Some are curious, asking about my salvation

[Comingfrom]

so this is my testimony.
A description of how it happened for me.

I was a very depressed man, a broken-hearted divorcee.
My life was cursed.
Christians spoke to me to believe in Jesus, and I knew I needed something.
I knew I was in hell, before having read the scripture.
But I couldn't see how Jesus dying for me could make any difference in my life.

So I picked up the Bible to study it, someone recommended the KJV to me.
I started with the gospels, and when I got to the end of John, I started at the beginning of Matthew again.
There were too many things Jesus said that were a complete enigma to me.
So I read the gospels over and over again.

It finally sunk in, that I was looking for a sign, for something, from Jesus,
and looking around, that this really is a wicked and evil generation (I included myself).
And there was Jesus saying, there will be no sign except for Jonah.

But He answered and said unto them,
An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;
and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Matthew 12:39
It made me think, what could Jesus mean?
I read the book of Jonah, I didn't get it.
I asked my Christians friends, and at the forums, but none could seem to answer.
They all said something along the lines of; 3 days in the belly of a whale, and 3 days in the tomb.
But how is that a sign?
[Besides, Jesus rose on the morning of the third day, so He wasn't in the tomb for 3 days.]

So I went back to the book of Jonah again.
This time, chapter 3 hit me like a hammer. The message came to me as clear as a bell.
I found myself an old straw coloured coverall for my sackcloth and donned it,
and I sat in ashes (not literally) and I fasted.

And I continued on with Jesus' words, while I fasted and wandered about in the wilderness, and in the streets.
And I visited all the cities of Israel (churches where God's people gather) to ask them if they had seen our Lord.
And I inquired at forums on the Internet.
I looked for priests to talk to, who could help me with my questions.

Eventually, I did find one man who, instead of dismissing me with the usual accusations,
did describe for me what it is like to receive Jesus' blood, and he prayed the Lord put some on me.
And it came upon me even while I was still reading the man's post.

From that time the scripture has been opening up for me like a flower in the morning sunshine.
First was accomplishing Jesus' sayings.
Losing my life, even my right eye and right hand.

Learning how to do alms (without being seen).
Learning to see so many of the things which Jesus speaks about.
Learning to recognize when I was being cursed, so I could love them back.
Learning to know what His body is, so I could eat His flesh, and drink His blood.
Learning to see the hell fire, and how not to succumb to it, nor to issue it forth.
Learning to see the fiery serpents and scorpions.
Learning to see the promised kingdom of God.
Learning to see my own raiment.
And of course, learning to see and hear the Holy Ghost which we have from Him.

He gives us so much I probably left a lot out there.

Then there came a time when I run out of questions for Him, about His words.
The He sent me to Moses, to learn the commandments there,
and that I might come out of Egypt and into God's land.
To find His tabernacles, and His altar, and to offer up all my bullocks (and those offered to me).
To wash my garments, to remove from them any last remnants of my old self.
To make my ark of the testimony, and to light the lamps on my candlestick.
To don the breastplate of righteousness, and to take up the sword of the spirit.

To find the treasures that the Lord has hid for us in His word, and to lay them up in His kingdom.
Again, He gives us too much, I cannot possibly cover it all in a post.

But I am happy to try and answer your questions, if you have any.
And I encourage you all. Be zealous for the word.

`Paul

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:
be zealous therefore, and repent.
Revelation 3:19

 

[robert pate]

so this is my testimony.
A description of how it happened for me.

I was a very depressed man, a broken-hearted divorcee.
My life was cursed.
Christians spoke to me to believe in Jesus, and I knew I needed something.
I knew I was in hell, before having read the scripture.
But I couldn't see how Jesus dying for me could make any difference in my life.

So I picked up the Bible to study it, someone recommended the KJV to me.
I started with the gospels, and when I got to the end of John, I started at the beginning of Matthew again.
There were too many things Jesus said that were a complete enigma to me.
So I read the gospels over and over again.

It finally sunk in, that I was looking for a sign, for something, from Jesus,
and looking around, that this really is a wicked and evil generation (I included myself).
And there was Jesus saying, there will be no sign except for Jonah.

But He answered and said unto them,
An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;
and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Matthew 12:39
It made me think, what could Jesus mean?
I read the book of Jonah, I didn't get it.
I asked my Christians friends, and at the forums, but none could seem to answer.
They all said something along the lines of; 3 days in the belly of a whale, and 3 days in the tomb.
But how is that a sign?
[Besides, Jesus rose on the morning of the third day, so He wasn't in the tomb for 3 days.]

So I went back to the book of Jonah again.
This time, chapter 3 hit me like a hammer. The message came to me as clear as a bell.
I found myself an old straw coloured coverall for my sackcloth and donned it,
and I sat in ashes (not literally) and I fasted.

And I continued on with Jesus' words, while I fasted and wandered about in the wilderness, and in the streets.
And I visited all the cities of Israel (churches where God's people gather) to ask them if they had seen our Lord.
And I inquired at forums on the Internet.
I looked for priests to talk to, who could help me with my questions.

Eventually, I did find one man who, instead of dismissing me with the usual accusations,
did describe for me what it is like to receive Jesus' blood, and he prayed the Lord put some on me.
And it came upon me even while I was still reading the man's post.

From that time the scripture has been opening up for me like a flower in the morning sunshine.
First was accomplishing Jesus' sayings.
Losing my life, even my right eye and right hand.

Learning how to do alms (without being seen).
Learning to see so many of the things which Jesus speaks about.
Learning to recognize when I was being cursed, so I could love them back.
Learning to know what His body is, so I could eat His flesh, and drink His blood.
Learning to see the hell fire, and how not to succumb to it, nor to issue it forth.
Learning to see the fiery serpents and scorpions.
Learning to see the promised kingdom of God.
Learning to see my own raiment.
And of course, learning to see and hear the Holy Ghost which we have from Him.

He gives us so much I probably left a lot out there.

Then there came a time when I run out of questions for Him, about His words.
The He sent me to Moses, to learn the commandments there,
and that I might come out of Egypt and into God's land.
To find His tabernacles, and His altar, and to offer up all my bullocks (and those offered to me).
To wash my garments, to remove from them any last remnants of my old self.
To make my ark of the testimony, and to light the lamps on my candlestick.
To don the breastplate of righteousness, and to take up the sword of the spirit.

To find the treasures that the Lord has hid for us in His word, and to lay them up in His kingdom.
Again, He gives us too much, I cannot possibly cover it all in a post.

But I am happy to try and answer your questions, if you have any.
And I encourage you all. Be zealous for the word.

`Paul

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:
be zealous therefore, and repent.
Revelation 3:19

You apparently have not come to Christ as a repentant sinner to be saved by him, Romans 10:13. When you do that God will give you his Holy Spirit and spiritually place you in Christ. It hasn't happened yet.

 

[Comingfrom]

You apparently have not come to Christ as a repentant sinner to be saved by him, Romans 10:13. When you do that God will give you his Holy Spirit and spiritually place you in Christ. It hasn't happened yet.

Thank you for your prayer, Robert.

May God's will be done.

 

[Comingfrom]

Grace Accepted told me a lovely testimony of an encounter he had with Jesus when he was a child.
I also had an interesting experience when I was very young.

~`
My parents are very agnostic. They don't believe there is a God,
and they wouldn't let me go to Sunday School with all my schoolmates.
But we still had religious classes in school back then, which started in grade two or three.
I think I was seven at the time.
Anyway, I became a bit conflicted, because the teacher was telling us there was a God,
but my parents told me there wasn't.
I remember asking the teacher, how he knows there is a God,
and he gave a wacky answer that let me know he either didn't really know, or couldn't say how he knew.
I still listened and heard all that the teacher was saying, and the solution became apparent to my naive child mind.
They say He answers prayers, so if I pray and He answers, then I will know there is a God.
If I don't get an answer, that means there is no God. Too easy.

So, that night I secretly prayed (I dare not let my parents know).
Before going to sleep I knelt on the floor next to my bed, put my hands together and closed my eyes,
just as I had seen in all the pictures of children praying, and I said,
God, if you are there, please let me know.
And I tucked myself away in bed, not waiting for an answer.
Somehow I knew, He was probably busy, and I was not going to get an immediate answer.
Besides, this was a long term plan, and big conspiratorial act I was doing,
and neither my brothers nor my parents could know.

I went off to school as usual, but the next night I prayed again.
And the next night, and the next night.
For six nights in a row I prayed.
The next day, as I was coming out of school, I was walking home alone,
but there were a lot of parents and other schoolchildren there, on the footpath outside the school,
as the parents were picking them up to take them home.
Suddenly there was a huge loud trumpet sound, which played about one bar of music.
It was so loud, and seemed to come from everywhere, that it nearly bowled me over.
I had to regain my footing.
I whirled around in puzzlement, trying to figure out what happened.
And then I realized, no one else even heard it.
They were carrying on as normal, bundling kids into cars,
and other kids still waiting for parents to arrive, standing around talking.
Nobody flinched.

I felt like a dill pickle, but as I walked home it gradually dawned upon me, that God had just answered my prayer.
And God help me if my parents found out.

 

[Comingfrom]

Later on, in my teens.
My parents being what they were, ragers, loved music and parties,
and though they weren't into pop music, they still had a good collection,
to satisfy the guests and get the parties rocking.
And on one of their "top of the pops" records, there was a song, by Louis Armstrong.
When the Saints come marching in. I'm sure you know it.

Every time it played, that trumpet of Louis did something to me.
I can't describe it, and I couldn't ignore it.
And we all knew it was a Christian song but nobody cared because it sounded good.

And it planted a seed me, and a vow.
Even though I didn't yet understand what it meant
somehow I knew, I was going to be in that number.

 

[Arial]

You apparently have not come to Christ as a repentant sinner to be saved by him, Romans 10:13. When you do that God will give you his Holy Spirit and spiritually place you in Christ. It hasn't happened yet.

How can you possibly know that?! You seem to have a God complex. There are clinical names for that. This is exactly why I would never share my testimony with you each time you asked. You only want to know so you can stomp all over everyone else. You are a tearer downer. A dark and gloomy cloud, making certain to stamp out all joy. You make the gospel look like darkness, turning good news into bad news. You are meant to be a representative of Christ but all you vomit up is hate, hate, and more hate. If anyone needs to be afraid of the judgment, it is you.

 

[daniel perez]

Later on, in my teens.
My parents being what they were, ragers, loved music and parties,
and though they weren't into pop music, they still had a good collection,
to satisfy the guests and get the parties rocking.
And on one of their "top of the pops" records, there was a song, by Louis Armstrong.
When the Saints come marching in. I'm sure you know it.

Every time it played, that trumpet of Louis did something to me.
I can't describe it, and I couldn't ignore it.
And we all knew it was a Christian song but nobody cared because it sounded good.

And it planted a seed me, and a vow.
Even though I didn't yet understand what it meant
somehow I knew, I was going to be in that number.

After attending many Churches , from 5 year old to an adult ,I wondered if I was save .

This is how the APOSTLE Paul was saved in Acts 9:6 .

Notice what says when he meets Jesus on the road to Damascus .

#1 Jesus n says to Saul , Saul , why are you persecuting Me ?

#2 Saul says , Who are you LORD ? Remember that the word LORD is very important !!

#3 I am Jesus Whom you are persecuting ,

#4 Notice that in verse 6 , Saul says WHAT DO YOU WISH ME TO DO ??


Now turn to Rom 10:9 , That if you should CONFESS with your MOUTH the LORD Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised HIM from the DEAD , you will be SAVED .


Now in 1 Cor 12:3 we read , Therefore , I make known to you that NO ONE SPEAKING by God's SPIRIT says Jesus is accursed , and one is able to say LORD JESUS EXCEPT by the HOLY SPIRIT .


And the in 1 Tim 1:16 we read , That in me ( Paul ) FIRST / PROTO , Christ Jesus might show forth all long suffering for a PATTERN of the ones coming to believe on Him unto EVERLASTING LIFE .

Paul is the PATTERN of salvation , PERIOD .

dan p

 

[Comingfrom]

Thank you, Dan.

Once I put my foot on my "road to Damascus" I stayed on it for four years.
Until I made all the things according to the pattern given to Moses.
Which Paul also advocated.

Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things,
as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle:
for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
Hebrews 8:5

And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold,
unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work:
according unto the pattern which the Lord had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
Numbers 8:4

Also referred to as the first works.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works;
or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place,
except thou repent.
Revelation 2:5

More full instructions are in Exodus chapter 25