My Testimony
My name is Raymond, my online name is T Man, meaning Truth Man. I have been Christian for awhile. I was baptised at 16 years old, before that I had very little information on God. I believed in God but never lived Him. My first introduction to God was when I was in grade 4 at school, up until that point I never heard of God. I was in class and a religious teacher came to the state school to teach religion, back then it was allowed to teach religion in state schools. I attended this introduction class with many other students it was a choice thing. The lady that took the class was from the congegational church across the road from school. She said we would have to get a bible in order to study the word of God, we had to take a form home and have mum or dad sign the paper and give us a few dollors to pay for the bible. My mum and dad would not pay for it, they let me go to the class but would not pay for the bible. I had to find another way to buy my bible, which would lead to be my first encounter with God at a very young age. I stole some softdrink bottles from the side of a house up the road, I knew I could cash them in at a shop for money. Days later I had my bible and the teacher asked us to open it and read the first thing we looked at. I was not very smart in school, I suffered dyslexia and failed so much in the basics. Yet I opened my bible and my page opened to"Thou Shall not steal". I ran out of that class as fast as I could. I did not understand how God saw me taking those bottles, but to put it right, I went to the owers house and owned up to taking the bottles. I explained I wanted my bible and why I did it, I told him the story of God seeing me do it and how I found out about it by reading what I read. The owner just smiled at me and said, you keep the bible, it seems its already working in your life.
Many years passing and I still never gave my heart to Jesus, but I always knew He was real. I left school as a drop out, unable to read and write, failing most subjects. At 13 I got my first job and was working as a labourer. Mixing with many people working in the heat of the sun, I started to see how others lived. One guy was a Christian, he studied the bible in his lunch break every day. I told him I had one once and I could not read it do to being dumb. Back then no one knew of dyslexia, you were just labled a dummy. He told me that God moves in ways we can't understand, that God would reach me at my level. This made me happy to hear this, that I had some type of way to hear God and to learn God.
About a year later a man walked up to me on the side of a street and asked me to come to his church youth group. He was a new pastor starting a church in our neighborhood, the first thing I remembered was what the guy said to me a year ago. So I said yes I go to his church, I was at this stage hanging around with a bad crowd, a street gang called black sabath getting into trouble. It was here the Lord was throwing me a life line yet at the time I did not know it.
I went to this church and I was told to be saved I had to read the bible, I could not read what was I going to do. I explained that I could not read that I was dumb, but again I was told I had to learn to read before I could get saved. I just hung my head and walked away, sitting by the fence this lady walked up and said to me, God will not leave you, you can talk to Him and if you listern you will hear Him speak to you inside. This made me feel a little better, but still I was so down I could not read. I hung out with my bad crowd for a few years forgetting about any hope of being saved. But God had other ideas and again I was called towards him.
I joined the Catholic church and became baptised at 16 with my brother and my mum and dad. It seemed God was drawing them towards Him as well. I still could not read and my attendace at church was just to go and hear what was said. They did not care if I could read or not, so I stayed there for awhile. I could not understand all those rituals, but it seemed good at the time. Over time, my brother became a trainee preist and all who knew us focused on Him. It was here I met my wife and started my family. I remained a Catholic for a few years and never understood what it was all about. I was happy to have found God or an idea of God as I found out some time later.
Going to church on and off over some time, I started to wonder what it was all about. So I grabbed a bible and started to read. Again I remembered back to my first time reading it and how God knew what I had done. So knowning this I knew He would talk to me again. I opened to (Matthew 23:4 ESV) They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
(Matthew 23:5 ESV) They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
(Matthew 23:6 ESV) and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues
(Matthew 23:7 ESV) and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
(Matthew 23:8 ESV) But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.
(Matthew 23:9 ESV) And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
(Matthew 23:10 ESV) Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.
(Matthew 23:11 ESV) The greatest among you shall be your servant.
It took me some time to read this, but when I had my heart was drawn to this 'call no man Father on earth' I was now left with a question that would draw me into Gods Spirit, Spiritually and would open a new way for me in hearing His wonderful voice for the first time. Left puzzled with what I had read, I thought to myself 'what is going on here, Jesus said one thing yet they say another? Left in confusion I had no idea what to believe or who to trust. I can't talk to Jesus because he is dead and I can't talk to the priest because he teaches against Jesus words. Again left without understanding what was going on. I was so mad at myself for being so dumb that I could not read, I had only one way to get an answer, that was to talk to God about all of this. God spoke to prophets in the bible, therefore God could talk to me. So I waited until all had gone to bed, I went outside in the dark and began to talk to God from the heart. No I did not hear Him, but I felt He heard me. That night I begged Him to talk to me and tell me what to do. I said to Him 'I don't have the answers and I feel mixed up over things, I don't know who to trust and were I should go. I know your real, but I just don't know what to do or what respect I should have for you. Maybe I have to learn to pray or learn to understand, but its hard when you are dumb like me.
Weeks and week past, I would not give up on hearing God, it must be true or I have nothing all over again. Was it my persistence, was it my simple heart or was it pure faith, only God knows. But one night I heard a sound within me that was not mine. A voice so soft but loving in ways I had never felt. How it happened I have no idea, but while it was happing I just sat and gave Him my attention. From that day 21 years ago to now I have grown in Him, He is my teacher and without doubt in Him I know what we all can have in Him now. For 19 years I have been learning in Him, He asked me to keep this to myself for 19 years. Now He has asked me to speak. So in short, God took me an uneducated man and taught me how to read and write, I still have a hard time but at least I can do it. After that He taught me things I never thought I would do.
Saying in public that I hear Jesus and talk to Him, for some reason seems to be blasphmeous to others, why? Who knows, for me its true because I have faith in this. I don't control the voice, some times I have to wait but when He comes to me, its like a feeling I can't explain. Many have said to me its a demon or some other nasty thing, but I know its not, its demons that block your Spiritual ears to Him. So here on this forum when you read my posts, I hope this gives you a little understanding of who I am and what Jesus has done for me. Please if you must judge me on this do it by the fruits, not according to your wisdom.
Best Regards
Raymond
My name is Raymond, my online name is T Man, meaning Truth Man. I have been Christian for awhile. I was baptised at 16 years old, before that I had very little information on God. I believed in God but never lived Him. My first introduction to God was when I was in grade 4 at school, up until that point I never heard of God. I was in class and a religious teacher came to the state school to teach religion, back then it was allowed to teach religion in state schools. I attended this introduction class with many other students it was a choice thing. The lady that took the class was from the congegational church across the road from school. She said we would have to get a bible in order to study the word of God, we had to take a form home and have mum or dad sign the paper and give us a few dollors to pay for the bible. My mum and dad would not pay for it, they let me go to the class but would not pay for the bible. I had to find another way to buy my bible, which would lead to be my first encounter with God at a very young age. I stole some softdrink bottles from the side of a house up the road, I knew I could cash them in at a shop for money. Days later I had my bible and the teacher asked us to open it and read the first thing we looked at. I was not very smart in school, I suffered dyslexia and failed so much in the basics. Yet I opened my bible and my page opened to"Thou Shall not steal". I ran out of that class as fast as I could. I did not understand how God saw me taking those bottles, but to put it right, I went to the owers house and owned up to taking the bottles. I explained I wanted my bible and why I did it, I told him the story of God seeing me do it and how I found out about it by reading what I read. The owner just smiled at me and said, you keep the bible, it seems its already working in your life.
Many years passing and I still never gave my heart to Jesus, but I always knew He was real. I left school as a drop out, unable to read and write, failing most subjects. At 13 I got my first job and was working as a labourer. Mixing with many people working in the heat of the sun, I started to see how others lived. One guy was a Christian, he studied the bible in his lunch break every day. I told him I had one once and I could not read it do to being dumb. Back then no one knew of dyslexia, you were just labled a dummy. He told me that God moves in ways we can't understand, that God would reach me at my level. This made me happy to hear this, that I had some type of way to hear God and to learn God.
About a year later a man walked up to me on the side of a street and asked me to come to his church youth group. He was a new pastor starting a church in our neighborhood, the first thing I remembered was what the guy said to me a year ago. So I said yes I go to his church, I was at this stage hanging around with a bad crowd, a street gang called black sabath getting into trouble. It was here the Lord was throwing me a life line yet at the time I did not know it.
I went to this church and I was told to be saved I had to read the bible, I could not read what was I going to do. I explained that I could not read that I was dumb, but again I was told I had to learn to read before I could get saved. I just hung my head and walked away, sitting by the fence this lady walked up and said to me, God will not leave you, you can talk to Him and if you listern you will hear Him speak to you inside. This made me feel a little better, but still I was so down I could not read. I hung out with my bad crowd for a few years forgetting about any hope of being saved. But God had other ideas and again I was called towards him.
I joined the Catholic church and became baptised at 16 with my brother and my mum and dad. It seemed God was drawing them towards Him as well. I still could not read and my attendace at church was just to go and hear what was said. They did not care if I could read or not, so I stayed there for awhile. I could not understand all those rituals, but it seemed good at the time. Over time, my brother became a trainee preist and all who knew us focused on Him. It was here I met my wife and started my family. I remained a Catholic for a few years and never understood what it was all about. I was happy to have found God or an idea of God as I found out some time later.
Going to church on and off over some time, I started to wonder what it was all about. So I grabbed a bible and started to read. Again I remembered back to my first time reading it and how God knew what I had done. So knowning this I knew He would talk to me again. I opened to (Matthew 23:4 ESV) They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
(Matthew 23:5 ESV) They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
(Matthew 23:6 ESV) and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues
(Matthew 23:7 ESV) and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
(Matthew 23:8 ESV) But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.
(Matthew 23:9 ESV) And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
(Matthew 23:10 ESV) Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.
(Matthew 23:11 ESV) The greatest among you shall be your servant.
It took me some time to read this, but when I had my heart was drawn to this 'call no man Father on earth' I was now left with a question that would draw me into Gods Spirit, Spiritually and would open a new way for me in hearing His wonderful voice for the first time. Left puzzled with what I had read, I thought to myself 'what is going on here, Jesus said one thing yet they say another? Left in confusion I had no idea what to believe or who to trust. I can't talk to Jesus because he is dead and I can't talk to the priest because he teaches against Jesus words. Again left without understanding what was going on. I was so mad at myself for being so dumb that I could not read, I had only one way to get an answer, that was to talk to God about all of this. God spoke to prophets in the bible, therefore God could talk to me. So I waited until all had gone to bed, I went outside in the dark and began to talk to God from the heart. No I did not hear Him, but I felt He heard me. That night I begged Him to talk to me and tell me what to do. I said to Him 'I don't have the answers and I feel mixed up over things, I don't know who to trust and were I should go. I know your real, but I just don't know what to do or what respect I should have for you. Maybe I have to learn to pray or learn to understand, but its hard when you are dumb like me.
Weeks and week past, I would not give up on hearing God, it must be true or I have nothing all over again. Was it my persistence, was it my simple heart or was it pure faith, only God knows. But one night I heard a sound within me that was not mine. A voice so soft but loving in ways I had never felt. How it happened I have no idea, but while it was happing I just sat and gave Him my attention. From that day 21 years ago to now I have grown in Him, He is my teacher and without doubt in Him I know what we all can have in Him now. For 19 years I have been learning in Him, He asked me to keep this to myself for 19 years. Now He has asked me to speak. So in short, God took me an uneducated man and taught me how to read and write, I still have a hard time but at least I can do it. After that He taught me things I never thought I would do.
Saying in public that I hear Jesus and talk to Him, for some reason seems to be blasphmeous to others, why? Who knows, for me its true because I have faith in this. I don't control the voice, some times I have to wait but when He comes to me, its like a feeling I can't explain. Many have said to me its a demon or some other nasty thing, but I know its not, its demons that block your Spiritual ears to Him. So here on this forum when you read my posts, I hope this gives you a little understanding of who I am and what Jesus has done for me. Please if you must judge me on this do it by the fruits, not according to your wisdom.
Best Regards
Raymond
