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Personal Testimonies

Spiritual Re-birth

I was born into the Lutheran Church. My Father was an ordained Lutheran minister. I was baptized as an infant and "confirmed" at thirteen years old.

I considered myself a Christian and I participated in Confirmation sincerely, but I realize now that I only believed in the "possibility" of Jesus Christ. I thought I would learn about life and would make a decision and commitment later. After high school, I fell away from church attendance.

At about 33 years old [which Italians -I happen to be of German decent- call "anno de Christo;" the year of the Christ; the age when Jesus died; a year especially reserved for revelation, according to folk tradition*] I had a personal crisis. All my beliefs were shaken. I began to read the Bible from cover-to-cover. Since the Old Testament was at least twice as large as the New Testament, I decided to read ten chapters a day in the OT and five chapters a day in the NT. I think I finished reading the entire Bible in about three or four months. By the time I finished I was convinced that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life (John 14:6) and I asked him to be my Lord and Savior!

I began a daily devotional practice of prayer, Bible reading and mediation, using a devotional published by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) called Light for Today (many denominations have similar devotional material). It consisted of a Scripture text, with a key verse, and a meditation, hymn, and prayer for the day. As I began to use it, the Lord began to show me things in his word. It was like he was underlining certain things, and when I when I received them, I prayed them back to him to make sure I understood what he wanted me to get.  I would try, during the day to remember what he had showed me during the devotional and apply it to my life that day, one day at a time.

I also began to attend church regularly. As I followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Lord asked if I thought that if I attended the mid-weekly Lenten service at my Lutheran Church, as a spiritual pilgrimage, that I might receive the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit at Pentecost (fifty days after Easter). I answered "yes." I began to look for the fulfillment of that promise, and I was "born-again" (John 3:3, 5-8) that following Pentecost. 

*Marshall, Peter, and Manuel, David, The Light and the Glory, p. 32, Fleming H. Revell, P. O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, Mich., 49516-6287, ISBN: 0-8077-5054-3 Paper.

Discipleship

As I began to read the Bible on a daily basis, the Lord began to lead me, one day at a time.

One day when my oldest daughter, now married and pregnant, was in junior-first grade in elementary school, the text of my daily devotion was Psalm 40:4: "Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods!" At the time I was very "into" fly-fishing, to the point of idolatry. It was January, and my wife had the day off. We had planned to fish in my local Southern California mountains. I told my wife that I thought we should not go, but she talked me into going.

After we put my daughter onto the school bus, we went fishing. To make a long story short, we got stuck -high-centered- on a dirt access road. We abandoned my camper truck, leaving the key since it was blocking a fire road, and hiked out to the main road. We were supposed to be back in time to pick up my six-something daughter from the bus stop.

I was very worried, and I prayed for my daughter. The Lord asked me if I would believe what he told me, and I replied that I did not know how he was able to do what he did, but I believed that he could do anything he promised! He told me that my daughter would be ok.

We flagged down a passing car, using the international distress signal. The driver was a commercial airline pilot who lived in the mountains and was on his way to captain a flight from the local airport. He had allowed plenty of time and was able to drop us off at our front door.

When we had taken our daughter to the bus, another mother was there and we had told her we were going fishing and where. When our daughter arrived on the returning bus and the mother saw that no one met her, she took my daughter to her house. She found out my father's name and called him. When the pilot dropped us off at our door, my father and mother drove by with my daughter in their car.

I had called the local U. S Forest Ranger station to report the situation. I also had a friend who was a Ranger, and had made arrangements with him to help retrieve my truck. I was sore from the hike out, and was taking a shower. While I was in the shower, two very "mountain-men looking" guys rang the doorbell. They had come across the truck, pulled it off the high center, and had decided to deliver it to us, at our registered address!  Is God able and faithful or what!

Spiritual Growth

The Lord uses life experiences like the fishing experience to cause us to grow in faith. As we begin to respond to his guidance in faith he begins to reveal his power and faithfulness.

As I began to be guided daily by the Holy Spirit, the Lord asked me to invite an acquaintance to visit in my home. I had reason to be suspicious of this particular individual, and I, like Ananias asked the Lord concerning Saul (of Tarsus; the Apostle Paul; Acts (9:11-14), asked if the Lord knew what type of person he was, although I knew the Lord surely did.  The Lord told me to look up Psalm 91. At that time, the only Psalm I knew by chapter and verse was the 23rd Psalm. I looked it up and received the Lord's assurance.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust.' For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge...Because  you have made the Lord your refuge, the  Most High your habitation, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent... For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” (Psalm 91:1-4a, 9-12)

I was so amazed with the Lord's answer that I asked who it was who was answering me. God's word tells us not to believe every spirit but to test the spirits, to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1). The Lord replied “The Lord and giver of life" (the third person/article of the Nicene Creed.) It was a verification which was uniquely appropriate to my situation. I am sure that he is able to verify himself to you in a similarly unique way.

Internet Evangelism

I was personally looking for a way to feed myself in daily Bible Study, and the Lord led me to use the Lutheran Book of Worship 2-Year Lectionary for Personal Devotions. As I used it I saw great need and potential for it. I began to pray for the Lord's approval to publish it as an internet Bible Study.

The Lord gave me his approval at the earliest time that I was ready and able to do it. Once I had his approval, I went online and found a 'blog (web log) host, and created a 'blog with his help. I began to publish before I had finished the first two-year cycle of my own devotional. By the time I began my second cycle, I had learned better how to do it. I finished the two-year cycle in November and have been rerunning it.