Fellow Christians always seem to be interested in the testimonies of their brethren, and some do have very interesting testimonies to share indeed! People have been interested in hearing my testimony, though it is not a testimony of being saved from drugs, alcohol, sex, or some form of occultism, rather it is a testimony which is probably common for many in the Midwest. Never the less, here is my brief testimony:
I grew up in a small town in Indiana. My parents divorced when I was too little to remember. By the time I was five she remarried. During this time we went to a Methodist church until I was in Junior High. I enjoyed my pastor there. My mother worked in the church office preparing the church bulletin among other things. When our pastor retired the church acquired a new pastor. This pastor was more like a wolf. He brought a lot of problems to the church and to our family in part because of my mother’s position. It was during this time, I as a teenager, decided I had enough and wanted to go to a different church. My parents said it was okay. I went to the Presbyterian church down the street from our house. I knew a lot of the people their from the neighborhood. The rest of my family followed my lead and started to attend the same church (and they still do).
I was a good boy. I didn’t smoke, or drink. I didn’t cuss. I was in Scouting and even achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. I was also a musician, a chess player for one of the top schools in the state and an athlete. My family was well known and into politics. My father was the president of the town board for eight years and we knew many of the county officials since we lived in the county seat. At church I became a deacon at the age of fifteen. By the age of sixteen I was the chairman of the deacons and remained so until I moved away several years later.
I dated a girl whose family are born again believers, though my girlfriend was not. I will never forget the time when her father asked me about my salvation. I had never heard of this and told him that I was a deacon, a good person and believed that I’d go to heaven. He gave me a Chick tract titled “This Is Your Life” to read. I honestly believe to this day that it was the prayers of this man that turned me to the Lord and His salvation.
In my early twenties I got married to a lady that just wanted to do her own thing. She was immature and wasn’t really ready for marriage (and I probably wasn’t either). She started doing everything she could think of so she could get a divorce. After time it came. We had a daughter together who still lives with me, as her mother took off with some other man.
It was through the hardships I experienced during this marriage that I came to the Lord. It was not like what you hear taught in church though. During that time my ex-wife was running around on me. My parents were preparing for divorce (my mothers second), and the pastor of the Methodist church my wife and I went to started giving us advice say, “I’d do this if I were you though it’s not the Christian thing to do.” I knew this wasn’t right and left the church, though they cased after us for a while. Once when we were driving home, we seen one of the elders and the pastor at our door. We tried to sneak away in our car, but they seen us and began to chase us. We were flying down the back roads with them hot in pursuit. No joke!
Since I had no where to turn I started talking to the Lord and reading His Word. I fell in love with Him. I started changing. My ex-wife (still wife at the time), noticed that I was different, that I had a love about me that couldn’t be explained. This just seemed to drive her further from me. A short while later, I was without a job, we didn’t have transportation, and were living in a tent. If this sounds bad, for a while one winter we slept in our pick-up in the middle of January when the temperature was well below freezing.
It was during this time that the Lord told me to move to a certain town. I couldn’t understand it. I couldn’t even figure out how I could even get there, but I believed Him and said okay. Days later a lady came across our path who knew of a homeless shelter there and could give us a ride. So we took her up on the offer and made it there in the late afternoon. We now had a roof over our heads and food for our bodies and I started working two hours after coming to this new town. I didn’t even have the time to look for a job! I filled out my application for the place after I had already worked there a day! God was very good indeed!
While at the shelter, my ex-wife, met the man that she is still with. She finally left me and I backslid from the Lord for a few months. One morning though as I rose from bed all I could do was praise God! The only thing that mattered was God! I started going to church, reading my Bible, and praying to the Lord. I just couldn’t get enough of Him! Again note that it wasn’t sermon or religious work which brought me to the Lord, in fact, those things failed me. My relationship with the Lord looked like something out of the Hall of Faith chapter in Hebrews "By faith, Joe...". I've had other Christians say, "I couldn't do that." and they are probably right because they don't know what it's like to have God lead them. I have met many in the church like this.
I was so zealous for the Lord and spreading His Word that I started going to all the hospitals in a 100 mile radius leaving tracts in waiting rooms and other areas. It was nothing for me to go through a thousand tracts or better in a week!
During this time I got mixed up with a Word of Faith church. During my stay there the first false doctrine the Lord revealed to me was the pre-trib rapture (I really enjoyed Bible prophecy). Then He showed me the errors of the Word of Faith. At another place I got mixed up with the Hebrew Roots movement, but once again the Lord was faithful to show me His Truth and lead me in the correct path. The first few years of my walk was interesting to say the least. The only thing that I can claim is that I'm teachable like Apollos and desire God's heart as David. Because of these experiences (and others) I have grown up fast.
Now I’m in my middle thirties, remarried, with four children, whom we home school. I have learned many things walking with the Lord, like His love, mercy, and faithfulness. I have served the Lord in many ways like laying tracts at hospitals, greeting, cleaning, jail ministry, chaplin, praise and worship team, tape ministry, sound booth, teaching, nursery among other things. I even started this website in Febuary of 2000, which possibly has been more of a blessing to me than to those visiting because I have gotten to know so many of the brethren from around the world and have become friends with a good number of them. Hopefully I'll get to know you also!
The Lord has been very good to me and I hope this testimony may be an encouragement for others.
God Bless,
Joe
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