Yes I was an Atheist at least in my thinking although not my heart for almost 30 years after being deceived as a young Teenager that I came from an Ape my Mother and Teacher also told me that Jesus and the Bible were just made up and I had been lied to. My focus became very Worldly and I messed up big time but as a Child Jesus was my Best Friend and I have no doubt now that He never stopped Loving me even though I must have hurt Him greatly.
Now I do like Bananas but the unproven Theories that we evolved from Animals or that we come from The Big Bang have now been proven to be impossible both by Scientists who are Christians and take God’s Inspired words in Scripture literally and have now proven them now to be True and also by Medical Science that also leaves no doubt that we didn’t evolve from Animals. (see links below)
https://freedomborn.wordpress.com/2015/10/03/wow-a-new-missing-link-has-been-found/
https://freedomborn.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/believing-in-the-evolution-theory-causes-loss-of-hope/
But I believed what my Mother and Teacher told me for many years which left me vulnerable to Satan’s attacks on my life because I walked in Sin but God intervened and saved my life 3 Times even when I was deceived that He did not exist but also later knowing He was real but falling into Sin again, He again healed me Miraculously of two other life threatening Conditions after I had Heart Repentance and was Anointed by an Elder and there has been more Healings since and I have also had Signs and Wonders witnessed by others and unable for anyone but God to do.
How did God reach out to me in my deception, it was by Hospitality, Ron and I had gone to see a Pastor about getting Married, it was a Church close to where we were going to have the Reception and a Denomination that Ron had belonged to since he was a Child, he wanted to be Married in Church, I didn’t but he was insistent so I relented.
The Pastor asked Ron if he was a Believer in God and he said yes, when he asked me I boldly said No that we came from Apes, although he didn’t argue with me he did challenge me by saying if I was not narrow minded I would come to Church and hear the Gospel and than decide what was Truth, I didn’t want to appear to be narrow minded so I agreed.
Wow was I overwhelmed by the friendliness and kindness of the Christians attending this Church and also by the Pastor and his caring wife, although at first I was very angry at hearing I was a Sinner and that I would go to Hell if I didn’t have Heart repentance which would show I believed in Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
I was making a quick exist when I saw my Sunday School Teacher she had also been a Neighbor where I lived as a Child, I was told she had lied to me about Jesus being real and so I had avoided her ever since but she was so pleased to see me and said she had been praying for me for years, I was polite to her but I was still angry and wanted to get out of that Church and go home.
As Ron and I were about to get into the Car a Couple invited us for Lunch at their place after Church the following week, Ron said yes and thanked them and than we drove off but you can be sure Ron heard a mouthful after all we came from Apes and Hell was just made up to frighten people into believing in a Santa in the Sky, Ron asked if I would still go to Lunch, I said yes but that I would not listen to the Pastor anymore, Ron said OK!
To condense my Story, for the next 6 weeks we were asked to Lunch by other Members of the Church, No it was not a set up, the Pastor had talked about the importance of Hospitality before we even came to the Church and so being new we were asked to Lunch by those who had been challenged by his Message.
The Pastor and his wife than asked us to Lunch and by this time after hearing God’s Truth during the last 7 weeks and experiencing the friendliness and kindness of those who were part of the Church. I was overwhelmed with the Truth that God did exist and that Jesus had died to save me from Eternal Separation from Him in Hell, yes I did listen to the Pastor and I’m so Thankful I did and I also came to believe having it confirmed by their words and actions that these Christians were Special and Trustworthy too.
Ron and I were Married and remained at that Church for over 20 years, we were like a Family, Ron became their Senior Elder and later their Interim Minister before he retired and we came to Queensland to live. I was Baptized and became evolved in the Ministries of the Church and experienced much Joy in fellowship and yes in giving and receiving Hospitality too.
Below is a Poem in which I wrote about Jesus’ Hospitality, can anything be more wonderful than His Banqueting Table full of Spiritual food.
There is a saying The Devil is in the details, and he certainly was in your younger days, twisting the truth and feeding lies through others who he had already deceived.
Thanks for sharing the very personal details I found it eye-opening, I for one am Really thankful that Jesus took you from that dark place and brought you into His light.
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Yes Graham the Devil is the Father of lies which are in those details, although he comes as an Angel of Light, what he propagates deceives and pollutes, it was why I became involved in the Occult, he made it sound so good but in the end it was a Nightmare that caused fear and suffering.
Yes Thanks to The Lord today I’m free from all the Devil’s deception but if I have any doubts I ask Jesus, He is our only Spiritual Teacher and leads us into all Truth and He also warns us about the Devils lies and Traps and asks us to warn others too and to share His Truth which I seek to do because I Love God and them but if they don’t listen I have to walk away but I still pray for them.
Christian Love Graham and God’s blessings-Anne(Grannie Annie)
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Something I have come to learn, God loves us all and is waiting for us to turn to him. We have shared this many times on the phone. Life is amazing when we have God on our side. Walking along side us.
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Very True Bj we are Loved greatly by God as we can see in His wanting us to be in close Fellowship with Him and because He does He longs for us to seek Him and Love Him with all our Heart too.
Yes as we have shared together before Bj God never leaves us to battle alone, He gives us His strength to endure what Satan and his fleshy followers and what Life brings to us.
Blessings – Anne.
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Great words to live by, my friend
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God’s Truth, His Word never returns to Him void, those meant to hear it will and will respond and yes as you shared Bj His Words are great to live by.
Blessings – Anne.
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Your testimony is encouraging, moving from atheism to God. I know this is not the first time you are sharing this. But I’m not tired reading it.
I pray that those who have been deceived into believing that God doesn’t exist will one day find the truth like you. I will also like to appreciate the warm church family members through whose fellowship you opportunity to discover God for yourself.
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Thank you Victor, sorry for the delay in replying but my Modem crashed and I only received the new one today.
I know have shared parts of my journey in finding The Lord on Posts and in Comments but I thought it may be helpful to share it in sequence of the events that lead up to me my Conversion from Atheist to a Christian and yes the Fellowship of the Members of that Church was very instrumental in me hearing the Gospel but my Full Commitment to The Lord came years later when I understood fully what it means to Follow Jesus and this was after I asked for God’s Wisdom and empowering.
“Victor how did you become a Christian and what was the Turning point for you?”
Christian Love and God’s Blessings – Anne.
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Thanks Anne for asking that question. And I am glad to talk about a how I became a Christ follower.
My coming a Christian was out of curiosity. I heard some unusual things… I went to see… And I got hooked.
A teenager, I just entered highly school. It was in the early 90s. Revival had broken out in the Anglican church where my mother worshipped. Unusual things were reported to be happening through the ministry of the EFAC ( Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion).
The group was holding Friday Prayer Night vigils. During those meetings, people spoke in tongues, demons were being cast out from people, diverse healings took place…
Way back then, we had never seen these types of apostolic manifestations happen in that little village of my birth. As the news of these great happenings filtered into my high school, some of us youngsters then decided, out of curiosity, to check the meetings out.
It was in that process at one of those meetings that I gave my heart to Christ after hearing the gospel. That was 26 years ago. I have stayed with the Lord Jesus since that time.
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Thank you for sharing Victor, yours is a wonderful Testimony of how God touches our hearts with His Love and Truth and keeps us strong in them when we willingly Love and obey Him, which it seems you have been Faithful to do Victor, not that He ever stops Loving us if we don’t but we build a wall when we choose to go our own way.
God bless you greatly Victor in your Life and Ministry – Anne.
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Thank you very much Anne for the warm comment. I consider it my greatest decision in life to have given my heart to the Lord at an early age. Looking back now, I can see how it had helped me simplify my other decisions in life.
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It was very good Victor that you accepted Jesus as your Saviour when you were younger, although I know God will work it all for good I still wish I had not been deceived and had Matured in my Faith instead of making the Mistakes that later caused me grief.
Blessings – Anne.
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You hit one important point…how God always loved you, no matter what. It is important to be reminded that His love is without condition and how His love is always.
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Yes John as you have shared, God is Love and can be no other way, it is why He sent Jesus, He Loved us First even when we didn’t know Him and were Sinners without Repentance but He does not want Puppets we have our free will to choose or reject His free gift of Salvation in Christ Jesus and if we are One with Him in The Spirit our lives will show we are.
John 15:4-5 Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the Vine no more can ye except ye abide in Me. I Am the Vine ye are the branches he that abideth in Me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without Me ye can do nothing.
Luke 6:43 For a good Tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit, neither doth a corrupt Tree bring forth good fruit.
Have you written your Testimony John on your Blog? if so I would Love to read how you became a Christian and so would really appreciate having the Link.
Christian Love Always – Anne.
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Part of my testimony…Surviving a Weird Life… http://wp.me/pxy7r-1ia – I have thought about another post or two to fill in the details. I shall have to work on that.
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Thank you John for the Link, sorry for the delay in replying but my Modem crashed and I only received the new one today, I will check out your Link tonight or tomorrow.
Blessings – Anne.
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Thank you for your marvelous writing. It is interesting that this very evening my wife and i were having coffee with our pastor and his wife who were talking to us about discipleing people. They shared that walking and talking with someone over time each becomes like the other. It is a cool way Jesus teaches all of us.
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Thank you Scott for visiting and sharing and for your uplifting encouragement and yes Jesus draws us together in Unity when we know and live by His Truth as we walk in The Spirit. Without Jesus’ bonding, bad Company corrupts good Character. (Psalm1:1KJV) and I have indeed experienced that in my Life too.
Christian Love and Blessings – Anne.
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God knows those who are His and not one of us will be lost Eternally. When we are conformed into the image of Jesus He cannot reject Himself and nor will we reject Him.
Blessings – Grannie Annie.
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What a wise pastor to challenge you to dig deeper rather than to argue with you! So often, we win people over with our love rather than our intelligence (or articulation) of Scripture. It makes me sad that people in your life led you astray as a child. We have so much influence over children for good or for bad. May God give us wisdom in guiding His littlest ones into His truth. Perhaps your background (and story) is the deeper reason why you have such a heart for the children God places in your life. Annie, you are a bold witness of your faith that is heaping blessings on others, including me.
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Yes Debbie the Holy Spirit often spoke through my Pastor when most needed, I was very Blessed to be under His Leadership and Care.
God has indeed filled my Arms and Heart with the Love of other peoples Children, of course there has been problems too but the Joy has been so much greater.
It is good to be sharing with you again Debbie, I Pray your Ministry is going well, I thought of you last week when I was attending a lunch for those who have Cancer, the seeds you are planting in their lives will blossom and produce good fruit because they come from your Loving Heart.
Christian Love Always – Annie.
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God brings people into our lives to challenge our thinking and draw us closer to Christ! (Those people can be pastors or blogging friends!!)
Yes, the ministry is keeping me busy. There is a tendency to think that it would be a depressing ministry as we are dealing with cancer all the time. However, just the opposite is true. I get to hear the God stories of how He is working in the lives of those we support and in our volunteers’ lives as they share Christ’s love with others. Sometimes we have to jump into the fray to really experience God’s power.
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Yes it is True Debbie, God works everything for good that Life brings to us, today I found out why my Babies died without even seeking to but you can be assured in knowing why they died I now have stopped blaming myself, it was genetic and not because of the wrong I did in my Teenage years.
So wonderful Debbie that you are experiencing Joy in your Ministry in knowing and seeing God’s Love and Compassion.
Christian Love Always – Annie.
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Great testimony! It’s amazing how the Lord works in our hearts.
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Thank you for visiting and sharing Robbie and yes it is amazing how God touches our hearts with His Love.
The Scriptures you share Robbie on your Blog are always so uplifting, Thank you.
Christian Love Always – Anne.
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Thank you😊 All for Jesus🙆
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Thank you for sharing this testimony, Anne.
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I appreciate your encouragement David, Thank you for visiting, I find your Messages very much Focused on God’s Truth and always feel uplifted after visiting you.
Christian Love Always – Anne.
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