Every Testimony Is Different

Some of you reading this article may remember when it used to be a common event in church services for someone to stand up and give their testimony. They’d share from the heart about how God pursued them even on their darkest day. When they came to the end of their rope, they surrendered their life to Jesus. What a joyous day that was! Everyone’s testimony is different, fascinating, and unique to each person. The Holy Spirit pursued them, touched them, and met them in a glorious connection between Father and child (see The Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32).

One of my favorite testimonies comes from a man who visited our youth group when I was a teenager. He had lived a crazy life and had been into everything immoral that he could sample from this evil world. One day, when he was driving drunk on a rainy night through his hometown, his car started to spin out into an intersection. Even in his drunken state, he had a split second to think that he would die and that his car would wrap itself around a light pole. Everything seemed to slow down and, as he looked around inside his car, he saw an angel in his passenger seat! The angel had its hands over its face. He perceived in his heart that it was praying for him! His car continued spinning and finally ended up on the sidewalk. There was some damage to it and to the corner, but he was alive and unharmed. When the police showed up, he was arrested for drunk driving and thrown in jail. Despite being in jail, he couldn't get the vision of the angel out of his head! For the first time in years, he began reading a Bible as he awaited his court date. He wanted to know more about angels, but that study caused him to be hungry to learn more and more about God. Later, with the help of a prison chaplain, he gave his life to Jesus. He never looked back, except to share his testimony with young people like those of us in that youth group. As we listened to him, there was not a sound in the room. His story, his testimony, was touching others.

Another testimony I remember is one that I read in Guideposts Magazine. A man told the story of his rebellious teen years. He would sneak out of the house, come home late, and get into lots of trouble. At the time, his grandmother was living with the family. Every morning and evening, she would sit in a living room chair near a lamp and read her bible and pray. One time he asked her what she was praying for. “I’m praying for you and your brothers and sisters, your cousins, your mom and dad…” she answered. For some reason, it impressed him that she spent so much time talking to God. Several decades later, his grandmother sat in the front row at church when he was baptized. He was now in his 30s, had been married, had kids, gotten addicted to drugs, divorced…He’d endured lots of pain. God had met him every step of the way. One of the main reasons he finally gave his life to Jesus was because his grandmother was a living, breathing testimony to faith.

My testimony isn’t as colorful, but I have had my fair share of struggles. I had many emotional hurts and fears from my childhood that were unbearable. I was raised in a very strict household and, because I was a sensitive kid, I took the punishments and scoldings very hard. By the time I was in my early 20s, anxiety and fear crippled me. At about that same time, a friend introduced me to Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). I had never heard Amy Grant or Sandi Patty or any of the other CCM artists from the mid-80s. Their music opened up a whole new world of worship to me and, one day, on my way home from work, I got saved listening to an Amy Grant song on my car stereo. In a single moment, I realized God’s love for me and that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for me! (John 3:16) Right there, waiting at a red light at the intersection of 190th and Crenshaw in Torrance, California, I gave my life to Jesus.

As you can see, everyone’s testimony is different. It is unique to that person and their circumstance. God pursued them and patiently waited for them to stop, turn around and see Him for who He is: Deliverer, Comforter, Savior, Healer, Restorer…our God and Father. Amen! (Isaiah 9:6, 1 John 1:5, 2 Peter 3:9, Psalm 116:5, Psalm 68:19-20)

What is your testimony?

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 6:23 NIV

Paula Aiton is a member of Koinonia Church and a freelance writer, musician and artist. Her blog, God’s Glory Girl, can be found at godsglorygirl.com

Call ‘em like you see ‘em.

In baseball circles, there is a phrase that has been around since the early 1900s that states, “I call ‘em as I sees ‘em!” There are various accounts of who coined this phrase – whether it was Baseball Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem, or an umpire in a 1960 Yankees game, or even well before that. Whoever said it first, the meaning indicates: I’m only telling you what I saw in my vision, not changing or imposing his interpretations on it. The umpire is making a decision based on what he saw. This phrase came to mind as I recently re-read the story of Gideon in Judges 6-8.

Gideon was an Israelite prophet, warrior and judge from the Old Testament. Israel had been invaded by Midian from the east. Every time the Israelites planted crops, their enemies would come and invade them and destroy their crops, leaving nothing for them to live on – no livestock or grain. The Israelites were crying out to God. To keep from starving, Gideon hid and threshed wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites.

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord, appears before him and says, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” Gideon was certainly surprised by the angel, but probably even more so by the fact that he called him ‘mighty hero’. Hiding and threshing wheat in a winepress rather than on an open threshing floor certainly did not seem ‘mighty’ nor ‘heroic’. But the angel called it like he saw it. The angel knew that Gideon was going to do mighty and heroic things to rescue his people with the help of the Lord.

Sure, Gideon couldn’t see it and he protested, arguing that he was the least in his family from the weakest clan. He even asked if God would show him not just one sign, but two, to prove that He was actually speaking to him.  

There are things within each of us that are apparent to God and even to others; things that we don’t see or imagine exists within ourselves. God can reveal to people around us the potential in us for great and mighty things. You, yourself, may see things in others that God has revealed to you. This is when you can plant seeds of encouragement within that person and ‘call ‘em like you see ‘em’. People need to hear from God, or from those that God can use, to build up His people to do amazing things for His Kingdom. 

Do you know someone who is patient and interested in little ones? Maybe they are positioned to become a teacher. Do you see glimpses of creativity in someone? Speak that to them. Do you see a budding talent that God could certainly use for His glory? Point that out. The way we build up one another can be a turning point in a life. Your words can be the catalyst that causes a person to see themselves in a different light; to see themselves as God sees them.

In this current age, we need more and more encouragers. We need people, like you, to care enough about others to speak life into them, to fan the flames of the possible, to inspire a desire to do great things that please God. 

Our friend, Gideon, went on save his people, defeating thousands and thousands of Midianites with the help of 300 men and God. He was, indeed, a mighty hero just as the angel had seen and stated.

Take a look around at your family, friends, acquaintances. What do you see in them? What may be obvious to you, may be surprising to them. Make it a point to encourage someone each day and ‘call ‘em as you see em’! 

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds…encouraging one another.” -Hebrews 102:4-25

Sylvia Gaston

Family Ministry Pastor

Healthiness, Holiness, Happiness

Have you ever used something other than a hammer to do something where a hammer is normally needed? I may or may not have used my hand, a water bottle, a block of wood, and to my shame, a shoe. We tend to grab what’s quick and easy, just to find out it was neither.

In our lives we often hear things like, “just do what makes you happy” or “happiness is the goal”. This cultural belief can often be the quick and easy thing we grab for but, in the end, we are left wanting. We have to find out that shallow happiness, while a quick and easy fix, doesn’t really get the job done.

When we use a tool for its true purpose, we find contentment in the job it does. Happiness was never meant to be the thing that fills, it was meant to be a product of fulfillment.

When we make healthy choices, our body, mind and spirit work as they were designed. When God created the earth and said “it is good”, He said this because it was as it was designed to be. It was healthy, it was Holy and in response, He was happy because it was good.

We can all think of how to be happy for a while. We can watch something, eat something, drink something, but if those things are not helping our purpose, they will be short lived.

Momentary pleasures have become a staple of our world. This is not news to us; we get things quickly because we don’t want to wait. Interesting fact though, waiting for things is the practice of becoming patient. In a fast-paced world, maybe waiting is a path to happiness, because being patient is sometimes the healthy choice.

In this life we will all find times of sadness and depression, fear and anxiety, shame and isolation. Those are sometimes very complicated issues and grabbing for the closest thing is not going to equal lasting happiness. You are not alone; God has a path for you to walk. You have a great calling.

We were created to love. Have you ever given your gifts, talents, abilities or resources for the good of someone else? When you did, maybe you were exhausted and depleted. At the same time, happy. That happiness is something you remember and fills you. That is purpose fulfilled. It’s not always easy but it was the healthy choice; it was holy purpose.

When you are in a hard spot and you need to fix some things, make sure you grab for the correct tools. When you find the right tools, learn to use them as designed. As I have experienced, try not to spend your time hammering out the issues of your life with a shoe.

Choose what makes you healthy; choose what makes you holy. True happiness will be the
by-product, not the goal.

Rene Solis 
Director of Koinonia School of Ministry

Prune For Growth

There are two trees in my backyard that needed a lot of work, so a couple of days ago I decided to prune them. This type of tree is very green and lively on the outside, where the sun hits, but on the inside, those branches were dead and dry. Not to mention that I’m a very tall man, and I would constantly hit my head on these low hanging branches. Instead of wearing my bike helmet around these trees, I decided enough was enough, it’s time to prune these branches.

As I began to cut off the dead limbs, ensuring that future growth would happen, I began to think of life. God speaks to me in the simplest ways, I’m glad I was wise enough to be listening this time. I think there are several things in life that can call for our attention. Family, friends, church, volunteer activities, sports, music; these are just a few things that can take our time. Keep in mind that these are good things, they are not necessarily bad. I couldn’t help but think that - just as this tree – there are some things that we need to let go of. Even though jobs, activities, or volunteer opportunities are not bad or evil, they are not necessarily good for our growth; for our spiritual, emotional, or physical development. I’m guilty of attempting to juggle too many things, and – at the end of the day – I am mediocre at a lot of things. As much as it pains me, I need to say ‘no’ to something that I might enjoy in order for me to focus on another area that I really want to excel in, or that I really want to learn.

For example, years ago I used to love playing on the worship team at my church. Even though singing and playing with a band brought me a lot of joy, it began to be very tiring. Years went on and I began to speak at youth group. There are only so many hours in the day and I had to choose: do I want to focus on my teaching abilities at youth group or do I want to spend time playing with the worship team? Both were good things, but I decided that it was time for me to hone my teaching abilities rather than to play with the band.

I believe God has a plan and tasks for us to do. He has crafted us to be able to do such works, giving us the skills and abilities that we need. So, I ask you, is there anything that you need to stop doing? Is there an area that you feel you need to let go, in order to grow somewhere else?

Just like those trees in my backyard, they are now able to grow better and healthier. If we do the same, I believe pruning some activities in our lives will only be better for us as individuals, be better for our families, and be better for our spiritual walk with Christ.

Mauricio Paredes
Youth Pastor