Featured Tell Us A Story!

Thanks for the opportunity to share some of my adventures in God’s providence. In my early Christian experience I ran in Pentecostal circles. And this lasted until a pastor who hated his wife drove her away thinking she would divorce him and remarry. And thereby activate the Matthew 19:9 “except clause” loophole, allowing him to remarry. This happened but it had a devastating effect on my faith.

I knew Christ was real, but I could not find him in any of the churches I sampled. So I returned to my music career thinking if I ever did find the reality I expected, I would re-engage my efforts to follow him.

It wasn’t too long until I received an invitation through old friends, to join a recording group in London England. We moved there but knew as soon as we stepped off the plane it was a mistake. Drug abuse and hanky-panky were the norm. And I knew I would risk my marriage to remain.

Years before I wrote a song about a guy ditching it all and moving to the north woods to live off the land. And during off-hours with the band, I recorded it and some other songs. So having quit the band, penniless and stranded, and needing a way back to the States, I played a taped copy for a publishing affiliate. They were working on a movie about – guess what? A guy ditching it all and moving to the north woods in Canada.

So they gladly bought the song and a few others, gave me front money and a publishing contract and the rest is history.

As I said in my testimony in the new member section, I gave it all up to thankfully follow Christ in Matthew 6:24-34 fashion.

 

This story requires a bit of background.

I have been working in the same cardiology office, performing nuclear stress test for 20 years.

We get a wide variety of clients. It’s my job to make them comfortable with the study and perform the test safely.

One day the front desk women snickered at me. One of the girls mentioned that a patient was a sharp looking gentleman and asked if he was married. He replied that he was not that kind of man... and then mentioned that he was attracted to the guy with the goatee (me). They tried to get a rise out of me but failed

Later that week a very large (close to 400 lbs) man limped up the sidewalk, looking like the world had beaten him down. It was my job to walk him on the treadmill. It was going to be quite difficult for him.

In the stress lab I prepped him and asked him a bit about himself. He was a former alcoholic and drug abuser (attending AA meetings regularly) and burdened with many social problems.

I mentioned that I have a few close friends that have some of the same problems. One leads meeting at my church. I encouraged him and even was able to briefly share the hope of the gospel with him.

He walked poorly on the treadmill but better than both of us expected. He was quite tired and sweaty when he finished.

As he prepared to leave he opened up his arms as if to hug a brother. He thanked me for encouraging him so much. I’ve never seen him since.

I made sure to let the front desk women know that I hugged the big sweaty guy, just to let them know the kind of guy I like.

Rob

 

So what’s the movie’s name?
I’d like to see it just to hear the song. Is it worth watching?

Rob

 

Haven't been on the Board for quite sometime. Long journey with the Lord. Today at Church was the breakthrough. Galations 5 was on the overhead screen. Knew I needed the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Knelt by my bed, heart aching. Asked Him to thoroughly cleanse my mind. He did that and more! He renewed a right spirit within me and gave me a new zeal for the Lord!

 

After a few years of waiting I heard the movie landed in court in a lawsuit between my publisher and the owners of the original soundtrack. They were big money and well known on the world stage. My music lost out in the squabble and their soundtrack remained. But my joy is in how God providentially delivered me and my wife from dangerous toils and snares through a song he had given to me years earlier.

 

I have several stories I could tell, but this one stands out in my thinking. The car with no brakes.

I drove into the downtown area, parking in my dentist’s parking lot. After my check up, I pushed the clutch in while pressing the brake pedal. The brake pedal went clear to the floor. Not working at all, without any signs leading up to complete brake failure. I could have rear ended other cars, hit a train, or mowed down pedestrians had the brakes not failed then and worked only one more time! The Lord providentially called my attention to the brake problem in the safety of my dentist’s parking lot from where I received a tow to the repair shop.

 

Back when car's were simple I experienced a similar problem - clutch went to the floor.
I took a towel from the back of the car, wrapped it around the cable contention enough to get some grip, and drove to an auto shop where I purchased a hose clamp and a $1 screw drive to fix the problem.
God IS good.

Rob

 

Many years ago when I was the assistant pastor of a Baptist Church in Massachusetts the pastor and I went on visitation to a gentleman's house whose children came to Awana (though he did not attend church). He had been drinking a little and was in the process of chopping up whole chickens when we visited.

we witnessed to him and he became angry and chased us out of the house with his cleaver.

Long story shortened, he was later saved and became a faithful worker in the church.

 

I hope I'm not taking too much opportunity here, and thanks to any who read this. but this also stands out in my experiences in God's providence along the way.

Escape from a Death Cult:

Once, while young in the faith, I fell into what would become one of the deadliest Word of Faith cults in North America, the Glory Barn Faith Assembly in northern Indiana. God providentially delivered me by what most would call a twist of fate.

At first I ran into this group through another Pentecostal group. Later, after a job transfer into their area, I began fellowshipping with them. Nothing stood out as unusual. They had the typical adrenalin driven praise and worship most Pentecostal churches have. But I left the area after a year when my job ended. After a couple of years my wife and I returned to the area and they had grown from around 100 to perhaps a 1000.

During this time, we heard about a few people dying of treatable reasons. But they blamed this on lack of faith. Or their faith must not have been genuine. But it wasn’t too long when God led us away from this danger in a most unusual way.

One night they presented the Limited Atonement doctrine so they could teach against it. They were Amyraldian or 4 point Calvinists. This was the first I ever heard of Limited Atonement. But the doctrine, even presented in the most disagreeable way, spoke to me. And after hearing the universal atonement theory in contrast, it dawned on me that we had come to a fork in the road.

I needed to make a choice. If Limited Atonement is true, then everything they said about faith and healing is false. And it would explain why some died of treatable conditions. After a group discussion on the way home, it was our last involvement with them.

Maybe a year passed when we began hearing about their unusually high infant mortality rate. And others dying of easily treated illnesses. Over one hundred preventable deaths happened over a ten year period reaching into the late eighties, the main teacher being one of them. The culprit was the missing L in TULIP for those who know of the 5 points of Calvinism.

Looking back, my wife and daughter, born breech, would have been among the casualties had we continued placing our faith in our faith. But faith in Christ directly led us to a doctor for the Amish who had plenty of experience in breech cases.

 

It would be good to hear how others in the forum came to Christ.

 

Thanks for the opportunity to share the story of my conversion to Christ.

I was 20 and lost, not seeking any religion. But I began experiencing what I recognize now as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And my thoughts turned to Christ throughout the day. I began telling people that I didn't know what was going on but I think Christ is real and that he is dealing with me. This continued over 3 days. I had never been at peace like this or ever this happy. I did not want it to end but it took a turn.


On the evening of the 3rd day my happiness turned into remorse. God convicted me of sins I didn't even know existed. Alone, I began praying, sobbing and asking his forgiveness. And I asked Jesus into my heart. Perhaps this was something I heard along the way, or possibly remembered from singing "Since Jesus Came into My Heart" as a Sunday schoolboy. I don't know. But I fell asleep exhausted in tears that night only to awake the next day convinced Christ had saved me.


I woke up beside myself, possibly a fanatic. And it was infectious. I began telling friends and loved ones that Jesus is real and I've not known peace and love like this before. I saw a whole string of conversions in and around people I knew. I wrote letters to some who then found Christ and remain in the ministry today. Many of us converged on the coffeehouse scene where we began learning about our new life in Christ and were went down to the river for baptism.

 

I grew up going to church from "before memory". I accepted Christ somewhere about 7-8 years old. Always a good(?) boy, never giving my parents any trouble (only child), or never rebelling beyond staying out later that I was supposed to or something equally as un-glamorous.

Stayed this way into my 40s, and was never quite content with my life. Best way I can define my life during this period is that I was TOO good to enjoy being bad, but TOO bad to enjoy being good; IOW miserable!! In retrospect, I can see His guidance & protection as I bounced through life, totally unaware of such at the time.

Sometime mid 70s we had a program at church (sorry, cannot remember the "name" of the program) that changed my life and I opted to live on the "good" side and stay away from any lures of the "bad" side. Been much, much, more content and happy since then (now pushing 82).

This brings me to an encounter with God that still amazes me. I was in mid 50s or so when I suddenly felt this internal drive to become a pastor. Now I'm still working as an engineer, and I am extremely private and a strong introvert. The call felt that I was to do this pastoring part-time while continuing to work.

Well, of course pastoring meant going COMPLETELY against my personality, and getting into personal relations that scared the bejeebers outta me. Only God knows how many "reasons" I concocted to refuse this assignment, but it continued for about a month.

I finally said "OK God, I'll do it, but I still don't like it!"

Well, lo & behold, as soon as I conceded defeat, the "call" left and has never returned.

Only thing I can figure is that God was just testing me to see if I was willing to follow Him or not, sorta like Abraham & Isaac!?

And we think Trump is un-predictable!!

 

I thank God for your survival. I had some friends who did not make it. Against all odds, I registered as a civilian Conscientious Objector in 1970. They drafted me into civilian service where I worked for the Mennonite Central Committee in a program they developed for treating emotionally retarded teens. It was stressful but nothing like what you and many others went through.