by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
Note to self: Heard it said… “What is down in the well will come up in the bucket.” As I look at my own life… I would be the first to say that if I truly examined what came up in my bucket….from my well – I would definitely not drink from it, but rather discard the contents immediately! Have you ever said something and wondered afterward…where in the world did that come from? That was my outside voice… I’d like to rewind and try again? James, when writing about the power of our words has much more to say: “Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs, neither can salt water produce fresh.” James 3:11-12 Here is the factual truth: “What is down in the well – will come up in the bucket.” Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.” What do the contents of my well look like when I retrieve my bucket? I submit to you my brothers, that unless God changes the dark, dirty, stagnant contents of my bucket – it’s futile! Romans 12:1-2 speaks to the direction of our hope – God! My mind must continually be “transformed” in order for my contents of my bucket to have that which “proves what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Easier said than...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
At the ripe old age of 11, I believe my cognitive processes had matured sufficiently for me to realize I had somehow landed on the planet without a purpose. Further, I recognized an internal issue that I couldn’t quite identify, but it was a wrecking ball in my life and I had no solution for it. To kill the pain, my drugs of choice were athletics, cool cars and friends. When those blew up, which they did on a regular basis, so did my self esteem and sense of well being. My parents were world class. Since the two of them were well respected in the community, that washed over on their kids, but that did not fully compensate for the internal disconnect that plagued me. Fortunately, God paved the way, first leading my parents to Christ. My folks story began at a dinner party where their hosts testified to the change Jesus had made in their lives. Both of my parents along with several of their friends responded to Jesus that night. Even us youngsters could see that something had changed with the folks. Subsequently, my parents began to encourage us to consider the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My first clear recollection of hearing that Jesus could make a fundamental change in my life coupled with an opportunity to respond was at a summer camp in the mountains. They docked us dessert if we didn’t memorize Bible verses so that wasn’t going over too well. Unexpectedly, the last night several of my friends professed Christ. One of them was my brother. That definitely gave me pause. I went...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
God works in so many different places, and uses so many different people for one purpose; to glorify His name and draw more people to the body of Christ. I remember listening to a young missionary from China describe how He, and a small group of people were spending their days getting to know the local people in a rural town in China. He described how they would meet in someone’s home for “church” to hear the message of the gospel. He told story after story how one person would commit their life to Jesus, and then another, and another. I was fascinated by the stories because they illustrated that God was drawing people to Himself in China the same way He was doing it in my neighborhood. It was a great illustration of 2 Timothy 2:2, “The things which you have heard and seen from me in the presence of many witnesses, teach these to others, so they will be able to teach others also.” The message of Jesus moved from one person to another “and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). God uses all different types of people to accomplish His work. One of the groups participating in spreading the message of Jesus in our community is Young Life, and my wife and I have had the privilege of spending time with them and seeing first-hand how God works through this group of amazing Christ followers. I was not familiar with Young Life growing up, so I did not know much about what they do, however, as I have watched over...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
I awoke Saturday morning with chest pains, got up, went to breakfast with my wife and decided to tough it out so went and swam a mile. When the pain increased I decided to use my head, not my pride and “heart”, so headed to the ER and received immediate attention. Tests were begun and as the pain escalated dramatically, the doctor ordered a trip to the heart cath room as it appeared a heart attack might be in progress. Lying on the operating table and before the gas was turned on I asked the five staff to gather as I thanked them for coming on a Saturday afternoon and how grateful I am to live in a country where one can walk into an ER and get treated. I then told them how 38 years ago I asked forgiveness of my sins, committed my life to walking with Jesus and received the promise of salvation. I told them that if I died on this table they can know I was headed to heaven for all eternity and that I have great peace but if I live I would have a few more years to bring glory to God. I told them how they also could have the same peace I was enjoying. The results showed that I have no build-up of plaque or blockages and the subsequent GI scoping shows a minor issue with the stomach for which “Larry the Cable Man” has the solution, Prilosec or Tums. Great news, thank you, Lord. My shoulders were still aching from lying in bed for two days so I went for...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
I was recently talking to a brother who asked me how my relationship with God was going. I told him it was not where it should be, even though I was studying the word daily. I was sure that increasing my study of the word would resolve the issue and he asked me how my quiet time was going. I told him I didn’t have quiet time and he challenged me to try quiet time for one hour a day, seven days in a row. If I didn’t make the seven days, I would start over. He told me that I would get a taste of God that will leave me hungry. I was willing to try quiet time but I knew I wouldn’t last for an hour, I was just too busy. I started with 15 minutes and by day 20 I was up to 45 minutes still feeling like I could do more. I started waking up an hour and a half earlier and I sustained this for 20 days. Some days I didn’t even need an alarm, I woke hungry for time with my Lord. This isn’t legalism, I just want that time with God no matter how tired I am during the day. After quiet time I feel prepared for the day more so than my rested self without quiet time. What did my quiet time consist of? I didn’t really know what to do so I started reading the bible and using what I found as my prayer topics. This soon opened a flood gate of topics to pray about, to thank God about...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
My name is Jordan Bradford. I was raised in the Cleveland Ohio area. My wife and I graduated from college last spring and now are first year teachers in China. I once heard Lee Yih say that Jesus is spread in China on a person to person basis. While there are other ways to get the good news to people; it seems to me that personal evangelism is also the most effective way to share Jesus in Midwest America. So what is the difference between talking about Jesus to a Chinese person in Wuhan, China and an American in Upland, Indiana? From my little experience I have noticed two main differences. First, there are a lot more Chinese people who have never even heard the name of Jesus. While ignorance of Jesus is probably becoming more common in America, the general public is still aware of Jesus, and if not Jesus, then Christianity. I would guess that 9 out of 10 people who I have talked to about Jesus in China had never previously heard of Jesus. This is both refreshing and challenging. I say refreshing because there is not always a pre-conceived judgment towards Jesus. Many of the people relate Christianity to America but they do not relate Jesus to Christianity. I try not to mention the word Christianity in conversations because that usually results in a comment like, “that is good for you westerners but that’s not for us.” But telling people about Jesus, and what He did for us on the cross, has almost always received a positive response. It is also a challenge because the...
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