basis, then went to Bible school, then started a small daughter Church, of which I was pastor. Ten years or so went by between this rerouting from the military to the ministry.

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

My life broke apart because there were issues I did not know how to handle. So I decided to leave the Christian ministry, and get a regular job for a living. That is how I eventually became a Technical Writer for a large Quebec based consulting company which operates in the field of computer systems...

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

I kept going to Church all along, but my heart was not really there. I did feel however that it kept me in God, and protected me from turning away from the faith. People still did find encouragement in what I shared with them, but deep down I was deeply discouraged, with regard to the really important aspects of life, meaning, everything that has to do with christian spirituality.

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

Then, in 2008, everything began to turn around. We hired a Pentecostal believer to replace me in the job I did as a Technical Writer for the National Defence of Canada. But the work we had to do just happened to double in that time period, so that we ended up working together for over six months or so. My contact with this believer did much good to me. We became friends, and shared about God and His work in our life.

And then during that period, something really strange occured to me which is really difficult to put into words. But God showed me very clearly that there was an area of my life that I had to repent from, as if I had to choose there and then between God and that sin. My immediate response was to choose God, repenting, and never returning to that which I repented from since that time on. Within the same month, perhaps week, I did feel, as Madad shared in his own testimony, that a weight was lifted away from me. The best I can describe it is to say that it was as if I was living under an atmospheric pressure system that felt 10 times lighter after than before.

Skipping... Skipping... Skipping...

As people in our Church observed the changes in my general attitude towards others and especially towards my wife, they asked me what happened. And for the most part I was unable to explain in a way that was nearly adequate. Now at this point, I must tell you that I am the type of person who reads a lot. So books are and have always been an important part of my life. Amongst the books I read, I found one author in particular that helps me maintain my life in the direction that God gave it in 2008. Here are two of his books that go in the general direction of what I am now living on a daily basis:

• 
  Victory over the Darkness – Realizing the Power of your Identity in Christ, Regal Books, 1990, 2000;
  
• 
  The Bondage Breaker – Overcoming Negative Thoughts, Irrational Feelings, Habitual Sins, Harvest House Publishers, 1990, 1993, 2000.
  

Please receive the above testimony as a spontaneous expression of what God did and is doing in my life... And thank you Madad for leading us in that direction.

God bless...

Daniel Garneau

 

[RANDOR]

Thank you for sharing Daniel...................now...I could stay up all night reading people's testimonies........and why they love God.
Thank you again.............and my eyes and mind thank you for taking time out to type all that....read every word...good job.

Praise your Holy name Lord...thank you for saving Daniel Lord....keep him safe in his walks Lord. And bless his every move.

And Lord?....................yes RANDOR..."Put a rush on that armor ordered for Daniel......we have another WARRIOR ABOUT TO BE BIRTHED!"

 

[shturt678]

Thank you folks for caring for sure!

Always have a difficult time with this till today - grammar won't be that coherent. My parents were both functional full on alcoholics, and should never had children of course. My dad was an officer on subs in W.W. II where he believed in God, but not Jesus. I watched my dad beat my mother regularly for a long time breaking her bones including kicking her in the back breaking her lower back bone even - war had a lot to do with it, however believe alcohol was a bigger factor. I didn't mind him beating me as would project myself out of my body, and didn't feel anything anyway thus the idiot I was wouldn't cry and he thought I was being tough and then would pick up items laying around beating me more hard - sometimes I didn't think I would life through it. No mother most of the time because she couldn't take the beatings - bars were her comfort and would find her there to warn her that dad is home looking for her. Neighbors would call the cops and after they left he almost beat us to death blaming us for everthing. I asked the kids I played with not to call the police please as not going to live through it - they quit calling. Mother would get pregnant from others or my dad, and dad would come home then kick her in the stomach so not his child would be aborted - I never witnessed this stomach kicking, however later while I was in High School, my mothers sister, my aunt, told me with a lots more. In my days it wasn't considered child or spouse abuse. I found out he didn't think I was his in my mothers womb, and he did the same. My mother had the same pains with me as with the other aborted boys thus must have kicked my while I also was in the worb - my brothers - according to my aunt and my mother, others thought they were going to lose me also - I made it! (total of 5 almost full term abortions brothers of mine where I was the exact 6th). Just being exact as our Lord is watching. I jumped on him once when I was about 8 years old (3rd grade I remember enough) grabbing him around his strong neck when he was really smashing my mother's face, blood all over, and wow, kicked me so hard I ended up on the ceiling hearing juices in my head then the long fall to the floor, then hitting the floor, somehow got out the door leaving my mother to fend for herself as I was hurt. Hid in the woods all night. Sexually abused me without details. Cannot go on, sorry.

Found the Lord God JESUS, allllll that hate towards man and my dad (I made a point to personally tell him that he was forgiven, but was drinking and don't know if he understood), even while he was still alive, instantly lifted off my shoulders just like the rest of you my brothers till today - alll of it! A lot of my dad's family apologized to me later saying they knew what was happening doing nothing and asked for my forgiveness - I assured them all forgiven completely.

Instantly went from hating man deeply and deeply to loving man deeply and deeply - I break down too much when they sing "Amazing Grace" having to quickly excuse myself plugging my ears, but our Lord knows the reason.

Old brother Jack, rarely share this testimony.

btw read everyone's else testimony twice encouraging me - thank you my brothers.

btw never had a pitty party for Jack and no need, only thanksgiving for the Cross and the Cross and the Cross, and our Lord making us billionaires with the peace withintwhich I never had till meeting the Godman Jesus.

 

[Madad21]

Hello Raised Madad, Randor and Laid Renard, and whoever reads this post next,

I'll just share some chunks of my testimony here, skipping huge portions.

Thank you folks for caring for sure!

Always have a difficult time with this till today - grammar won't be that coherent. My parents were both functional full on alcoholics, and should never had children of course. My dad was an officer on s

Thanks guys so much for adding to this, hugely inspiring to say the very least.
I read these and Im in ore of the Spirit at work.
Both of these testimonials are a blessing and we are honored to have them.

Thanks again for your support!!

Nope. Not gonna tell mine. The few times in my life I have shared to others about what I have been through is the start of them slowly removing themselves from me so as to not appear unchristian. Why ? They can't handle the truth ! Ha ha--famous movie line....

Demons, and I am talking about the really dangerous ones here, have been stalking and attacking me all my life. After much prayer and meditation, I have come to the conclusion that it is because of the pure heart I have for God, and that He must have something really awesome for me to do if they are such relentless hounds towards me.

My second most important prayer for me is to pray for Abba to send into my life a strong Christian man who will say, "Is that all that happened to you ? Sheesh ! Come walk with me woman. I will kick those demons in the rear and laugh at them as I walk away."


....... someday. :wub:

Laid, I have heard testimony from people who have gone through some horrific ordeals with these things, so I understand you may be afraid to share.
I censored my testimonial a great deal there are things I left out because they are too painful to talk about (im talking abuses when I was a child that have destroyed my life), but it is still possible to tell. pain is pain and oppression is oppression no matter who goes through it, no matter what type of demon delivers it.

But Laid I want you to know you are among friends, and although it is entirely up to you to share, I want you to realize too that there are many browsing these forums who are going through these exact things and they are searching for an answer, your testimony is only useful as a weapon against the enemy, by what you have gone through you may very well help set another free. please consider it. absolutely no pressure. you are loved for sure.

Turn it back against the enemy, Be Gods irony.

 

[John Zain]

Here are some highlights of my spiritual experiences, basically in chronological order.
I have written this to glorify the Lord God Almighty, and I swear before Almighty God … every word of the following is the truth!
Years before being sent to Bulgaria: After losing a tennis match, I was sitting alone (wearily) when God said very clearly within me in a medium-volume voice: “When are you going to have had enough of this?” (i.e. playing so much tennis, etc.). I was shocked. I was not at all a religious person. Absolutely no one else was anywhere around at the time. I knew for sure that this had to be God! I was about age 40. About 3 years later, I was curious about a newspaper ad and I dragged a friend to see an evangelist broadcasting live via satellite from Brazil. We sat in the front row, and I was overcome by the gospel message and was “born-again”. I really did not know what had happened … but about 6 months later, my ideas, opinions, attitudes, interests, etc. began changing, and I started reading the Bible and going to an evangelical church.
Months before first going to Bulgaria: I woke up with a major muscle pull in my back (it must have been the way I slept). During many years of playing basketball and tennis, I had several of these types of injuries, and I knew this one would take about 10 days to heal. At 9 am, an elderly lady from our church phoned and asked me how I was doing. I told her that I was in pain and why. She said, “No problem!”, and told me to put my right hand where the pain was and we would pray in agreement about it and the Lord would take care of it. So, we prayed in faith “in the name of Jesus” and instantly the pain was gone! For the next several months, I had a very slight pain in that area of my back. I kept saying to people, “Isn’t it obvious that God wants me to remember His great healing power, and also when and how He healed me!”
My first evangelizing trip (1992): I joined a missions organization which was taking 60 people to Bulgaria. In the capital city of Sofia, at the last moment I was switched from the team going to a city on the western border to the team going to a city located right in the middle of southern Bulgaria. Later, I realized that it was God who did this, because this city was where God wanted me to set up my central home base for future evangelizing all over southern Bulgaria. I took the bus alone to 2 villages and God gave me tremendous love for the people. In Bulgaria prior to July 1991, it was: “… illegal to mention the name of Jesus or quote a Scripture verse in newspapers, or on radio or television. Bulgaria had been the most Stalinistic of all the Communist nations in Europe; even more so than Russia itself.”
… from page 6 of the book “Fire From Heaven” ISBN 1-895-868-00-9
USA ••• For several years I had been desiring to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit. An old extremely world-famous evangelist said: “If you do not receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, you are living in a weak and impoverished condition.” Returning home from church one evening, I said dejectedly to my wife, “I probably won’t get it until I’m 93.” God’s sense of humor: I received it in 1993! --- There were 15 of us attending a Sunday night church service. I was standing at the front, facing 6 people who were on stage: my pastor and his wife, a visiting evangelist and his wife, my wife, and the piano player. We were all praying for me to receive this baptism. Shortly, I heard an angelic choir singing loudly (and with loud instruments). Later, my pastor said he heard me speak a few words in tongues, and I kept saying, “They all had microphones!” (because of the loud singing). Everyone on the stage also heard the angelic choir, as did 2 in the audience. We definitely heard all of this “in the spirit” (and not with our ears) because the angelic choir & instruments were not on the tape recording of the meeting.
Bulgaria ••• One time our car died late on a Friday afternoon, and we pushed it to a mechanic’s shop. They really didn’t want to help, but God had other ideas. One mechanic rushed off to the parts store before it closed to get a water pump, and another one stayed late to install it. Later, our Bulgarian friends said it was quite a miracle for them to stay so late on a Friday afternoon; this is absolutely unheard of in Bulgaria! ••• Another time, we were driving through steep mountains when the radiator boiled over with the temperature gauge showing “Hot”. All we had were about 4 cups of water to put in the radiator, but the gauge showed “Cold” all the way to our church destination. It was here that the Holy Spirit helped Tony (who knew only a few words of English) translate very well for me. Later, when Tony's church heard about this, they were really amazed because Tony didn’t know English. ••• Another time, a policeman found us parked illegally, and he also found several violations with my driving documents. He said the total fine could be as much as 20,000 leva ($400), but after some discussion (and many silent fervent prayers) he let us go free! About an hour later, we went to order 30,000 more gospel tracts at the government printing company; half of the cost had to be paid in advance and amazingly it was exactly 20,000 leva! I made 9 trips alone to Bulgaria with the average length being 2 months.
USA ••• At church, about 30 people were praying over me concerning my upcoming trip when one brother had a vision of me in a complete Orthodox priest’s outfit, holding a staff. In the vision, the people around me were bound by chains and when I touched their chains with the staff they fell off onto the ground. Our interpretation was:
the priest’s outfit … the people will see me as a man of God,
the staff … represented God’s authority and power (like Moses),
the chains off … the people will be set free of spiritual bondages.
All of this, of course, was to give me more confidence, and to convince the large church to support me with their prayers and finances.
Bulgaria ••• During my first 2 trips, my #1 partner (Tony) and I had to use words in Bulgarian, English, and French to be able to communicate effectively. ••• We visited deacon Dinko, and as we were leaving, he and his wife were praying for us when God gave him a vision of many angels around me (and on both sides of the road ahead of me), protecting me as I travelled. ••• Tony’s sister and I prayed for Tony’s painful toothache and red swollen gum, and they were healed almost instantly!
Bulgaria ••• The Lord blessed Tony’s sister by instantly healing her painful lower back when Tony and I prayed for her. The next day, she and I prayed for a young lady who had an inherited spirit of occultism (from her grand-mother’s connection with a Muslim priest); she felt something moving in her stomach and her expression changed, as in: “she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction” (Mark 5:29). The young lady’s evangelical mother told us that she had been praying every day for 7 years for this day of deliverance for her daughter. ••• Another young lady prayed to receive Jesus and was delivered of intense nervousness and stuttering; indeed, we saw a tremendous transformation in her speech & whole countenance! ••• In another village, the Lord instantly healed the first lady we prayed for, and she ran around the village telling people about it. ••• In another village, one lady’s paralyzed right arm was healed immediately, and a gypsy lady with a crutch had her painful hip instantly healed. ••• A man living next to us (in the home base of our current area) had terminal cancer with only 3 months to live; we prayed for him and he accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior; we also prayed for his healing, and 2 days later the family called us from the hospital to say the doctors said the cancer was now in regression!
Bulgaria ••• In one church, all 8 ladies who came forward for healing were “slain in the Spirit” (knocked over by the power of the Holy Spirit) and healed of what was afflicting them. ••• In the city where we were staying, the Lord ministered to 3 gypsy believers: Ilia was delivered from spirits of depression and suicide, his sister (who was close to death in the hospital) was healed, and another young man in the hospital was also healed. ••• In one village, while playing frisbee with some boys, I sprained my ankle (I heard quite a crunching sound), but when I got up off the ground I felt no pain at all and I knew that God had healed it. ••• We distributed Bibles, NTs, “Jesus” videos & DVDs, giant posters, frisbees, super-balls, etc. ••• During the last 9 trips, I was driving all of the time and was stopped by the police maybe 20 times for various traffic, driving, and parking violations, but I received only one $2 ticket during all of that time! And while going to more than 1200 villages, the Lord protected us through persecution from the army, police, communist mayors, Orthodox priests and believers, Muslim emams and believers, etc. Praise the Lord!
USA ••• 10 years earlier, God told my wife and I to stop praying for my father’s salvation … that He would take care of it. ••• Now in Bulgaria, for the first time in 7 trips, God persuaded me through 5 separate events (it’s a long story) to return home one month early! This was incredible, but because I did go home early, I had a couple of weeks to rest before getting a call from my sister (from Canada) who said that my father was in the hospital again, and that maybe I should come home soon. And I arrived exactly 24 hours before he died. During the day of his death, I was the only family member to converse with him. He was in a private room (which should have been a semi-private), and I felt comfortable praying out loud (so he could hear) for more than half an hour -- as I thanked Jesus, and praised Him, and covered the whole room (and us) with His blood, and chased any demons (who might have been there) out of the room. A few days later, after the funeral, my wife called to say that God had assured her very strongly that my father was in heaven! It seemed to us that his salvation was the result of God’s efforts to get me home one month early.
Bulgaria ••• We met 3 Pentecostal believers who were being persec-uted and were called “insects” (praying mantises) by their village; one of them (who was talking in tongues a lot) said: "God sent you to sow seeds in the village; and also so everyone who hears the gospel message will have no excuse." This was a confirmation of what the Lord had told me years earlier: “I’m sending you to 2 types of people (the elect and the non-elect)”. ••• In the same village, God restored one lady who had lost her faith because of the terrible difficulties her blind husband was experiencing. ••• We actually helped in this “restoration” experience with several people. Some had kept the seed of faith for more than 60 years, all through the communist years until that very moment. For example, 2 elderly men cried the whole time while they were saying the sinner’s prayer.

I complied this from my Bulgarian trip diaries to show that God really deserves to be praised & glorified for who He is, and for the wonderful things He has done! My testimony reveals that God provides for, and protects, those whom He sends forth to do something for Him, and He confirms with signs and wonders that His precious gospel is the truth. Praise the Lord!

 

[Madad21]

Thanks Evangelist-7 this is muchly appreciated some very inspiring testimony here.

 

[RANDOR]

Here are some highlights of my spiritual experiences, basically in chronological order.
I have written this to glorify the Lord God Almighty, and I swear before Almighty God … every word of the following is the truth!
Years before being sent to Bulgaria: After losing a tennis match, I was sitting alone (wearily) when God said very clearly within me in a medium-volume voice: “When are you going to have had enough of this?” (i.e. playing so much tennis, etc.). I was shocked. I was not at all a religious person. Absolutely no one else was anywhere around at the time. I knew for sure that this had to be God! I was about age 40. About 3 years later, I was curious about a newspaper ad and I dragged a friend to see an evangelist broadcasting live via satellite from Brazil. We sat in the front row, and I was overcome by the gospel message and was “born-again”. I really did not know what had happened … but about 6 months later, my ideas, opinions, attitudes, interests, etc. began changing, and I started reading the Bible and going to an evangelical church.
Months before first going to Bulgaria: I woke up with a major muscle pull in my back (it must have been the way I slept). During many years of playing basketball and tennis, I had several of these types of injuries, and I knew this one would take about 10 days to heal. At 9 am, an elderly lady from our church phoned and asked me how I was doing. I told her that I was in pain and why. She said, “No problem!”, and told me to put my right hand where the pain was and we would pray in agreement about it and the Lord would take care of it. So, we prayed in faith “in the name of Jesus” and instantly the pain was gone! For the next several months, I had a very slight pain in that area of my back. I kept saying to people, “Isn’t it obvious that God wants me to remember His great healing power, and also when and how He healed me!”
My first evangelizing trip (1992): I joined a missions organization which was taking 60 people to Bulgaria. In the capital city of Sofia, at the last moment I was switched from the team going to a city on the western border to the team going to a city located right in the middle of southern Bulgaria. Later, I realized that it was God who did this, because this city was where God wanted me to set up my central home base for future evangelizing all over southern Bulgaria. I took the bus alone to 2 villages and God gave me tremendous love for the people. In Bulgaria prior to July 1991, it was: “… illegal to mention the name of Jesus or quote a Scripture verse in newspapers, or on radio or television. Bulgaria had been the most Stalinistic of all the Communist nations in Europe; even more so than Russia itself.”
… from page 6 of the book “Fire From Heaven” ISBN 1-895-868-00-9
USA ••• For several years I had been desiring to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit. An old extremely world-famous evangelist said: “If you do not receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, you are living in a weak and impoverished condition.” Returning home from church one evening, I said dejectedly to my wife, “I probably won’t get it until I’m 93.” God’s sense of humor: I received it in 1993! --- There were 15 of us attending a Sunday night church service. I was standing at the front, facing 6 people who were on stage: my pastor and his wife, a visiting evangelist and his wife, my wife, and the piano player. We were all praying for me to receive this baptism. Shortly, I heard an angelic choir singing loudly (and with loud instruments). Later, my pastor said he heard me speak a few words in tongues, and I kept saying, “They all had microphones!” (because of the loud singing). Everyone on the stage also heard the angelic choir, as did 2 in the audience. We definitely heard all of this “in the spirit” (and not with our ears) because the angelic choir & instruments were not on the tape recording of the meeting.
Bulgaria ••• One time our car died late on a Friday afternoon, and we pushed it to a mechanic’s shop. They really didn’t want to help, but God had other ideas. One mechanic rushed off to the parts store before it closed to get a water pump, and another one stayed late to install it. Later, our Bulgarian friends said it was quite a miracle for them to stay so late on a Friday afternoon; this is absolutely unheard of in Bulgaria! ••• Another time, we were driving through steep mountains when the radiator boiled over with the temperature gauge showing “Hot”. All we had were about 4 cups of water to put in the radiator, but the gauge showed “Cold” all the way to our church destination. It was here that the Holy Spirit helped Tony (who knew only a few words of English) translate very well for me. Later, when Tony's church heard about this, they were really amazed because Tony didn’t know English. ••• Another time, a policeman found us parked illegally, and he also found several violations with my driving documents. He said the total fine could be as much as 20,000 leva ($400), but after some discussion (and many silent fervent prayers) he let us go free! About an hour later, we went to order 30,000 more gospel tracts at the government printing company; half of the cost had to be paid in advance and amazingly it was exactly 20,000 leva! I made 9 trips alone to Bulgaria with the average length being 2 months.
USA ••• At church, about 30 people were praying over me concerning my upcoming trip when one brother had a vision of me in a complete Orthodox priest’s outfit, holding a staff. In the vision, the people around me were bound by chains and when I touched their chains with the staff they fell off onto the ground. Our interpretation was:
the priest’s outfit … the people will see me as a man of God,
the staff … represented God’s authority and power (like Moses),
the chains off … the people will be set free of spiritual bondages.
All of this, of course, was to give me more confidence, and to convince the large church to support me with their prayers and finances.
Bulgaria ••• During my first 2 trips, my #1 partner (Tony) and I had to use words in Bulgarian, English, and French to be able to communicate effectively. ••• We visited deacon Dinko, and as we were leaving, he and his wife were praying for us when God gave him a vision of many angels around me (and on both sides of the road ahead of me), protecting me as I travelled. ••• Tony’s sister and I prayed for Tony’s painful toothache and red swollen gum, and they were healed almost instantly!
Bulgaria ••• The Lord blessed Tony’s sister by instantly healing her painful lower back when Tony and I prayed for her. The next day, she and I prayed for a young lady who had an inherited spirit of occultism (from her grand-mother’s connection with a Muslim priest); she felt something moving in her stomach and her expression changed, as in: “she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction” (Mark 5:29). The young lady’s evangelical mother told us that she had been praying every day for 7 years for this day of deliverance for her daughter. ••• Another young lady prayed to receive Jesus and was delivered of intense nervousness and stuttering; indeed, we saw a tremendous transformation in her speech & whole countenance! ••• In another village, the Lord instantly healed the first lady we prayed for, and she ran around the village telling people about it. ••• In another village, one lady’s paralyzed right arm was healed immediately, and a gypsy lady with a crutch had her painful hip instantly healed. ••• A man living next to us (in the home base of our current area) had terminal cancer with only 3 months to live; we prayed for him and he accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior; we also prayed for his healing, and 2 days later the family called us from the hospital to say the doctors said the cancer was now in regression!
Bulgaria ••• In one church, all 8 ladies who came forward for healing were “slain in the Spirit” (knocked over by the power of the Holy Spirit) and healed of what was afflicting them. ••• In the city where we were staying, the Lord ministered to 3 gypsy believers: Ilia was delivered from spirits of depression and suicide, his sister (who was close to death in the hospital) was healed, and another young man in the hospital was also healed. ••• In one village, while playing frisbee with some boys, I sprained my ankle (I heard quite a crunching sound), but when I got up off the ground I felt no pain at all and I knew that God had healed it. ••• We distributed Bibles, NTs, “Jesus” videos & DVDs, giant posters, frisbees, super-balls, etc. ••• During the last 9 trips, I was driving all of the time and was stopped by the police maybe 20 times for various traffic, driving, and parking violations, but I received only one $2 ticket during all of that time! And while going to more than 1200 villages, the Lord protected us through persecution from the army, police, communist mayors, Orthodox priests and believers, Muslim emams and believers, etc. Praise the Lord!
USA ••• 10 years earlier, God told my wife and I to stop praying for my father’s salvation … that He would take care of it. ••• Now in Bulgaria, for the first time in 7 trips, God persuaded me through 5 separate events (it’s a long story) to return home one month early! This was incredible, but because I did go home early, I had a couple of weeks to rest before getting a call from my sister (from Canada) who said that my father was in the hospital again, and that maybe I should come home soon. And I arrived exactly 24 hours before he died. During the day of his death, I was the only family member to converse with him. He was in a private room (which should have been a semi-private), and I felt comfortable praying out loud (so he could hear) for more than half an hour -- as I thanked Jesus, and praised Him, and covered the whole room (and us) with His blood, and chased any demons (who might have been there) out of the room. A few days later, after the funeral, my wife called to say that God had assured her very strongly that my father was in heaven! It seemed to us that his salvation was the result of God’s efforts to get me home one month early.
Bulgaria ••• We met 3 Pentecostal believers who were being persec-uted and were called “insects” (praying mantises) by their village; one of them (who was talking in tongues a lot) said: "God sent you to sow seeds in the village; and also so everyone who hears the gospel message will have no excuse." This was a confirmation of what the Lord had told me years earlier: “I’m sending you to 2 types of people (the elect and the non-elect)”. ••• In the same village, God restored one lady who had lost her faith because of the terrible difficulties her blind husband was experiencing. ••• We actually helped in this “restoration” experience with several people. Some had kept the seed of faith for more than 60 years, all through the communist years until that very moment. For example, 2 elderly men cried the whole time while they were saying the sinner’s prayer.

I complied this from my Bulgarian trip diaries to show that God really deserves to be praised & glorified for who He is, and for the wonderful things He has done! My testimony reveals that God provides for, and protects, those whom He sends forth to do something for Him, and He confirms with signs and wonders that His precious gospel is the truth. Praise the Lord!

Evangelist7................thanks for sharing................I've had great experiences with Christ as you have.........what burns in my heart is that all experience this great marvel God has waiting for those who will just run to Him.
Thanks for sharing..........that was a lot to say.....................but hey........once you've been touched by God.....even as light as a feather.......it lasts forever and ya just can't stop talking about we has done for you in your life.
I've been listening to people's testimonies on Christian radio all day today..............I really needed to hear the miracles God was performing in individuals lives today.
Thanks for sharing.
I'm like a roaring fire........................I don't like my logs to smoulder...so I keep feeding it with God's lumber....and when I hear testimonies such as yours....they are extremely flamable
God Bless †

 

[John Zain]

Thanks, guys, for believing ... because most people on various Christian forums have not believed it.

 

[RANDOR]

Thanks, guys, for believing ... because most people on various Christian forums have not believed it.

Dude it is so easy to jump for joy at your testimony........cause we jump for joy at testimonies........for we have tetimonies....and thank God He touched you.. WAY TO GO GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like I've always said..............."all can have their very own Damascus experience" but how bad do ya want it ?

 

[John Zain]

Like I've always said...............
"all can have their very own Damascus experience" but how bad do ya want it ?

To be brutally honest, I never asked for anything like this.
The Lord just chooses simple believers to do stuff for Him!
And I consider it a miracle that even Christians believe my testimony ...
... because for everyone it takes spiritual revelation to "see" that it is the Truth.

Now, getting past this ...
Jesus most definitely does encourage people to diligently pray for what they desire!
(And I don't see unregenerate people doing this.)

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking
Matthew 7 (NKJV):
7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

IMO, this can especially be applied to believers who desire to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
And the Pentecostal way is to tarry at the altar (or wherever) until one receives!
Remember the persistent widow?

Jesus can and does use many believers to be prayer warriors, intercessors, etc.
Nothing flashy, hidden, but used mightily.

P.S. please note v.11a, which is a powerful testimony to the natural condition of all human beings!

 

[lforrest]

I hope that this testimony will increase your desire to seek the Lord even more than you already do.

Twenty one years ago the Holy Spirit convicted me of my sins during a particular sermon where the reverend spoke the gospel of Christ crucified for our sins. I chose to accept Jesus as my savior so he would forgive my sins, and was further compelled to be baptized out of fear of the Lord.

My life went on from there, but I never had a two way relationship with God. I still prayed on rare occasions, about what I want God to do for me. But even as I prayed my thoughts were clouded by doubt. I tried to read bits and pieces from the bible, but it was boring and I didn't know if I should believe everything in it or not. But occasions of doubt were rare because I didn't give anything of God much thought.

My goal in life was to become an engineer and make lots of money. But when I finished getting my degree I started looking for a job. Months went by of searching and I started to lose hope that I would be able to find any engineering job. I started to question my own motivations, and contemplated the futility of all worldly gain. The generations come and go, but one day it will end and everything done under the sun will meaningless unless it is done for God.

So I decided to turn to God, because he is the only one who could possibly give life meaning. The occasional prayer wasn't cutting it, I needed a closer relationship. So I considered what Moses had done on the mountain and Jesus had done in the desert, and believed it true. I didn't have the faith to go without food or water, so I drank juiced fruit and vegetables on a set schedule for nourishment.

After starting the fast my eyes were opened to both the scriptures and what God had done in my life previously and I had been unaware. I realized that I had spoken in tongues during a prayer, and I had never been exposed to that before. I also remembered an instance where God had given me a word of knowledge to enable me to avoid an accident. God had been there all along, and the one sidedness of our relationship wasn't me praying without an obvious answer being given. It was actually God's compassion bestowed on me even while I was a sinner when he helped me in his subtle ways. My attachment to the world was, and is, the only hindrance in our relationship.

After five months of starting my search I had stopped searching, and after three weeks of fasting I was ready to give up on expecting a miraculous intervention. I resigned myself to defeat and applied for a part time job, so I could continue on with life. Not long after that I received three job offers within a day's time.

I have since gained in knowledge of the Lord through a constantly growing understanding of the scriptures. And I continue to seek a closer relationship with him.

 

[Enquirer]

I will try make this one short ...

After years of drug and alcohol abuse, and dabbling with the occult, I trudged up to a local pub with a "friend", where I shot
a few games of pool and had a drink and then went into the alley and smoked it up.
So sitting quite stoned out of my bracket and far away from anyone else, a voice spoke to me in a loud audible voice.
This voice cut straight through my foggy mind and said, "Get up and get out of here".

I looked around to see who spoke to me but there was no one, so I decided to talk back to the voice, I said "What about my friend" ?
The voice spoke again and said, "If he doesn't come with you leave him behind".
So I got up and went to my friend and told him I was leaving and asked him if he was coming with me.
He said "No", so I said goodbye, he thought that I just meant goodbye for now, but somehow deep inside of me I knew it
meant goodbye forever.

So I staggered home, closed my bedroom door and started thinking about my life and how messed up it was.
I told myself that I was finished.
Then I suddenly turned to God and told him that if he could do anything with my life then it was his.

I started waking up early in the morning and praying and reading a bible I had from a previous girlfriend and after a few days of this
I one day started crying out to God in earnestness.
Suddenly I saw an outline of myself standing in front of me ... it was as black as night and had deep dark tangibility about it.
I knew this was my sin and started crying out to God to forgive me, I remember crying like a kid, then all of a sudden it felt like a rain
began falling from my ceiling onto me.
Wow, I felt so alive, I saw Jesus in a vision coming down to earth at the end time, the entire place - which I suspect is Jerusalem -
was engulfed in flames and thick dark clouds.

I remember going to church that Sunday - yes I found one and that's another story - and the associate Pastor looked at me and asked
me what was wrong with me, why was I so happy ?
Well I didn't know anything about the Holy Spirit so I couldn't answer him, "I don't know", I replied.

That's it in a big nutshell.

 

[Angelina]

[SIZE=medium]Hi Madad21. Thank you for this thread,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I'm not sure where my testimony begins but I can tell you that my life has been a very strange one. You could say that I have had some amazing encounters with God ever since I can remember and that I have had no issue in understanding that God is real, his word is the truth and that he has a plan for each and every one of us who believe in Jesus by faith. This true account and many other encounters have led me to where I am today. I hope that it blesses you as much as it has blessed others and that you will continue to put your trust in the one who will never leave or forsake us, Jesus our Lord and Savior.

When I was 8 years old, we lived in a forest town along with other families because my father worked in that industry at the time [forestry]. One day I was coming home from my friends house and I had to pass a creek. On this particular day, I happened to notice two girls around my age just standing there looking at something in the creek, so I went over to find out what they were doing. I realized that a third girl had fallen into the creek and was thrashing around, drowning.

The two girls watching were in a state of shock and were not capable of helping her. I started to become traumatized as well because it was something that was too much for our little 8 year old minds to take in.

Anyway, as I was stood there watching, unable to take my eyes off her but also unable to move...suddenly, I heard a very loud male voice say "pick up the stick." This shook me out of whatever I had fallen into and I looked around and saw a stick on the ground so I picked it up. Then the voice said, "hold it out," so I held it out in front of me. Now this stick was only short and there was no-way that the drowning girl could get a hold of it...but as I held it out, it somehow extended across the water and the girl managed to grab a hold of it and I pulled her in.

It actually felt like nothing was at the end of that stick but anyway I pulled her back to the bank and she scrambled out. Unfortunately, as she did this, I lost my footing and ended up in the creek myself and they all walked off.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]

[/SIZE]​

​

[SIZE=medium]So here I was now drowning in that very creek that I had pulled the girl from. I could not swim at the time and all I could remember was the murky grayish water and the pretty green oxygen weed. After a while, I got tired of trying to keep my head above the water and I started to sink...knowing that I was going to die. It felt very peaceful and I was ready to die. [/SIZE]

As I sank further down into the murky water, my breath began to run out and just as I was about to inhale, my feet suddenly hit something hard and smooth. Very much like a platform. As I stood on that platform [under water] I was quickly elevated upwards. The speed of the elevation created a deafening, rushing water sound in my ears until I finally broke the water line and my lungs gasped desperately for air...

It was very odd because now I was standing on something I could not see, an invisible platform, in midair, above the creek. The next thing I knew, I was moving forward very quickly towards the bank. The platform I was standing on then disappeared and I dropped to the ground, landing with two feet on the bank...

I really did not know what had just happened but I knew my mother would be angry with me because I was completely, soaking wet! So I went home and sure enough I was in trouble...Lol!

God loves me as he loves all his children. He sent his angels to bear me up on their hands, least I strike my foot against a stone and the bible says he will do the same for you. He did not want me to die and he does not want you to die because he has a plan for our lives....This is only one of the many divine encounters where God has saved me from certain death...

I am still here because he loves me...you are still here because he loves you and he hasn't finished with you yet.

[SIZE=medium]I love him with everything I've got...because he lives, I live, GLORY! [/SIZE]

 

[Madad21]

I hope that this testimony will increase your desire to seek the Lord even more than you already do.

I will try make this one short ...

After years of drug and alcohol abuse, and dabbling with the occult, I trudged up to a local pub with a "friend", where I shot
a few games of pool and had a drink and then went into the alley and smoked it up.

[SIZE=medium]Hi Madad21. Thank you for this thread,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I'm not sure where my testimony begins but I can tell you that my life has been a very strange one. [/SIZE]

Thank you so very much for supporting this thread guys, I love these testimonials and each one is amazing and some of you gave me goose bumps bigtime!!! To say the very least my words cant do any of you justice and I apologize for that, IForrest Angelina and Enquirer thank you for taking the time, I will be reading these more then once. More importantly its an inspiration for others.
Like Iforrest said "turn to God, because he is the only one who could possibly give life meaning" and Enquirer saying "if He (God) could do anything with my life then it was his." and the beautiful Angelina finishing the thought with " I am still here because he loves me...you are still here because he loves you and he hasn't finished with you yet."
God bless you all
Amen!!