by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
I’ve been reading through 2Timothy and in 2Timothy 2, I read, then reread, then reread again the following verses… 20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.1 21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.(a) 1 In the foot notes from the .net bible ignoble probably is referring to vessels used for refuse or excrement. Let’s take some time to think through what this should look like for you and me. The first thought that comes to my mind is every believer has both types of articles in their house. The second thought that comes to my mind is that I should do all I can to clean out, get rid off, scrub, and clean those that are “refuse”. Let me share my thoughts on these two with an eye toward changing my life and hopefully helping each of you who read this do the same. Before I go into these let me first share that house in this context is referring to my life, my heart, soul and mind, to me. To put it another way, it is everything that God will hold me eternally accountable for. Everyone has both noble and ignoble items in their house. As believers we’re far from perfect, but more importantly to me, these verses are saying that as good as I may see myself, I have areas of my life that are useful for...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
On April 12th, I arrived in Hyderabad, India and joined up with my Brothers Hessel Baker and Brice Kopas, for what would be my third mission trip to India in as many years. I sensed God calling me to India for a specific purpose and in a very short time I was on the plane to India. Just three years ago, if you had asked me about India, I would have told you that it would be one of the last places on earth that I would ever want to see or visit. Oh, how God’s ways are higher than my ways; His thoughts higher than my thoughts! It was an extremely edifying, yet humbling, experience. Before I share the focus of my trip, let me share with you what I perceive to be the greatest need amongst these pastors. These faithful brothers have tremendous prayer lives and they are so faithful to their work. With that being true, the greatest need I see in the lives of these pastors and congregations is the need for sound biblical teaching and instruction. There is a great need to educate the pastors so that they in turn can educate and disciple faithful men and women in their congregations who “will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2) Please pray for God to give the Sharon India Foundation wisdom and discernment on how it can best serve these brothers and sisters in this area. Your prayers, thoughts, comments and ideas are coveted in this matter. This trip focused on two major areas in which I sensed God’s prompting me to encourage...
by Rob Amerine | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
Twice each year in Colorado Springs is the Couples Morning of Prayer at Glen Eyrie. This is a half-day event (usually 3-4 hours on a Saturday morning) with the primary focus on just encouraging couples (married or engaged) to pray together. This past year my wife and I were asked to start facilitating these events and we have seen clear evidence of E squared. We have never done anything like this as a couple before so it was a little overwhelming at first. Who were we to encourage others couples to pray? Our marriage had definitely seen its ups and downs over the years but both of us undeniably know that without prayer we wouldn’t have made it. To help us get ready for this event and since I’m somewhat of an analytical guy I decided to do some research and found some statistics that I thought were pretty compelling. It is widely known that nearly 1 in 2 of “Christian” marriages today will end in divorce but it’s interesting that less than 1 in 10 of Christian couples pray together on a regular basis. But for those couples that pray together on a regular basis the divorce rate dramatically drops to under 1%! I’m not a guy that likes to gamble (not anymore anyway) but you’ve gotta like those odds! Considering this and reflecting on our own prayer life we had to admit that while we agreed that individual pray time each day was important to us we admitted that our weekly scheduled time for prayer together wasn’t working out so well – just as we viewed our individual prayer life it became clear to us...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
I am in the property tax appeal business in Colorado and Arizona. Nancy called from Newton, NJ, regarding the taxes on a property owned by her sister, Carol. She thought I was with the County Tax office. After a few minutes of business discussion Nancy related the following to me. She and her sister, Carol, have been estranged for more than twenty years. Both have been suffering with deep depression. Regrettably, Carol committed suicide last week. Nancy told me she attempted the same several months ago and again last week after hearing of Carol’s death. Nancy was found unconscious, taken to the hospital for a week while she recovered from her overdose of pills. She thanked me for my assistance and was about to hang up when I asked her where she thought Carol was spiritually. The reply was Carol did not like anyone including, God. I asked Nancy where she stood with God. A long and thoughtful silence ensued. She responded that her painter, Frank, had been asking her the same question and what a “coincidence” this seemed to be. I posed the scenario that if there is a God, heaven, hell and if she died tonight what she would tell God if He asked her why He should let her into his heaven. Again, a long silence and Nancy said she just did not have much of an answer to that question except for the fact that she always tried to be a good person etc. Nancy asked me what I would tell God. My response was that I had been asked the same question 34 years...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
About five years ago, I had a guy call on me to represent his product in the market place (investments). As I befriended Doug, he accepted my invitation to a number of CBMC luncheons. A few months went by and I asked him to begin meeting with me in First Steps. I felt comfortable asking him “gently” for any kind of a testimony to see if and when he came to Christ. Well, Mr. Judgmental here thought it was quite weak! And after a year or so, it proved to be weak, because one day he came to my office, flopped down in the chair and said, “This Christian life isn’t working for me. I need to surrender my life to Christ”. Since that took place, now fast forward a couple of years. Doug has a substantial Jewish background and most everything growing up was Jewish. He divorced his wife a few years earlier and was seriously looking for other women. After somewhat of a slower growth in Christ, he joined a men’s Bible study in my office August 2010. He shared with the men that his 16 year old daughter (has boy/girl twins) was totally out of control. She even called her mother the “B” word. For financial reasons, he moved back into the house with his former wife and twins. I offered, and the family agreed to have me come over to their place and talk about “family relationships”. It was Saturday morning, July 2nd and I went to their place. After meeting for two hours with the family, I told them they had no foundation in which to “fix” their lives and a...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
While at a self-serve -car wash I got visiting with Mike who had driven 2,500 miles, sleeping in his pickup, to visit his son. As conversation progressed he lamented the loss of his nineteen year old son, the result of suicide or murder. As Mike spoke, his deep sense of loss, lonliness and many regrets in his life were poured out. I asked Mike where he thought his son might be if there is a god, heaven and hell. He went on to tell me what a good kid his son had been in spite of many shortcomings and trouble in his life. The question still hanging, Mike answered that he thinks his son is in heaven. I asked Mike where he would go if he died tonight, supposing there is a god, heaven and hell. His response was one of his shortcomings but thinks that he has done enough good works to offset his poor choices in life. He was able to relate to my brief testimony as I told him where I believe I am headed and the reason…Jesus. Standing in my headlights I proceeded to take Mike through the Steps to Peace. He related to the bridge illustrations. I asked him if he would like to receive Jesus right now. He said he wanted to think about it so I asked him again. He wanted to avoid a decision. As I handed him the booklet I assured him that he could make that decision anytime he wants to. As we departed I wished Mike well and hope to see him in heaven. Mike knows the conditions,...
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