Fast forward 40 years and you find me happily married with three fantastic children. My wife Hazel and I had Jennifer and then 13 months later we had our twins Amanda and Gillian. It was when they were about 12 or 13 years old that I got offered a job at Rolls-Royce in England. (Before you ask the answer is "No I do not own one"! I work for the aero engine part of Rolls-Royce). This meant that since then I worked in England during the week and returned home to Northern Ireland at the weekend.
Amanda our 'middle' child started attending a church in our home town during the week, to learn the guitar. Then she started to attend the church services on a Sunday. Then she 'got saved'.
I periodically attended another church with my wife and it was out of curiosity that we both went along to see what was so special in this church. What was special was that we both started to cry during the praise and worship. Why cry? We had never cried at any service before so why now? Why did the worship service have this effect? I know now that it was the work of the Holy Spirit, drawing us closer to the Lord.
Over time I felt at home in this Pentecostal Church in my home town. As the family started to attend the church my other girls soon gave their lives to the Lord.
At the same time when I was working during the weeks that I was in England, I started to attend an 'Alpha' course, run by my local 'Church of England' church. This Alpha course was for people searching for the meaning of life and I met that entrance qualification.
The focus of the teaching and the subsequent discussions was on the reality of the Lord and the work of the Holy Spirit. Little did I know that in this course God did something that would stop me in my tracks and confirm in my mind and then in my heart that God is real and active right now. This event that I will cover in my next post was the prime event that started my walk to the Narrow Gate.
Finally ............. a thought for to-day
Venture into the unknown with faith in God
Powerful stuff I was itching to hear your testimony for awhile, I am excited for the next part. I am thinking about doing my testimony so people could see the contrast of different saved experiences. I have never told my full testimony before, and to be completely honest I have never even chronicled the whole thing to myself. I don’t know exactly what goes in a testimony; I am sure with Gods help if it is in His will for me to do it now I will have the ability to summarize the never ending experience of being reborn. Back to the subject at hand your first two parts of your testimony are really God felt and I can only imagine what the rest of this saga will bring. It is amazing how God does not discriminate on the fact of who he saves or through which method He saves you. He is not only prepared to use any means necessary, but He will use the perfect means needed.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the testimonies of the saints! You have truly encouraged my spirit. The testimony of your grandmother is very uplifting - it is as though the Lord has whispered to my heart, do not faint dearie.
ReplyDeleteThank you.