True Christian Stories or Experiences

CLO - I've been doing a bit of posting today and have experienced spiritual warfare first hand! It is amazing and VERY scary that there is so much hatred, anger, ignorance, and devil-inspired people in this country. I posted the Sinner's Prayer in one of my posts and received such unveiled anger and hatred. We must not stop praying for all who don't know Jesus and reflect His Glory in all we do and say.
Have a blessed day!

clo, All I can say is that 5 years ago I guess you could call me a wine-o and drug user, I loved pain pills! And you could say I had made a mess of my life and at one point in my life I was down as low as I could get. I was just coming out of an marriage that was abusive and had a small daughter and I would pray but I knew that I could not go to Him just in times of trouble! I began to come back up,but still had the bottles of wine and the pain killers that I loved so much. And He spoke to me one night ,asking me what I was doing raising my child like this. The next morning my little one and I was in a church, been there ever sense was Saved by the blood of Jesus 4 years ago and now still growing in His love and truth! No more wine and no more pain killers. My life is so good now, don't get me wrong, I still go up the mountains and I know He is waiting for me when I get down that mountain. We have everyday problems just like before, but he guides me and I handle things so different now.
There is a song that we sing in church from time to time called" That person doesn't live here anymore"
I needed a Saviour and Jesus found me and I listened. And I thank Him every day for that!
There is also another song that I listen to called "Take a walk with Jesus" and and he is waiting for us to walk with Him!

jojo50 - I rejoice at your salvation! You were in the pit and you reached for Jesus - He was then able to pull you out! Amen! However, just because we are saved by the Blood, we are still human and still sin. It's by the Grace of God that we are forgiven for these sins, we are made aware of them and can turn away from them on a daily basis. Grace is the unasked for, undeserved gift from the Lord that He gave to us through His Son Jesus. The joy and peace that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus is better then any pills or wine on this earth! I used to drink quite a bit myself but have found that I receive more in my daily walk with Jesus then any alcoholic beverage could ever provide.

My own story is.... I was raised Catholic in Minneapolis and dutifully attended until I left for college. Then I started experimenting with drugs and alcohol, all the while putting on the good show for my family and completing my degree in music performance. I married an African-American against my family's wishes and suggestions, had a child, did more drugs and drinking and never quite became the classical musician I thought I would be. After divorcing and moving to Miami 10 years later to start over, I began to realize something was missing in my life and started to go back to Catholic church. After becoming involved in the music ministry, I had an affair with a fellow church member and musician who I found out was married and had 2 children. After about 6 months the Holy Spirit convicted me of my actions and I ended the relationship. I also never went back to Catholic church! Several years later I remarried to a wonderful God-fearing/loving man and moved to Naples, FL. While at my job as a legal assistant I was introduced to a paralegal who invited us to her church, First Baptist of Naples. We felt so welcomed there and joined a bible study. I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior a couple of months later and was baptized in the Gulf of Mexico there in Naples. Since then we have relocated to Greensboro, NC and have joined Holly Hill Baptist Church in Burlington. I truly feel God has relocated us here because He is molding our character in order to be of more use for Him and to join Him in His work. I am now teaching English as a 2nd language to Spanish speakers 1 night per week and learning Spanish myself. My walk with the Lord has expanded so much since moving here and I feel even closer to Him then ever. I honestly can't wait to be able to see His face and touch the hem of his garment! Amen!

Let know more of you and your walk....
Have a blessed day!

CLO Gracias - Mucho gusto mi amigo! Thanks for adding me to your friends list.

clo,
Shortly after we,my husband , my little one and I was going to church together, we had a friend that we use to drink with tell us that church was for losers! Jesus not only saves us through his Grace, but he also cleans out the clutter in your life, the things that can pull you back to where you were. And the funny thing about that is we really don't see this happening till it is completely removed. And if that person ever said that to me now ,I would with no hesitation say, no I am the winner now! I have a promise from our Lord Jesus Christ that says I will have ever lasting Life in Heaven!
And the things that are removed from our lives are not of our works, but of His. The first thing that was cleaned up on me and it happened just like that was my MOUTH! And I could not believe that ,that happened like that. I don't think that we could take a habit and just not do it anymore without the Holy Spirit working in us!

We are not bragging on ourselves, we are telling ,giving testimony of what He has done for us. It is all about "HIM" and his love and Power. And we are lifting Him up, none of this is our doing, Your story is so sad . And when you said God you made me you can remake me and how Jesus revealed Himself to you, That is were His Power is, Once you have that feeling that Jesus is who He says He is, you know! And yes the Born Again Christian will know the meaning of 11 Cor. 5:17. You are a new creature!

Made me think of that song again" That person doesn't live here anymore!"
Thanks clo!

OH< by the clo,
Thanks for this article, it is so nice to be able to come here and talk about our beliefs and what Jesus has done for us and not have to read nasty comments! We need this!

He is my source of strength......He has never failed me !

Psalms 18:2

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my savior.

My God, my rock in whom I take refuge,

my shield and the strength of my salvation.

My stronghold.

Hello, Friends!

And it is a very blessed thing to come somewhere and find only friends! It i so amazing what God has done in our lives, each one individually and then to share it with one another, to build each other up, and be the rays of sunshine in each others lives.

I read your testimonies yesterday, and every one touched me deeply. And I thought about myself, my own story. And this morning, as I thought about joining the conversation with you all, I've seen what you wrote, Clo... how each story is unique, like each snowflake that differs from the other, yet each so beautiful and perfect in design. I often wrestle with the thoughts, how is it that people can not see the fact that everything that exists bears God's fingerprints. It truly takes a fool to believe in his heart there is no God, but a little child can see Him!

This is where my story begun. I grew up in little country of Croatia, previously part of Yugoslavia. I spent my childhood in little town called Zupanja, with gravelled roads, cobblestone sidewalks, red brick shingle roofs, and fenced up yards with all kinds of animals running freely in them and streets because people left them open so they could roam, since we didn't use cars, but wagons with horses. I mostly feared gooses chasing me when I went to school every day. We had a willow tree in front of the house, and I sat there often for long time, just being quiet, throwing rocks into a small stream beside it. In those times I remember feeling God's presence and His spirit speaking to me, revealing to me things that , I knew later in life, I could never have understood on my own..I went to Catholic Church, the only churches there were around. Only later I found out there were other churches. They, the Catholic Church had, and still have strong hold on that society, and in whole Europe, mostly.

I left my faith and dulled my heart for the years later and done my own thing, moving to Germany on my own, found job, got self sufficient and forgot the tender years of my childhood and the voice that beckoned me then. But even then, at certain times of year, when everything was coming to life, and I've seen the trees budding, and flowers opening up, when the air was charged with presence of new life, my heart had longing, and I remember myself running to church on some Sundays, my friends looking in amazement! But it never lasted long, because "real world" drowned that longing out..

I married American service man in Berlin. We had a little daughter,and that's how I came to this country. My life was anything but happy, but when I found out that I could never live my life with a man of his carachter, I found myself alone, in foreign land with my child and I felt lost, totaly alone in hardest times in my life. But to God who never forgot that little girl under the willow tree I wasn't lost. He reached out to me, in such beautiful, personal way, and touched my life, opening my eyes, making His word real to me, and the tokens of His presence , and what He did in my soul that sunny morning of that early spring will never leave my life, my memory, my being , who I am, and it will transcend into eternity. Jesus IS real, Jesus IS the Savior, He is the only One who can heal, restore and make ones life new. He did it for me that beautiful morning, and the sun that shone, and everything that my eyes could see never looked so beautiful.And my heart was so filled with love for people that I just wept, because of the love He put in my heart for them...I couldn't grasp it, or understand it, but those were the most joyful tears of my life. I believe taht was glimpse of the love Christ has for us, and we as humans couldn't contain it in full measure, it is so powerful!..

Since those times few decades ago God has blessed my life with a family: a husband who is a true man of God, and children of whom one is also serving Him with all his heart, but our daughter is yet to come to Him, and I pray soon, before the life without Him causes her to stray to far from the faith of her childhood, into the enemy's wonderland of illusion and lies... But you know, I have come to believe, that no one comes to God unless they are desperate, untill they come to the end of themselves, and in total abandonment realize their need for Him. But He is always there, and his voice is calling. But it is in sadness and humbling of heart that we will hear Him calling us. I believe this is the human story.
And this is my story, friends, that's how I reflect my beginning of my life, when I was born again, anew in Him. Time has passed , years, and as I said, even decades. I have found that the road of life is not even and smooth. There are pitfalls in it, and there are also resting places beside it. There are also times when no one is in sight to help, or to walk along with. And other times there are those who with dusty feet limp along the way. And the warmth in their eyes and the sound in their voices
causes us to stop and not to hurry by, but linger and take the stranger's hand to help him to walk along. But then when the time passes, and you look back remembering , there is that voice inside again that reveals that it may have not been the stranger who needed the help walking, but I, and the eyes that looked with warmth which touched deep into the soul were His eyes...

So dear friends, you are there, God sent you to me, and even though we don't see each other's faces it is that love, that powerful love that transcends time, space, even life or death itself: the love of JESUS our living Lord and Saviour that unites us. And the promises he made to us are those that give us strength and will sustain us to the end. To Him be all glory and praise, forever without end!

Your friend and sister in Him!

Nada - Hope

Hello, Friends!

And it is a very blessed thing to come somewhere and find only friends! It i so amazing what God has done in our lives, each one individually and then to share it with one another, to build each other up, and be the rays of sunshine in each others lives.

I read your testimonies yesterday, and every one touched me deeply. And I thought about myself, my own story. And this morning, as I thought about joining the conversation with you all, I've seen what you wrote, Clo... how each story is unique, like each snowflake that differs from the other, yet each so beautiful and perfect in design. I often wrestle with the thoughts, how is it that people can not see the fact that everything that exists bears God's fingerprints. It truly takes a fool to believe in his heart there is no God, but a little child can see Him!

This is where my story begun. I grew up in little country of Croatia, previously part of Yugoslavia. I spent my childhood in little town called Zupanja, with gravelled roads, cobblestone sidewalks, red brick shingle roofs, and fenced up yards with all kinds of animals running freely in them and streets because people left them open so they could roam, since we didn't use cars, but wagons with horses. I mostly feared gooses chasing me when I went to school every day. We had a willow tree in front of the house, and I sat there often for long time, just being quiet, throwing rocks into a small stream beside it. In those times I remember feeling God's presence and His spirit speaking to me, revealing to me things that , I knew later in life, I could never have understood on my own..I went to Catholic Church, the only churches there were around. Only later I found out there were other churches. They, the Catholic Church had, and still have strong hold on that society, and in whole Europe, mostly.

I left my faith and dulled my heart for the years later and done my own thing, moving to Germany on my own, found job, got self sufficient and forgot the tender years of my childhood and the voice that beckoned me then. But even then, at certain times of year, when everything was coming to life, and I've seen the trees budding, and flowers opening up, when the air was charged with presence of new life, my heart had longing, and I remember myself running to church on some Sundays, my friends looking in amazement! But it never lasted long, because "real world" drowned that longing out..

I married American service man in Berlin. We had a little daughter,and that's how I came to this country. My life was anything but happy, but when I found out that I could never live my life with a man of his carachter, I found myself alone, in foreign land with my child and I felt lost, totaly alone in hardest times in my life. But to God who never forgot that little girl under the willow tree I wasn't lost. He reached out to me, in such beautiful, personal way, and touched my life, opening my eyes, making His word real to me, and the tokens of His presence , and what He did in my soul that sunny morning of that early spring will never leave my life, my memory, my being , who I am, and it will transcend into eternity. Jesus IS real, Jesus IS the Savior, He is the only One who can heal, restore and make ones life new. He did it for me that beautiful morning, and the sun that shone, and everything that my eyes could see never looked so beautiful.And my heart was so filled with love for people that I just wept, because of the love He put in my heart for them...I couldn't grasp it, or understand it, but those were the most joyful tears of my life. I believe taht was glimpse of the love Christ has for us, and we as humans couldn't contain it in full measure, it is so powerful!..

Since those times few decades ago God has blessed my life with a family: a husband who is a true man of God, and children of whom one is also serving Him with all his heart, but our daughter is yet to come to Him, and I pray soon, before the life without Him causes her to stray to far from the faith of her childhood, into the enemy's wonderland of illusion and lies... But you know, I have come to believe, that no one comes to God unless they are desperate, untill they come to the end of themselves, and in total abandonment realize their need for Him. But He is always there, and his voice is calling. But it is in sadness and humbling of heart that we will hear Him calling us. I believe this is the human story.
And this is my story, friends, that's how I reflect my beginning of my life, when I was born again, anew in Him. Time has passed , years, and as I said, even decades. I have found that the road of life is not even and smooth. There are pitfalls in it, and there are also resting places beside it. There are also times when no one is in sight to help, or to walk along with. And other times there are those who with dusty feet limp along the way. And the warmth in their eyes and the sound in their voices
causes us to stop and not to hurry by, but linger and take the stranger's hand to help him to walk along. But then when the time passes, and you look back remembering , there is that voice inside again that reveals that it may have not been the stranger who needed the help walking, but I, and the eyes that looked with warmth which touched deep into the soul were His eyes...

So dear friends, you are there, God sent you to me, and even though we don't see each other's faces it is that love, that powerful love that transcends time, space, even life or death itself: the love of JESUS our living Lord and Saviour that unites us. And the promises he made to us are those that give us strength and will sustain us to the end. To Him be all glory and praise, forever without end!

Your friend and sister in Him!

Nada - Hope

I have seen and heard Satan, and I have known demons. I have also been inspired and exhorted by angels, and twice Jesus has held my hand very, very firmly while I first crumbled, and then ultimately coalesced. I'm sorry I still can't speak coherently of all this, but I am very grateful I came upon this thread. Thank you all! God Bless Us All!!

This was a wonderful idea and really encouraging reading. Thank you! Thanks for sharing all of you...

Hello there,
I will be back tonight, the little one has drama club try outs and then we have to go to church for Bible Study and prayer service and I will keep all of you in my prayers tonight!
God Bless!

SLAVA NA BOGA! I neka se Njegovo Ime slavi u cjelom svijetu!!

The same words mean the same thing in my native language!!! This is just amazing, as this whole story is so amazing. It shows what God will do among those with humble hearts who see their need for Him...Those people are so hungry for God! They have lived for so long in spiritual void, and there is an emptiness in their lives. When someone comes and tells them the truth, their hearts respond. They know what is like to be empty and lonely. An that draws them to the Lord.
I think that in all those countries there is a ripe harvest for God. My heart is going out to them, and I think my life will never be fulfilled on this earth untill I go and be among them, and look into their longing eyes, and tell them of the love that God has for them, and Jesus Christ His son who came to save them, because they are so beloved by Him!!!

Hello I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I will be joining your conversation over the weeks to come and hope that there will be blessing and praise to God for the time spent here. Remember our experience is not our reason but God himself in Christ is. It is God who saved us and will protect us. "Not by our works that no man can boast." he keeps us eternaly "No one can snach my sheep from my hands." Praise God for all things "That work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose."

God bless you all and Keep the Faith.

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters,
I was sitting thinking about what God has done for me after that wonderful day that He saved me, and I have to say that was the greatest day of my life! That is the greatest thing that He has done for all of us.
And I will say that I have been healed by Him also. Had a disease with my kidneys a year ago , the doctor said it would be very painful for me and that I might have to go in the hospital. The Lord knew my problem with pain killers and when the doc gave them to me, that night I was up walking the floors, having kinda like panic attacks. At church the next night, I went up to get prayed for, and I went up believing in God's word and the next morning when I got up the horrible back pain was gone and I have never had a problem with it after that.
Since then my husband has had a heart attack and has been in the hospital three times, and his heart disease is very aggressive at this point, and if he has any other problems then it is open heart surgery, but I believe that the Lord is going to get us through this. And of course now we are faced with the horrible bills from that. Sometimes I feel that we no sooner climb that mountain and when we get to the bottom, the is no valley, we just start going back up another mountain. But I know that Jesus is taking every step that I am and I know that he will be there for me every inch of the way.And I know that whatever happens is His will and that He knows what He is doing and it is the best thing for us! I do believe that we all have been there, and going through the trials of life, sometimes we fail but when we get through it ,it makes us stronger in our Faith, and we learn to hand our troubles over to Him.
And we need to remember to Thank and Praise Him everyday for all He has done for us!
And we know that one day we will not have to go through any of the things of this life, for where we are going "There will be no more tears,sickness,death,sorrow,pain", nothing like it is here! And we can say we made it "HOME".

Good morning - Bueno dias! (I'm learning Spanish...) Here is my most recent experience of the Holy Spirit working in me.

After living in Miami and Naples, FL for 15 years I had developed an animosity towards Latins, in particular, Cubans. I felt that - damn it, if they come here they need to speak the language! That feeling leaked into my thoughts and expanded into a general overall disgust for Latins, no matter their country of origin. After I was saved in October 2005 while living in Naples, this feeling started to dissipate, but never completely went away. This past March (I now live outside of Greensboro, NC) I was reading an article in a cooking mag about a woman in the Yucatan Peninsula who offered a cooking vacation in her home to learn the regional cuisine. As I read this I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of love for the people in the story which expanded to a feeling of love of Latin people in general. I realized, looking at a picture of an old woman selling veggies in the market, how beautiful she was. My heart was convicted of my feelings of disgust and hatred against Latins and the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to my wrong thinking/feeling. I was filled with love for the Latin people right then and there, all the while sobbing and alternatively thanking Jesus and apologizing for my past thoughts, actions, words, etc.

The following day at bible study prior to service I was thinking I need confirmation of this new revelation. We opened our bibles to John 4 - the story of Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. THERE IT WAS! CONFIRMATION! If Jesus would reach out to a people group who were historically shunned by the Jews and offer her the Living Water, then who am I to be prejudiced against Latins?! I cried and thanked the Lord all through the class. As I was walking into service, a close friend handed me a pamphlet from the local Baptist association and she said 'read this' - they were requesting immediate teachers for their ESL program for Spanish speakers! CONFIRMATION! The Lord was showing me where He was working and asking me to join Him. YES LORD - I GET IT! I started attending the ESL classes as an observer as there was an older lady already teaching and because I didn't speak Spanish. After 2 months I was getting discouraged because I really wasn't doing any teaching, just watching. UNTIL the Monday after Mother's Day I received a call from the language program director saying the older lady who had been teaching passed away that weekend. She asked if I would take her place and said she honestly felt the Lord brought me to them to continue and expand the ESL program! I was overwhelmed and said of course I would. The classes and students (we have 2 at the moment) have been a blessing to me in many ways and I am now studying Spanish to better communicate with them.

We don't know the mind of God so I have no idea if this will lead to others areas where I will need to speak Spanish, but I will continue in this work until the Lord tells me otherwise.

"The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect or enable you."
Christine

Good Morning my friends,
I want to share something with you this morning about a friend of ours. This friend was raised a Catholic and has really been through it this last 10 years. He started dating this lady who is a Christian and he started going to church with her, and it has been a year now. The other night he was over and we were sitting out back and we started talking about Jesus. And he started to cry and said to me he did not know what was going on with him. He is very faithful about going to church and he told us what is changing in his life and how he thinks about his life and Jesus now and he just does not understand his feeling this way and I mean tears were rolling down his face. I told him the Holy Spirit is in him and not to quench that Spirit. God has been working on our dear friend and we know what it is and he to will understand what it is. I told him to keep seeking that Spirit and to read God's word. I believe that he has felt God working in his life, and I am not sure but I believe that he has excepted the Lord Jesus by the way he was talking. And when he had the tears in his eyes, I felt such compassion in his heart to our Lord Jesus.
Another life where a person feels the Lord working in their lives! Praise God!