|
Testimonies
Read how a personal relationship with Jesus Christ has changed 1M4JC members' lives.
Have a story you want to share? Become a part of our Community! JOIN NOW
 |
A Miracle Child
Mary’s Testimony
|
My mother had told me this story. When she was pregnant with me in her first trimester, she had caught a virus. When it was time for her to give birth to me, I became really sick. The doctors were transferring me to the children's hospital, and the doctors over there said that I will be okay. The children's hospital had put me back to the woman's hospital, and my condition had worsened. They took me back to the children's hospital. The doctor over at the children's hospital had said to my mother that I had blood in my stool, my internal organs were twice the size, being black & blue head to toe, and couldn't breathe. I had been sick with this for 6 weeks straight. On that 6th week, the doctor told my mother that I was going to die. My grandmother and her friends came into my portion of the NCU and made a circle around me. One of the ladies was speaking in tongues while they were praying for me. That woman had told my grandmother, "Your granddaughter is going to be okay."
The very next day after they have prayed for me, everything inside of me went back to normal. I was breathing regularly, no blood in the stool, my skin went back to a normal color, and my internal organs went into a normal size.
Since my mother had told me that story, that's when I have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He had changed my life for 4 years now, and I thank Him every single day for this chance to live this life on this earth. He had plans for me, wanting me to spread His Word that He is alive and working miracles on everybody!
|
|
A scar, and a new life
Cody’s Testimony
|
I was raised in a non church going family. I never heard the word of god and was not introduced to it until i was probably 13. I was still sceptical though until when i was 15 i was mountain biking without a helmet and my whole life was changed. I went head first into the ground and fractured my skull from my chin to the back of my head, crushed my sinus cavity, broke my neck and almost died. It was in the recovery room that i knew someone was looking out for me and my entire youth group and church came to visit me. I knew in this moment that Jesus Christ was Lord and he was protecting me that day and always. If it weren't for him i would not be here typing this Testimony to you.
|
|
Saved, Strayed, and Caught!
Jim’s Testimony
|
I grew up in a very close knit family. We went to church, prayed, blessed our food, and lived the life of what we thought we were supposed to as Christians. When I was 8 years old, my Aunt had just had a true conversion into the love of Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit. She was so excited, that she made the trip to see her older sister, my mom. After sharing with my mom about what it truly meant to have Jesus as the center of your life and asking him for forgiveness and inviting him into your life to be your personal Lord and Savior, my mom began to weep and invited Jesus into her life. That was the new beginning in our household.
My aunt came downstairs to see my sister and I, we were watching TV and she asked if she could share something with us. With undivided attention, she presented the gospel to us and asked if we would like to have that personal relationship with Jesus. We both readily agreed and we said the sinner's prayer and asked Jesus to come into our lives as our personal Lord and Saviour. By the time I was 10 years old, I was filled with the Holy Spirit and had my prayer language (speaking in tongues). My two older brothers, 8 and 9 years older and my father did not know what to think of what had happened to my mother, sister, aunt, grandparents and myself. We were different and they could tell, but they were not at the stage in their life to make the decisions we had made.
By the time I was in High School, I began to stray away from what I knew was the correct way of living. I began to drink and had many relationships with girls that I will not talk about around my daughters. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I did not have a mentor or partner to help guide me through these times of being pulled by my peers and by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was still alive in me, I felt guilty for everything I was doing and had done, yet I still continued all the way through college. I prayed, went to church, spent many hours on my knees, crying out to the Lord to forgive me, and then I would be right back doing the things that I knew were not Christ like.
After graduation, I worked in the restaurant business, which was a wild group of young college age or just out of college guys and girls who partied. I went along with it for about two years. I met my wife, and after only 8 dates, we got engaged. During the time we dated, were engaged, we spent a lot of time talking about our beliefs and what was important to both of us. She did not have the same type of relationship with Jesus that I had, which wasn't very visible to most people, because of my lifestyle. We both agreed and believed that we had to be equally yoked in our beliefs and lives. She spent many hours with my mother and grandmother, who led her to the same relationship with Jesus and she was babtised with the Holy Spirit as well. When we were married, we agreed that we wanted to join an evangelical church, one where we both would be new to and could grow together in the Lord and learn and teach one another.
We have two daughters, ages 17 and 15 whom we have raised in the church and led them to a strong relationship with Jesus. They both wanted to be babtised with the Holy Spirit and have been the light to all their friends. We have a house load every weekend of girls and sometimes boys who are drawn to our small house in comparison to their friends homes. We don't have cable TV, so most of the time they spend either watching movies or in devotions with each other and with my wife and I. We would not change a thing in how our girls live and let their life shine. We have been extremely blessed by having Christian parents who have supported us in how we raise our daughters, and who our daughters feel comfortable talking with them on religious matters. Yes, we all still sin daily, but what a wonderful God we have whom died for us and cleansed us from our sins. All we have to do is confess our sins and they are forgotten. We are constantly asked about our faith, our church, how we trained and raised our daughters, it is a real testimony to having Jesus at the center of our lives. We all struggle from time to time, and we have family devotions to talk about the struggles they have with friends and school, etc. But we all know "That we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us". Philippians 4:13. We have had James 4:7 as our license plate for years. I can not begin to tell you how many people stop us and ask what that means, most think because my name is Jim, that it is related to me somehow, but it opens up the door for us to let them know that is a scripture from the book of James, that says, "Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you". It is with joy that we have that opportunity to witness to strangers.
In closing, I am so grateful that God adopted me into His family, his Kingdom, because I am not deserving, no one is, it is by His grace and our faith in Him that we are saved!!!
4-2-09
Jim Rhyne
|
|
The Day I Found GOD.
Ken’s Testimony
|
My wife and I were going thru a very difficult time and for many reasons I felt so depressed that I was contemplating suicide. I was on line with my mobile internet and found a story about a boy who had "attempted" suicide and in the process died to see a light and was revived to live his life to Glorify the Lord. I felt a rush a warmth and knew that God had led me to see this and help me fight to realize my life, my marriage, my children were so worth my strengthening my relationship with God and I have tried to do this ever since. The two things I will never forget is the day I truely accepted god and the song from Third Day Mountain of God..
|
BEFORE EYE KNEW CHRIST EYE WAS ENJOYING DU LIFE DAT EYE HAD...EYE APPRECIATED DU WORLD BC EYE WAS OF IT AND BC DESE ARE DU PPL DAT EYE HAVE TEWH IMPRES....EVEN THOUGH EYE WASNT A WHORE EYE WAS STILL HAVIN SEX IT WAS PROTECTED BUT IT STILL DID NOT PROTECT MHE FRM DU SIN DAT EYE WAS COMMITTING AGAINST MY FATHER....GOD IS GHUD AWLL DU TYME HE IS GHUD..WHEN EYE CUDNT FIND MHA WAY EYE HAD TEWH REALIZE DAT IT WASNT MHA BATTLE TEWH FIGHT SOH EYE HAD TEWH GIVE IT TEWH GOD....LHET HIM HAVE HIS WAY...THINGS STARTED HAPPENING AND NOW ITS JHUS LIKE EYE CANT LIVE WITHOUT HIM BC EYEM IN DIS WORLD BUT EYEM NHOT OF IT....DERE IS MORE TEWH DU STORY BHUT GOD IS HANDLING IT.....EYE A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN AND EYE HAVE BHEN FHOR 3 MONTHS AND EYE THANK JESUS HALLELUJAH BLESSED IS HIS NAME...LHET HIM HAVE HIS WAY
|
The Introduction
It was spring in 1994 and I had been partying all day long in the abuse of nearly seven grams of cocaine. At 2:00 am I decided I would try and get some sleep so I crawled in bed next to my wife Linda. Suddenly I was overcome with a sharp and severe pain through my chest and shooting down my left side down my arm and to my feet. I began sweating from head to toe and I could barely breathe. I was having a heart attack
Suddenly I was surrounded by extreme brightness and standing before me some 25 feet away was the shadow of a man. I began walking toward this man, and as I approached Him a gentle and quiet voice said, "Stop, go back, it's not time." I continued my approach and again the voice said, "Stop, go back, it's not time." I awoke with my wife crying next to me. My pain was gone, I was alive, and I felt an indescribable awe of peace around me. I felt a calm that I had never experienced before. I had experienced Jesus
The Change
Two very loving parents raised me, so I can't blame what happened in my life on the fact that I was from a broken home. I went to church and vacation bible school. My dear Grandmother taught me about Jesus. I finished school, and went into the Air Force and experienced the adventures of traveling the world. I went to college and got an education. I was ready for life, so I thought.
After a few years of working in the oil and gas industry as an engineer, I started a very successful chemical company. I was making more money than I had ever dreamed that I would make. With all of the money came the opportunity to do everything I shouldn't. I started chasing women, excessive spending, and drugs, particularly cocaine. After all, people with money did cocaine; it was the social drug that showed that you had money. Before long cocaine wasn't just a social thing, I became addicted and for the next 15 years, my life went into a downward spiral. My chemical company went bankrupt, I lost my wife and kids, I lost my home, and I lost the respect of my business associates. My life was a waste.
During the last five years of my addiction I was blessed with a wonderful lady. Why she loved me, I don't know. Why she put up with me, I don't know. She did however, and we started a family. I did a little consulting, but not enough to support my wife and kids, and to support my addiction. I started dealing in the marijuana business convinced that it was to support my family. The devil really had me fooled. My addiction got worse. My consulting business slowed down, and I began selling marijuana on a full time basis. My addiction got worse; I was spending $200 or more a day on my addiction. I knew I was addicted and every day I said that it was the last day, I am going to quit using cocaine. I can quit on my own. Wrong, I couldn't quit.
It was in the last week of April in 1995. I had been locked in my office for the last 20 or so hours and drowning in the abuse for the day. I was as unhappy with my life as I have ever been. I knew I was addicted, and I knew I couldn't quit. I sat there in the early morning hours with a gun to my head ready to end my addiction when I remembered my Grandmother telling me "Steven you don't take your own life, God will take you when He is ready for you." At 4:30 AM I walked over to my house. I crawled into my bed, and I cried out like a baby, "God, I need your help!"
A week later I flew to Kentucky to pick up some drug money from an individual that I had just done a drug deal with. I landed at the airport, and my friend picked me up. We went to a hotel to do our transaction, and then we were going out to eat dinner and do some partying. Wrong, my friend had gotten busted and he was working with the police to get me. When he handed me the drug money the hotel room door was kicked in and police immediately surrounded me, I was busted. I was taken to the county jail. I had never been in any kind of trouble in my life and I was scared. I had seen television; jails were not fun places
Two days later, May 4, 1995, the Gideons were in the county jail passing out the little pocket New Testaments. Like a starving child, I stood at the steel cell door with my hand out. I wanted a bible. Well, I got one and I went straight to my mat on the floor and I started thumbing through my little bible. In the back of the bible I found the Saviors Prayer. I prayed that prayer with all the heart that a man could pray. God I need you. God I am scared. God please protect me. Immediately I felt the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Immediately all of my fears were gone. Jesus Christ was with me. I was born again!
I had a $110,000 cash bond placed on me when I got busted. Where in the world was I ever going to get that kind of money to get me out of jail? I wasn't. I had to borrow all that I could to hire an attorney to represent me, $110,000 cash to get out of jail was impossible. Four months passed, along with several appearances in front of various judges, pleading unsuccessfully for a reduction in bond. I wanted to give up. I kept praying. Then one night while I was lying in my bunk and praying I heard God's voice. He told me to expect a miracle. I honestly freaked. I had never heard God's voice before and for Him to tell me to "expect a miracle." The next day my attorney called me to let me know that we had another hearing for bond reduction, and that it was in front of a different judge, and that we had a good "shot" at getting my bond reduced to $20,000 or so. That was good news in a way, but still, where was I going to get $20,000? A week later I stood in front of the judge while the prosecuting attorney argued why my bond should not be reduced. I had heard it all before and I was expecting the same response from the judge denying the reduction, when the judge asked the prosecutor to have a seat and then looked at my attorney, then at me, and announced that he was reducing my bond to a PR bond. I was going home on the promise that I would return on my own for my trial.
I returned to my home in Texas. I started consulting again and worked until the day came to return to Kentucky for my trail. My attorney advised me to accept a plea bargain agreement and he said that by doing so I would probably receive a probated sentence. I agreed and thus avoided a trail. On the day of my sentencing I stood before the judge expecting to get probation. I was nervous as I listened to the judge recite my charges, and then the sentence; seven and one-half years in the state penitentiary. Once again I was handcuffed and taken to jail where I would later be transferred to the state prison.
My first week in state prison I was processed and it was decided I would go to a minimum-security facility where I would spend the next seven plus years of my life. I was transferred a week later and upon arriving at my new home I immediately found the chaplain and shortly after I became a chaplains aid. During that first week as a chaplains aid we had a Prison Fellowship Seminar. There I told our group about my circumstances, which landed me in prison. I shared the story of my cocaine addiction to our group leader, Dick. At the close of the second night of the seminar, I was telling Dick goodbye when all of a sudden he took me in his arms and started praying. When Dick let me go, I looked into his eyes and saw that he was crying. I asked him what that was all about and he told me that God had told him to take me into his arms and pray, then he told me that God told him I was going home in 4 months. Now I had received God's miracles and I had faith in what God can do, but to believe that I was going home in 4 months after I had just been given a seven and a half year sentence in prison was hard to swallow.
The next week I a received a letter from my attorney telling me that the judge who had sentenced me called my attorney at home and told him to file a Motion for Shock Probation. He was to wait until I had been confined 90 days to file the motion. My attorney told me that it would take about 30 days before the judge would hear the motion. That total amount of time would add up to 4 months. Well, 4 months later, June 14, 1996, after appearing in front of the same judge that sent me to prison, I was sent home to Texas. I received a 5 year probated sentence.
During all this time I had experienced many miracles from God. He answered my prayer when I cried to Him for help as a cocaine addict. He cleansed me from my addiction. He answered my prayers to be sent home when my bond was $110,000 cash. He changed the heart of a judge who had sentenced me to a long term in prison. He healed my son of a blood disorder. He cared for and provided for my family while I was locked up. I came home and within two months I started consulting, and I have been blessed with success.
On October 18, 1999 I was ordained into the Christian ministry. God has blessed me with the opportunity to serve Him through For Him Ministries organizing, and promoting Christian praise and worship concert events. I am the Founder, and current President of The Jeremiah Group, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation based in Mathis, Texas
I serve an awesome God. God is the focal point of my life each and every day. I can never give Him enough praise. I will never be worthy of the immense love and grace that He has for me.
|
|
One day at a time Lord!
James’s Testimony
|
I was raised in the church thru High School. But, after joining the military I ran away from God. Didn't think I needed his grace or any of that stuff. I still believed, just didn't practice it or go to church. Along the way (24 years) I became an alcoholic. I never got a DUI, was very careful to not to be discovered by the military. But one morning, about 2 AM I woke up with terrible acid indegestion, nothing would stop it, I had the shakes and just couldn't take anymore pain (physical or mental or spiritual); I was behind in the bills, I needed relief. I prayed a simple prayer: "God, send some relief, soon." I fell asleep and woke in the morning, no more stomach pain, no shakes, no headache. I felt relief! That day in the mail, I received a check for enough money to catch up on the bills and put the finances in a good standing again. I haven't, by the grace of God, had a drink since. I start every day praying for His guidance and power over alcohol; and end each day thanking Him for his Grace and mercy and my eternal gratitude for my sobriety and restored faith. I have been promoted since that prayer also. He does listen to prayers. God is good to those with a little faith.
|
My life changed at a very young age. Christ saved me when I was only 5. I am now 14 and still love HIM. <3 I wish someday to become a pastor or youth leader. Anyway God chooses is fine with me.
My testimony is the longest one. But that is not what matters. What matters is that God saved me and HE is COMING AGAIN. SOON AND VERY SOON!!!
|
I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was in high school. I still made many mistakes throughout my life, I would take a few steps forward and then go back to my past. Raising my children in a Lutheran Church and trying to set a good example for them wasn't enough. It wasn't until my children were grown, and my daughter began searching her own spiritual growth that I realized, I wasn't connected to Jesus as I thought I was. She has truly been an amazing person and I realized what I was missing in my life. I really needed to be connected again. I am finally at peace with my life and I am always continuing to learn and grow. Placing God first in my life and above all is truly amazing!
|
|
When God Saved Me!
Debby’s Testimony
|
I thought that I was saved when I was five years old. I went to church all my childhood and teen years and even stood up for God in my Senior high school. I was voted as the most Christian classmate among my peers due to the fact that I went to church and didn’t, curse, drink, smoke anything, or have sex (still a virgin), I didn’t listen to rock music (only Christian music for me). I was a goody two shoes. So how is it that I wasn’t “really” saved??
Well when I was five I started pretending that I was not the person that God had created me to be. I was not happy with the way that He made me. I felt that I could do better – I guess. This all seemed simple enough, child’s play in fact. Well the problem is, is that, this continued well into my thirties.
When I was sixteen years old I was fasting and praying and I was really seeking after God. I felt God calling me and He asked for my life, my “whole” life. I immediately told God “yes” “oh, definitely, yes” I said. With one catch, I wanted to hold onto that pretending thing. By this time, this was my habit, stupid as it is; this was my way of dealing with stress. My crutch when things were not the way that I felt they should be. It was my own way of being the creator. Pretend that I am not who I really am and not in the life that I really have, this was my motto, so to speak. Instead of relying on God and going to God about things I would pretend that I and they were not real – kind of like T.V. I didn’t want to give this sin up. “How can I ever live without this crutch” I thought. What will fill its place? Then I thought I am probably doing what’s best. Because the thing that fills its place is probably worse then what I am currently doing. So I am actually better off. So I told God Almighty “yes, you can have my whole heart, with the exception of this certain habit sin, you can’t have that – I am not done with that yet, but you can have everything else”. I would live to truly regret those words for years to come.
The years that followed this “one-sided agreement” that I made with God were blessed but difficult. I was trying to live the “Christian” life but not truly repented! This made life as a Christian very hypocritical for me. I felt that I was truly living a double life. Like an undercover Christian. What I didn’t want to realize or admit is that I was NOT serving God but Satan because if you have not repented of your sins then you are not truly serving God but you are in fact serving Satan himself. But I was a good person certainly God would not send me to hell. I tried to do a lot of things for Him and His name and His cause. Keep in mind that it only took the sin of disobedience for God to send Adam and Eve out of His presence in the garden. God will not be mocked and He will NOT have sin enter into His kingdom. It would not be Heaven then it would in fact turn Heaven into Hell – He will NOT permit it! I was fooled into believing that my soul was my own, as if I had created it or something. I thought I could do what I wanted with it. Then the spirit of God made me realize that I am not the creator of anything and that God in fact created “MY” soul and that He can do as He pleases with the things in which He has created and if He sees that this soul has decided to love sin more than Him then He will surely send His created soul to hell. This helped me to realize that “MY” soul was in fact NEVER “mine” but in fact God’s all along – to do with as He pleases. And He made me (this soul) EXACTLY the way He wanted to make this soul. I need to be grateful for ALL of His creation including “my” soul. I need to make sure that this soul repents of its sins and serves its creator. Then a couple of fears came over me – one, was how can I live without this in my life and the other was of God who has the ability to send this soul to hell! I then was reminded by the Holy Spirit of God that “with God ALL things are possible – to them that believe”. It then became clear to me that I only need to trust Jesus that he can deliver me and cleanse me and keep me and that with God it IS possible to live without sin because He already won this battle through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus on Calvary(our sins are covered under the righteous blood of Jesus - we have Jesus' righteoousness NOT our own)! Trust in Jesus that your sins are forgiven and go and sin no more.
|
|
|
|