OTHER’S TESTIMONIES

OTHER’S TESTIMONIES

IF YOU HAVE AN INTERESTING TESTIMONY E-MAIL ME AND I MAY LIST IT HERE.
TESTIMONIES:(Scroll down to view)
1.From Cult to Christ
2.Life After Death
3.A Year of Miracles
4.Drug Addiction

FROM CULT TO CHRIST: I was born in the city of Manchester, and grew up there. Where I lived was a very poor area and nobody had very much. My parents were not religious and I did not go to church or anything. I first became interested in the Christian faith at about 13 years old. I was in school and the rest of my class had gone out to swimming lessons. I had an ear infection at the time so was put into this other class and told to sit at the back and keep quiet. At the back were some books, not much choice. However. one of them was a bible. I started to leaf through it and what interested me at first was the little drawings showing illustrations of biblical things. I was interested in art, my favourite lesson. I started reading the gospel of Mark to pass the time, I had been to school assemblies every morning in school when we sung a hymn and said some prayers, also we were taught a bit of RE at school, This was the first time I connected the hymns, prayers, and RE lessons to the Bible, and realised that they were to do with this Jesus I had been reading about. I was intrigued by the story of Jesus. Was it true, or just some sort of religious fairy tale? I asked my parents if they believed in God but they didn’t want to talk about religion-my mum said she’d had to go to Sunday school and had been glad when she got old enough not to go! My dad said all religion was a load of rubbish. I asked a teacher at school why we had to learn RE and he said because it’s the law. So I didn’t get very far, but these questions in my mind didn’t go away. When I left school I used to go to a book stall in Shudehill Manchester, I enjoyed reading and read loads of stuff. One day there was a book on the Christian faith explaining a bit further about Jesus, so I bought it, and it had a little prayer at the back, a commitment prayer. I wasn’t ready to say this completely but prayed I want to know more! I don’t understand! The book suggested that I find a church, so on the Sunday I went to the local parish Church. Having never been in a church service before I was a bit confused to say the least. Trying to find my way around the prayer book, hymnbook and follow the service was difficult. After the service the vicar came up and was very nice, I told him what had happened so far and he invited me to the bible study evenings, and when in course of conversation it came out that I had not been christened or confirmed, he was quite shocked and said I should be Christened. So a few Sundays later he Christened me and put me in for Confirmation lessons. These were all steps in the right direction, and I was attending Church,learning a bit more.
There are many traps for young people in the world. I was nearly 18 by now, and thought I knew it all. I met some young people in Manchester who were giving out leaflets, they said they were an organisation trying to get different denominations and religions together, and they invited me to one of their meetings. To cut a lo-o-ng story shorter, I got involved with one of the many cults that abounded in the 1970’s this one was called the Unification church, or the Moonies, I was with them for about a year.I am now sure the Holy Spirit stopped me from getting any more involved, I kept in touch with my family and with the Church I had been attending, though one was supposed to cut all ties with one’s past when joining the cult. A lot of the things they taught were rubbish and now I know a lot more I can see that but at the time I was unhappy at home, unsure of my faith, looking for something and they seemed to know all the answers. I am so glad I kept in touch with things at home. My father was very ill and I visited home to see him, and I also went to see the vicar. I had given him some of the literature of the cult(again I wasn’t supposed to do that) and he patiently explained to me how it was all false and unbiblical. Soon after my father died and I left the cult. I had no job and no money, however, I got another job and also started going to college to get some GCE’s and slowly got my life back on track. I was still attending church and the vicar was very good to me, helping me and praying for me. I met my husband at college and got married, moving to Stockport. The vicar retired and I didn’t go anywhere for a while, then started looking for a church in Stockport to go to. I still had a lot of guilt in my heart and mind about the cult, my father, all sorts of stuff that I was carrying around in my head. I began attending services at the Salvation Army and got quite involved. I thought well if I do what they are saying, maybe everything will start to make more sense- so I joined, went to choir practise, bible class, helped out in the cafe, went marching around on a Sunday, open air services, visiting people- you name it, I did it, but none of it was giving me peace of mind. I felt a fake, i had made public admission of my faith, been to the ‘mercy seat’ done all sorts of stuff and still I felt a fake. I had a little boy by now and a lot of the stuff I had been doing I gave up. One Sunday I just thought I can’t do this anymore and I left. I just did not know what to do. I felt lost, I had been trying so hard to find peace, and it didn’t seem to matter how much I had been doing, I still was not at peace with myself or the Lord. This went on for some time, though I was carrying on my life at heart I was fed up, depressed, didn’t know what to do.
Well in 1999 it was the millennium-remember all the fuss? Things really came to a head, I was listening to Cliff sing the Lord’s prayer to the tune of Auld Lang syne-remember it? My mind went back to when I was young girl praying the Lord’s prayer in school assembly, and all the stuff that had happened since then, all the struggling to make sense of the Christian faith, all the guilt I felt about the cult, about my father, all the stuff I’d kept locked up in my heart- I started to pray Lord help me! I really want to find you but I don’t know how. I know bits of stuff about the Christian faith but it doesn’t help knowing it. I felt a lot better after having prayed and then later I went to the library-I wanted to find a book about the Christian faith and start again-go back to square one and see if I could find out where I was going wrong.
There was a book there called Classic Christianity and finally things began to make sense. I realised that Christ was who and what I needed-not more hymns, not more prayers, not church going, not bible reading-(though all these are good things) what I needed was to know JESUS as my personal Saviour. All the stuff I felt guilty about was forgiven as I repented and really opened up to the Lord, and it felt like a ton of weight was lifted off me. I don’t think I stopped crying for ages- I was crying for joy and relief that Jesus cared so much for me, and I realised He had been working all through my life and through everything that happened to bring me to Himself. Oh, how stupid I had been! I had missed the very Person who could give me what I was crying out for. Forgiveness, love, grace, new life. I had been so busy trying to do stuff and sort of save myself. Now I knew and still know the most wonderful caring patient loving accepting forgiving Saviour. Who else would have been so patient with me?

During the last 4 years the Lord has lead me on, now I am training to be a preacher and I pray that I may be used to reach others-to tell them not all the church going , praying, bible reading in the world will give you peace, only the Lord Jesus Christ can give a person real peace, knowing Him not religion-I just praise and bless His Holy Name for His mercy and grace.
By Iris

LIFE AFTER DEATH

This is the story of my journey from atheism, through agnosticism to becoming a Christian, someone with a personal trust in Jesus Christ. Now I face death with total confidence! Can you?

I took this step in June 1987. Before then I thought the following:
* There is no God.
* Life on earth evolved.
* Jesus was a myth.
* The Bible was so old it could not possibly be accurate. History is unrepeatable so why should I believe it?
* Of all the religions in the world, why should the Christian faith be the only right one?
* Visions of heaven and hell experienced by some people close to death were biochemical changes in the brain. I had no doubt these stories were useful for controlling people! But what if these places really do exist?

Can you identify with any of this?

Even as a young child, I had no beliefs at all. It was as a teenager that I began to think that there might be a God. I attended school chapel and went through with the church ritual not knowing why, and not really able to believe what is written in the Bible.

After school I continued going to church but still did not know why. I suspect that it was out of habit, nothing else. Nor could I understand what making a commitment to Christ was all about. I assumed it meant accepting that Jesus was a man with a beard, wearing a robe, living in Israel and that he claimed to be the Son of God. But I had great difficulty believing in God at all let alone knowing what he and his Son are really like.

Then, in 1987 I had a strange experience! It started in February when I began to feel like I was suffocating from the inside. However, there was no clinical explanation for it.

One Friday evening at the end of April that year, I met with three Christian friends to pray (speak to God). Because Christians prayed I thought I could be a Christian by praying! That is rather like being in a garage and pretending to be a car!

Then the young woman in the group began to say things about which only I knew. She said: “You did not choose me, I chose you…. Salvation comes by faith not works… The only thing you will ever have to boast about is that it is I and I alone who have saved you….” I was overwhelmed. I gasped: “It is true!” I concluded that there is a God and he knows exactly what I think! To him we are totally transparent and that is how he is able to know everything about each of us, including whether or not we have a relationship with him.

(* The Christian view of Salvation is the attainment of Eternal Life in the joy of heaven. It has to be secured before death. No one knows or wants to know when that will occur).

Then it happened! There was a violent rushing wind from above. It filled the room and penetrated both my eardrums but no damage was done. My whole body was filled with this powerful but gentle wind. The suffocating stopped and I could breathe properly again. There was no wind outside. The doors and windows were closed. There was no draught within. It was like a scene out of Pentecost! Please see Acts Chapter 2 verse 2 in the Bible: “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.”

It took a several weeks for me to get my head around what had happened and why. I had often wanted to know whether or not the stories in the Bible were true. This is particularly so of the ones about Jesus rising from the dead and making the claim:
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies…” (John 11v25 in the Bible). Also, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father except through me….” (John 14v6).

Although I did not exactly meet with this so-called “man with a beard”, I did have an encounter with who Christians call the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that God exists in three “persons”. Water is available to us in the form of ice, steam and the water we drink. In a similar way Christians believe that God exists as Father, who made the world; the Son, Jesus Christ who came to earth as God in the form of a man; the Holy Spirit, who is to us now what Jesus himself was in the flesh. He moves different people in different ways.

Pentecost only happened because Jesus lived, died and rose again. I thought. I prayed. I read into the evidence supporting the Christian faith. Since then much more has come to light. Such literature may be found in Christian bookshops. Even if you do not believe me or if you have another problem believing in what Jesus has said, please seek this material out and read it. It is important. Also, someone once stated: “If God needed to be made he wouldn’t be God!”

My experience convinced me of the truth of Jesus Christ: his life, miracles, teachings, death and resurrection. The same applies to his visible removal from earth and, one day, his public and personal return when he will place all people into one of two categories. These are those who are going to heaven, a place of everlasting peace and beauty, and those who are going to hell, a place of everlasting pain and punishment.
Of course, each person who has died by that time will have been placed in either heaven or hell.

In the light of this, do you think you can sit on the fence?

” Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”(John 3v36)

In June 1987, I made a conscious decision to turn away from being wrong before God. I made a commitment to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for me personally.

Christians claim that this choice and belief are essential for Salvation, and the only way to escape God¡¦s wrath. Of course, I am referring to those who can decide for themselves and that is most of us! ” For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”(John 3v16) This is because “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3v22&23 in the Bible). Are you perfect?

If you feel that you are ready to receive this wonderful gift, would you like to say this prayer?

Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for all of the wrong things I have said, thought and done in my life. I ask that you forgive me. I believe that you took all my sin on you when you died on the cross for me- personally. You rose again to give me Eternal Life with you. Please come into my life as my Saviour, Lord, and Friend. Thank you. Amen.

If not, take these claims seriously. Ask God to reveal himself and his truth to you.

You are welcome to share this with anybody by absolutely any means.

Thank you for reading this. May God bless you and bring you closer to him. C.B.
________________________________________
Suggestions for Evangelistic Material

a) “God Doesn¡¦t Believe in Atheists” by Ray Comfort (Bridge Logos Publishers).This book proves the existence of God and the truth of the Bible.
b) “The Origin and Destiny of Life” by Dr EK Victor Pearce (Eagle books, UK). This book refutes the lie of evolution and contains hard factual information supporting much Bible history and teaching.
c) “Where was God on September 11th?” by John Blanchard (Evangelical Press, UK). I cannot apologise enough if this evokes any sadness or discomfort but do consider that this book deals with the issue of suffering and evil in a firm but sensitive way.
d) “A Glimpse of Eternity a True Story” a video/DVD/tape portraying the amazing conversion of Ian McCormack. This man was a scuba diver by occupation and a hardened atheist, until five large box jellyfish stung him. He died and came back to life again, revealing his journey into hell and the threshold of heaven. Now an evangelist, he goes around the world, telling his story and preaching the Gospel.
His website is www.aglimpseofeternity.org

2003 – A YEAR OF MIRACLES

by stella paterson

In early May, last year, I had my blood analyzed. The analysis revealed that my blood cells had been invaded, and were being destroyed by something, which was obviously the cause for the increasing weakness I was experiencing. There was also abdominal pain, which turned out to be a narrowing in my colon that had become infected, causing inflammation.

On June 14th, after a second blood analysis, I finally gave in and went to a Doctor (not my favorite thing.) I was sent to the hospital for blood tests, and they kept me there for blood transfusions, and high dosages of both antibiotics and prednisone. I had avoided both these types of drugs for years after a bad experience during a previous illness. On the way to the hospital I prayed. I told God I didn’t want to go to a hospital again, that I was putting myself in His hands and that I needed Him to go before me and protect me, giving wisdom to those that would be caring for me.

Before being admitted, the surgeon on call came to see me. He was such a kind, gentle man. Jerry and I looked at his name tag, looked at each other and smiled. The surgeon’s name was “Noah Carpenter.” It was Noah that built the ark of safety for his family, and Jesus is known as a “carpenter’s son.” For me, that was confirmation that God had heard my prayer, and that He was going before me. Dr. Carpenter was the one that did the colonoscope, did two biopsies and, when the results were in, was delighted to tell us that there was no cancer found in my colon. He was the surgeon that inserted the central I.V. line, and said, “bless you” before he turned to leave…more confirmation.

With the failure of the drugs to open up the passage in my colon, another surgeon was called in. He performed surgery on July 14 to remove a large portion of my colon. Within days it became evident that something was wrong, and on July 21 I had emergency surgery in the same place to try to clean out all the poison that had spilled into my abdominal cavity when the colon broke open. They had a difficult time getting rid of all the poisonous matter. There was an increase of those dreaded antibiotics and steroids when they were trying to rid my body of the sepsis that had set in.

Several days after the second surgery, I passed out while the nurse was attempting to get me up. I soon came to when my head and face hit the electrical plugs and the wall. That poor nurse got quite a scare, and after all the alarms and running feet, four people managed to get me off the floor and back into bed. There were no broken bones…just a goose egg on my head, a scrape on my cheek bone, and a cut where my tooth met my lip. That was the last clear recollection I have of my stay in the private room where the nurses could keep an eye on me. The next ten days barely exist in my memory…just blurry, confusing, pictures in my mind that I struggle to make sense of. What I now know is based on second-hand reports from my family, doctors, and nursing staff.

In each of the wards where I had room mates, there was always one believer. When they would leave to go home, each one made a point of saying she would be praying for me. Some of them even hugged me. Only God can turn a stranger into a friend so quickly. Each time this happened it confirmed to me that God was going ahead of me, ordering every step of my stay in a place I really did not want to be. I will never forget those sweet ladies, but most of all I am thankful to God for the reminders He continued to give me that He was there. And it was not the end of the reminders. There was even more to come.

My condition worsened until the night of July 31 when they moved me to the Intensive Care Unit. My lungs had filled up, so I was put me on a ventilator. During that weekend of Aug. 2 & 3 my kidneys failed and that meant constant dialysis. My body was bloated due to the kidney failure as well as from the heavy use of prednisone. I was being kept alive by machines. There were plenty of other monitors attached, and they had also paralyzed me with drugs to keep me immobilized so that I would not fight against uncomfortable things such as the ventilator down my throat. My blood pressure was too high, my heart rate was going dangerously high, and things did not look good. The doctor told my husband, Jerry, and our daughters, that most people do not survive the things that afflicted me. They said that people don’t get any sicker than that. One of my daughters, trying to lighten the mood in the room, said, “Hey Mom, why does your heart rate go so high when Dad comes near you?” It was good for them to laugh a little. I wish I could have laughed with them to help them cope with what they were dealing with, but I was not conscious of anything much that went on around me.

My pastor told me that, during one of his visits to me in ICU, my eyes opened when he touched my arm and he coached me to “fight, Stella, fight!” before he prayed for me. I have no recollection of that either.

After about six days in ICU, I began to improve. How could I not? Hundreds of people were praying for me, including the folks at the church where we attend, as well as my sister’s church in the city where she lives, and many other people from so many places. I am still hearing of those that cared enough to pray for me and for our family.

I am not sure of the date, but the ventilator was removed and I was able to breathe on my own with the help of oxygen, which they were able to gradually decrease. The heart and blood pressure monitors stayed with me until I left ICU. When I was more conscious of my surroundings and the people working in ICU, I opened my eyes one day to see a handsome young man standing by my bed. He said, “I have been praying for you.” That really touched me! Here was a young man whom I believe God placed there to pray for me while he worked as an aide. He was a reminder that God was still with me, and that He had never left me, even when I was oblivious to all that was going on around me.

Rather than my dying, which was what the medical people expected, my family was able to see me improve in a miraculous way. I could hear the excitement in the voices of the doctors and nurses as they discussed my progress. They were referring to me as the “amazing lady,” and the “miracle lady.”

After leaving ICU it was necessary to endure only three dialysis sessions. My kidneys miraculously improved to such a degree that the kidney specialist was completely in awe at how well I was doing. He had been on vacation, and when he saw me he said, “after reading your chart, you are not what I expected to see.” Other doctors also had to admit that it was a miracle. One by one all of the tubes were removed, and my existence returned to a somewhat more normal one. Even though I was a mere skeleton, things could only improve from then on…which they have done, and still continue to do.

To go back to my other problem, a disease specialist had discovered the reason for the destruction of my blood cells…it was a Candida fungi. To make matters worse, the Candida fungi thrive on antibiotics and steroids. A potent anti-fungal drug was brought in, which had to fight against the effects of the other drugs and, eventually after several weeks, the fungi in my blood was destroyed. While the fungi was attacking my red blood cells it somehow got into my eyes, and severely damaged the retina in both eyes. An eye specialist was brought in to ICU to examine my eyes, but it was not until my most recent visit to his office that he told me a most amazing thing. He said that he was ecstatic that my vision is so good, and that when he saw me in ICU he did not expect me to have much vision at all. So when I am tempted to complain over my limited vision, I remember yet another miracle that took place in ICU and I thank God that He gave me what vision I do have. I believe that, in His time, He will restore my vision completely.

They did an ultra-sound on my heart to see if the fungi or the sepsis had damaged any part of my heart. There was no damage…my heart was perfect…another miracle! The tissue damage by the sepsis was limited to both my thighs. The same doctor that ordered the ultra-sound also said that I would likely have osteoporosis due to the mega-doses of prednisone she had prescribed. I believe that God will protect me from any harm that the steroids and antibiotics would normally do, just as He has protected and healed me so many other times during the long summer ordeal.

After three long months in the hospital, I finally went home on September 16. Now my family could see me at home, rather than in a hospital. As of New Year’s day, I have been home three and one half months, and the road to recovery will still be a long one. I am so thankful to God for all of the miracles He performed for us. I am also thankful for my family and their faithfulness in caring for me since coming home. I am thankful for my church family and all the prayers, and visits, and care shown to me and to my family.

Just before Christmas my eldest daughter took me to visit the various departments in the hospital where I had received care. Many had shown interest in knowing how I was doing, and had requested that I return to see them when I was well enough. The most amazing reaction came from those in ICU that had cared for me when I was there. Their faces showed pure amazement when they looked at me…a walking, living, miracle! I wonder what they said to each other after we left that day?
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!Stella Paterson
website: www.ekklesia4him.net

SAVED FROM A LIFE OF DRUGS
Hi Roger, I stumbled upon your website today and thought I’dd tell you that I became a christian many years ago as a heroin addict.My whole life from seventeen onwards fell apart and I experimented with many kinds of drugs. my marraige failed and my daughter went to live with my mum and dad. I fell deeply into misuse and had a son along the way,little did I know he would be part of my salvation.When a Christian drug organisation wanted to rescue me,they said i would have to leave my son with my family.I decided that he would leave over my dead body,which was very near the truth. I weighed about six stones and my life was ebbing away. The lord sent a neighbour to me who was a Christian,I told her,her Lord was doing nothing for me.She prayed for me daily and over time the Holy Spirit began to draw me to my father.one sunday morning she got the shock of her life,as I knocked on her door and said I wanted to go to church. I entered as people were breaking bread and received the Holy Spirit with a promise from dad that i could start my life again,but His way, Sandy