This section of the Forum is the most disappointing to me. God does so many things, and even incredible things, that I just can't understand how this part of the Christian forum isn't just packed with testimonies. I have thousands of wonderful testimonies about our Lord. So perhaps I need to share some of them.
Just a little back ground first. You can skip the next two paragraphs if you want. The point is that I am just an average guy. My parents took me to church, mostly Baptist, when I was a kid. They were pretty conservative, but when I wan about ten I felt a nice feeling in church, as opposed to the normal bored stiff feeling, and then the Pastor made an alter call. I went forward because of the wonderful peaceful feeling. But that was all I can tell you about an encounter with God until I was 40. I was out of the church problem (being bored stiff) before high school ended, and off to a very average life.
In school, I had a whopping 2.8 grade average. That is, I mostly got B's but more C's than A's. Still, I went to the local 4 years state college where again I produced that very same 2.8 grade average. It worked, and I got a degree in Business and a job in retail management. With all that I got a wife, a house, and a couple of kids. I worked a lot in retail. Between 50 and 70 hours a week, but I liked what I had. Still, that with the commute did not help my marriage. My wife was getting very upset and wanted a divorce. So back to the testimony.
I was sleeping downstairs because of the problems with my marriage. It was early one summer morning and as the sun started coming through the window behind me I suddenly was woken up. I sat up instantly trying to clear my head and wondering what we up. It was then a voice spoke saying "READ YOUR BIBLE"! Those words hit me hard! I mean it felt like someone had actually popped my hard in the side of the head.
My head was spinning. My arms and legs were shaking. And I was trying to calm myself down and see if I was ok. I looked over my arms and legs as the shaking went away. I looked to be ok. Then as I looked up I saw an extremely clear vision. It was of my Bible sitting behind my time clock.
So I looked over at my time clock, and sure enough my Bible was sitting behind my time clock. This was extremely weird, because I never read or looked at my Bible. It was something my mom had given me and it should have been buried in a box somewhere. There was no way it should have been there. Of course there was no way I should be hearing a voice saying "Read Your Bible" either. I was the only person in the room. So I told myself, 'Wow, that was God! I need to go tell someone'.
Then something else completely strange happen. I also had a thought that said, "What a nightmare, you need to go back to sleep,"
'Hold it! That wasn't a nightmare. I was awake when it happened. That had to be God.' I corrected myself.
"You need to go back to sleep", came back the other line of thinking.
"No, that was God and I should go tell someone. But it was early and nobody was up yet. I'd have to wait, but what was with this being double minded thing. I had never had that problem before?"
For me, that was the start but it turned out to be just the start. My life had changed. Instantly I had ears to hear. This was going to change everything, but I didn't know it then. It was going to change how my life was lived, but I didn't know it then. The One who told me "Read Your Bible" and myself were going to be friends, and He was going to be my Lord, but I didn't know it then. And those other thoughts, were the response of evil spirit surprised by the Lord instantly coming into my life. But I didn't know it then.
It was just the start, that hearing voices.
Just a little back ground first. You can skip the next two paragraphs if you want. The point is that I am just an average guy. My parents took me to church, mostly Baptist, when I was a kid. They were pretty conservative, but when I wan about ten I felt a nice feeling in church, as opposed to the normal bored stiff feeling, and then the Pastor made an alter call. I went forward because of the wonderful peaceful feeling. But that was all I can tell you about an encounter with God until I was 40. I was out of the church problem (being bored stiff) before high school ended, and off to a very average life.
In school, I had a whopping 2.8 grade average. That is, I mostly got B's but more C's than A's. Still, I went to the local 4 years state college where again I produced that very same 2.8 grade average. It worked, and I got a degree in Business and a job in retail management. With all that I got a wife, a house, and a couple of kids. I worked a lot in retail. Between 50 and 70 hours a week, but I liked what I had. Still, that with the commute did not help my marriage. My wife was getting very upset and wanted a divorce. So back to the testimony.
I was sleeping downstairs because of the problems with my marriage. It was early one summer morning and as the sun started coming through the window behind me I suddenly was woken up. I sat up instantly trying to clear my head and wondering what we up. It was then a voice spoke saying "READ YOUR BIBLE"! Those words hit me hard! I mean it felt like someone had actually popped my hard in the side of the head.
My head was spinning. My arms and legs were shaking. And I was trying to calm myself down and see if I was ok. I looked over my arms and legs as the shaking went away. I looked to be ok. Then as I looked up I saw an extremely clear vision. It was of my Bible sitting behind my time clock.
So I looked over at my time clock, and sure enough my Bible was sitting behind my time clock. This was extremely weird, because I never read or looked at my Bible. It was something my mom had given me and it should have been buried in a box somewhere. There was no way it should have been there. Of course there was no way I should be hearing a voice saying "Read Your Bible" either. I was the only person in the room. So I told myself, 'Wow, that was God! I need to go tell someone'.
Then something else completely strange happen. I also had a thought that said, "What a nightmare, you need to go back to sleep,"
'Hold it! That wasn't a nightmare. I was awake when it happened. That had to be God.' I corrected myself.
"You need to go back to sleep", came back the other line of thinking.
"No, that was God and I should go tell someone. But it was early and nobody was up yet. I'd have to wait, but what was with this being double minded thing. I had never had that problem before?"
For me, that was the start but it turned out to be just the start. My life had changed. Instantly I had ears to hear. This was going to change everything, but I didn't know it then. It was going to change how my life was lived, but I didn't know it then. The One who told me "Read Your Bible" and myself were going to be friends, and He was going to be my Lord, but I didn't know it then. And those other thoughts, were the response of evil spirit surprised by the Lord instantly coming into my life. But I didn't know it then.
It was just the start, that hearing voices.