October 18, 2013

"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters who accuses them before our God day and night,  has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." Revelation 12:10-11

Just in case I haven't convinced you of the power of a personal testimony like yours or like mine, here are two more women touched by the testimony of Rhonda Baker:

"A few words about my Women's Pastor Rhonda Baker: A huge hole was made in my heart when I was a child, due to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse I endured from my parents. I started self medicating with drugs about 13 yrs old. I'm 53 and at 43 I finally was able to get off drugs. I thought life would get better, men work, kids, nothing filled the hole in my heart. The first of this year I walked into central, in a full blown depressive black mood, whatever happened that day was my last resort. I had to look like a real mess tear stained face shaking mumbling the words,"i need help" A wonderful women grabbed my hand and said "lets get you to Rhonda" It was Thursday women's conference day so I was handed off to three more wonderful women with a warm hand and a hug and the words"get her to Rhonda" Central is a huge church with lots of hallways.and lots of women were there that day, but we turned a corner and I saw something truly special in a tall slender blonde women, and I knew this was Rhonda. She took my hand led me to her office, I'm not sure what blurted out of my sobbing mouth, but when she started to talk I knew that The Almighty God , His Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit, were using Her to guide me and teach me that my heart will be filled, that I'm no longer out in the dark alone and cold. Through Rhonda, that day My Savior brought me home. I listen to every piece of advice Rhonda gives me, and it always works. I'm in C R, I go to the 12 step program, the women's conference, I volunteer on Saturdays with the homeless and of course church on Sundays. I see her around and I kno shes one of the busiest people on this planet but if she sees me, its always a warm hello, and she stops the world for a minute, and asks how I am. Rhonda Baker You ask? Yes I know her, through God she saved my life. sincerely, and with many many blessing to you all,"  Lori York

"My name is Tracy and my husband's name is Darryl. We live in Las Vegas and we were on the verge of divorce 5 years ago because he had an affair and we were far from God and were living the Vegas life style of growing marijuana for a living in our house with our children that were two and one years old. The friends we had were all strippers and their husbands were criminals. I was applying to be a waitress at the strip club but God shut that door and protected me by not getting a call back to be hired. I found pornography at home and had enough of this life so I went to Central Christian Church to Celebrate Recovery and God restored our marriage and we stopped everything and started a new life with new christian friends, we got sober and jumped right into ministry. I applied to be Rhonda Baker's intern and this time I got a call back because God had other plans for my life. She mentored me and taught me everything, what it is to be a godly woman, wife, mother, and friend. She taught me what real love is. She believed in me and taught me how to be a disciple for Jesus. She fanned into flame that spark in me to spread the good news. After two years of interning with her she told me I'm ready to go out there and lead but I didn't want to leave her safe umbrella. Every time I doubted myself and didn't believe I was good enough, she uplifted me, encouraged me and reminded me of God's calling on my life for such a time as this. Me and my husband are now in ministry, he teaches jr high and high school and we are launching a brand new ministry of Celebrate Recovery at the satellite campus in the Southwest Las Vegas. I am now mentoring women and showing them everything Rhonda taught me on how to fully submit to God and get off the fence of being half in the world. I am forever grateful for Rhonda Baker!"


Okay, so let's review. Randy Baker's testimony and my testimony and the witness of a small Wesleyan Church convinced Rhonda to give her heart to Jesus. After Rhonda walked with the Lord for a number of years (while she was developing her testimony) God called her into ministry. Now Rhonda serves in women's ministry at a mega-church in Las Vegas, Nevada.


You have just seen two examples of the impact of her testimony.


It makes me wonder who is waiting to hear your testimony.

October 17, 2013

"They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."  Rev. 12:11

This verse testifies to the power of testimonies of believers. I believe many Christians aren't aware of the influence their testimony can wield.

In the previous post I briefly shared my testimony and how it impacted the lives of David and Bev Marine. Here is another testimony from a lady named Rhonda Baker:

I didn't grow up in a Christian home and was pretty much known as what people refer to as a CEO (attending church on Christmas/Easter only). My parents divorced when I was a little girl which left me devastated and very insecure. There were times I was scared to go to school and missed the bus on purpose in fear of my mom not being home when I returned. I felt abandoned when my dad moved out of our home and I feared my mom would leave as well. Although my mom remarried and I grew up in a blended family of eight children, we had everything we needed just not everything we wanted. My stepfather was very good to me although he didn't have the freedom to really love me or discipline me as one of his own children. I began to seek love outside our family structure and eventually experienced what I thought was love at the young age of 17 with an alcoholic. When I graduated from high school, I went to work for a corporation where I met a guy a few years older than me who was really different. He was very kind and respectful toward me and we developed a friendship. Eventually he invited me to attend a church with him where he was singing in a quartet. It was the very first time I had ever heard the Word of God in an inspirational way. I was so intrigued by the way he lived his life, I broke off and engagement with my alcoholic fiancé. Randy and I then began dating but I didn't really understand why he lived his life the way he did. When I found out he loved God, I pretended to know what he was talking about and pretended to be a believer because of how much I liked him. Hey, don't judge me – he was nice AND good looking! I broke up with him as well because again, I didn't understand his lifestyle even though I had fallen in love with him. I was brokenhearted and eventually I walked into the Wesleyan Church he had spoke of so very often with a pastor who had a strong gift of evangelism (I.e., Brad Snyder). I was curious and once I was there the love of the people just drew me in. I wanted the kind of life they had. I finally asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior and my life has never been the same since.




Fast forward . . . I was never able to attend college right out of high school and always felt "less than" because of it. I had a strong sense of calling to vocational ministry but didn't pursue it for many years because of the many years of education it would require. I will never forget the day I could no longer deny this calling on my life. Our firstborn son was stillborn and although it was several years later, the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart, "Rhonda, do you remember when you held your stillborn son and there was no life or breathe in him? That's what it's like when I look at you! I created you for a purpose and you are living your life as if you are stillborn in your faith! You are not being obedient to the life I have called you to. You are lifeless in your faith!" Wow! At about the same time my pastor came to me and said, "Don't you think it's time you did what God has called you to do?" He said, "Sometimes God opens doors to us that we could never open ourselves. Why don't you talk to the seminary and see what kind of training you can receive? I interviewed and applied with them and God opened a door for me to receive a Master's of Divinity degree without a Bachelor's Degree. I don't tell you this information to boast of myself but to boast of what God is capable of doing in a life that is ready and willing to be obedient to God. I now serve in a church of over 17,000 people in what people refer to as "sin-city" as a Women's Pastor. I never thought I'd ever step inside a strip club, but I do so to befriend other women the way I was befriended from someone who just accepted me where I was and showed me through their friendship what Jesus is like (Jesus, the friend of sinners). I have also recently helped found and now serve on the board of a new non-profit ministry for women in and transitioning out of the sex industry. It's been quite a journey, but I'm so very thankful for everyone who took the time to show me Jesus' love. Had it not been for their examples, I would never have experienced having a front row seat of seeing so many women's lives being transformed. I am truly honored to experience a taste of heaven here on this earth and yes, even in Las Vegas. I am always, always, always amazed at the power of God's love and the impact it can have on individual lives for the Kingdom of God! I heard a pastor say one time, "one life touches a life, which touches a life, which touches a life, which touches a life, and the ripple continues on. How beautiful are the ripples of God's love through friendship.

Oh, and by the way, I began to pray those many years ago for God to bring that Godly man back into my life that I broke up with. We have now been married over 32 years and the guy who is telling my story . . . Well, he was the pastor of that little Wesleyan Church in Princeton, IL I was saved in and he's the one who married us.

Thank you very much for allowing me to share just a little piece of my life. May God use my story to inspire others to live out their calling in the body of Christ.



Thanks, Rhonda for sharing your testimony with us!



I love life change!



Don't you?

October 16, 2013

"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."  Revelation 12:10-11

One of the reasons the testimonies of the saints above were so powerful is because they arose from a period of severe testing. When they were faced with persecution they stood faithful to their faith in the face of suffering and death.

Personal testimonies always tell a story of life-change or faithfulness or courage in times of testing. They have power because they offer living proof of the power of God.

I went forward during the invitation at the end of a Sunday evening service in a tiny Bible Church in Bourbon, Indiana. I was only seven years old but I remember the pastor struggling with how to share the gospel with a seven-year old. Then, almost as if inspired, he began to tell the story of Noah and the Ark and explained that being saved is like coming into the Ark. I affirmed that was what I wanted to do and he led me in the salvation prayer. I became a Christian that night 56 years ago.

At the age of 10, my family and I were invited to attend a Wesleyan Church in the nearby town. We went the Sunday following our invitation and we never stop going. Silver Lake Wesleyan Church became our church home. Through that church I was introduced to Summer camp and a group of young people from all over Northern Indiana. Some of those people became life-long friends of mine.

My association and friendship with those young people and my church family were instrumental in helping me grow in my walk with God. One evening during Youth Camp service, I went forward at the end of a service and surrendered my life completely to God and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Shortly after that experience I began to sense a calling from God to pastoral ministry.

Although I resisted that calling for several years. I finally surrendered to His call for my life and applied to Indiana Wesleyan University. I am the first person from my family to go to college. It was nothing short of a miracle that I was able to financially afford college.

My four years at IWU were formative years for a number of reasons. I developed personally, spiritually, socially, intellectually and in leadership. Surrounded by amazing people of God, my passion for God and for ministry was shaped by my days at Indiana Wesleyan.

Right out of college, I received a call to become the pastor at Princeton Wesleyan Church in Princeton, Illinois. With great excitement and trepidation I headed west to the prairie of North Central Illinois. God had favor on me and those good people were very gracious and patient with me and that tiny church began to grow. Involved in that growth was a couple named Dave and Bev Marine. Here is his story:

In 1974 I decided living together with my wife was wrong. I chose the Wesleyan  Church on Pleasant Street to ask the Pastor if he would marry us,as I was familiar with Pastor Olander, and my Uncle Glen had preached there. Pastor Olander was no longer there,but a new Pastor named Brad Snyder was the new Pastor. We met, and we immediately hit it off. We had many similar likes,and sports was one of the biggest things we liked. I didn't know it, but I was about to find another thing we would have in common...the love of Jesus Christ. Brad invited me to a pick up basket ball game, and he played for a for a long time, and PB started witnessing about the Lord to me. I found all kind of reasons not to commit, but in the end, PB wore me down, and I have been thankful every since!

Bev and I went up to the alter and gave our lives to the Lord. I wish I could say from that point on that every thing went well, but we had problems, and back slid for a bit, but we always came back to the Lord, as his mercy is always there for us.

I can say that at the present time my faith has grown to it's highest level,as we have had a serious life event that has caused me to dig very deep to survive the effects that has rocked my life, as my love mate has had a debilitating stroke.With out God and answered prayers, I would have crumbled, but God's strength is sufficient and I have been able to cope with my situation. Praise be to God!

Am I perfect as a Christian? No way, but I continue to strive, and I am convicted by the Holy Spirit to improve my obedience to God's will. Every day I thank the Lord for his grace and for all the blessings he has bestowed on our family. He is truly a great God!

Testimonies are powerful and become more powerful when my testimony of life-change changes the life of another!

Because of the impact of two tiny churches in Indiana on my life, I had a testimony that was able to impact David and Bev in a small church in Illinois!

Now their testimony has touched you!

Never underestimate the power of your testimony!

October 15, 2013

I think we tend to underestimate the power of our personal testimony.

Let me encourage you to rethink that.Consider these two verses from Revelation 12:10-11: 

"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."

This depicts a victory celebration in heaven after the enemy has been defeated. How was the enemy defeated? 

They defeated the enemy by the blood of Jesus and by the bold saints who declared their faith in the Lord even under the threat of death.

It is the blood of Jesus that has purchased our victory and it is our fearless declaration of our faith that cashes the check!

The enemy has no defense against the cross because the cross paid the price of redemption from sin. And the enemy has no defense when those who have been redeemed by the blood declare it with their words. He was defeated by the cross on Calvary and every time a Christ-follower declares his salvation the enemy is reminded of his defeat.

Your testimony came at a great cost to God. Don't demean or diminish it's worth.

You may not think your testimony is powerful but the enemy does! Every time you praise your God and declare your salvation he has to flee!

Your testimony tells of a life that has been transformed by the power of God! The enemy hates that!

Don't minimize your testimony!

Organize your testimony in this form: my life before I knew Christ, how I came to know Christ and how my life has changed since I have been a Christian. Use that outline and keep it about three minutes long.

Memorize your testimony and be prepared to share it. 

Energize your heart by humbly walking with God in the power of His Spirit.

You have a winning testimony! 

October 14, 2013

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!" James 2: 12-13

How do you respond under pressure?

It has been suggested that who you are under pressure is revealing of who you really are. I tend to believe that.

You must keep in mind as you read and study James that these are Christians under pressure. Pressure most of us have never known, the pressure of persecution.

As James describes what faith should look like and how people of faith should live, it is being lived out under pressure. Faith is giving your best when life deals the worst! Do you return mercy for malice?

In these verses he reminds you that you will be judged and your faith will be judged based on how well your actions and attitudes match those of the Savior. If you say you have faith but do not demonstrate love your faith will be judged as insincere.

The context for faith in this instance is within the meeting of believers. How do you show love to a guests who comes into you meeting? Do you size them up or do you serve them? Do you act differently to a wealthy looking person than to a shabbily dressed one? Faith looks for what it can give rather than what it can gain. Here's an example:

In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in the teachings of Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. So one Sunday he decided to attend services at a nearby church and talk to the minister about becoming a Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and suggested that he ought to worship with his own people. Gandhi left the church and never returned, “If Christians have caste differences also, “ he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.” That usher’s prejudice not only betrayed Jesus but also turned a person away from trusting Him as Savior.

Bad judgment.

Your faith is being continually judged by how you treat others. You will be ultimately judged by how you treat others. If you want to be judged mercifully, give mercy. Show kindness and love to whoever comes into your world.

October 13, 2013

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8 

A Christian is one who is living between "Forgiven" and "Forever". 

Being forgiven by the grace of God is a wonderful blessing. And having the assurance of eternal life in Heaven is a source of tremendous hope!

But the big issue of being a Christian is what should happen between "Forgiven" and "Forever". 

In His final words on earth before He ascended to Heaven, Jesus said He expects His followers to be on a mission to be His witnesses. I have been sharing some insights on how to do that.

Develop redemptive friendships.

Discover stories.

And, discern next steps.

While you do your part in witnessing, depend on the Holy Spirit to prompt you what to say and what to do next.

Being a witness is not a natural or a comfortable thing for you to do. That is why you must rely on the Holy Spirit to empower you and direct you. And it is also why being on mission with God is exciting and fulfilling!

Someone has described witnessing as, "Sharing the Good News in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God."

Every witnessing situation is different because every person is different. So, a "one size fits all" or "prescribed plan" doesn't work. Being lead and directed by the Holy Spirit does!

Are you tuned to the Holy Spirit so you can hear Him when He speaks.

What is your mission in friendship? Is it to be liked, or to be more popular, or to gain some other benefit for yourself?

God has a much better mission for your friendships than merely benefiting yourself.

Would you submit to His mission and surrender yours?

Would you be on mission for Him - and for your friends who need to know Him?

October 12, 2013

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth." Acts 1:8

The first dimension of living life on mission is Develop redemptive friendships!

Use the powerful impact and influence of personal friendships to introduce your friends to your Best Friend!

The second dimension is DISCOVER STORIES!

When I was being trained as a Missions Pastor I was taught the key to fund-raising for mission trips. The key is to share a compelling story of your mission and then simply show people where they fit into the story!

Stories of people's lives are powerful, especially when the story includes supernatural life-changes.

Be prepared to share your story BUT only after you have heard their story.

Their story will determine your strategy.

Jesus gives examples for this!

The Samaritan woman Jesus met by a well is a good example of how He discovered stories and then used her story to witness to her.

Granted, He had a little supernatural edge in knowledge that we don't have. BUT, He was also gathered information by simply observed she was standing alone at the well at high noon. That was an indication of a woman with a bad reputation.

Zacchaeus

When you understand their story you will understand them much better. Once you understand them better you will know how to tell your story to relate to them. AND better yet – you will know how to tell the Gospel story and show them how they fit in it!

Challenge: Do I know an unsaved friend well enough to be able to discover their story?