Christian
Encouragement
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As always, everyone on this page has agreed to accept e-mail from anyone who wishes to write to them for advice or encouragement.

• Katie: When my sister-in-law finally got me to go to church.
• Dave: He taught me a lesson in the middle of a really bad day at work.
• Penny: My fiancee wanted to move to a different state.
• Dana: During a prayer/praise session.
• Shane: While looking at a bulletin board.
• Betty: In our car after a day of fasting.
• Michael: During a recent ministry.
• Leslie: The Lord reassured me through a dream.

Katie: Well the MOST vivid time that I remember when I just KNEW that the Lord was speaking directly to me was when I had rededicated my life to Jesus about 8 years ago!!! I had been living with a friend of mine, helping her to take care of her grandchildren, and at that time I was AWAY from the Lord and had been for about 3 years or so! My sister-in-law and brother kept coming over to visit me and TRYING to get me to come to church with them, but I was at a point in my life when I didn't WANT to follow the Lord. (PRAISE GOD MY BROTHER AND SISTER-IN-LAW NEVER GAVE UP!) Anyway, because I just wanted to be left alone, I ended up getting verrrrrrrry ANGRY at them for trying, and told them to LEAVE ME ALONE!!! Well, they did, and I didn't see them for about 2-3 months or so!

Then I started to wonder why they hadn't come over to visit me anymore! DUH!! I was sitting out on the porch one day and I saw my sister-in-law's car coming down the street. But this time I was SOOOooo **HAPPY** to see her that when she got out of the car, I RAN over to see her and HUGGED her tight! She asked me to go out to lunch with her, and we really had a GOOD time. When she dropped me back off at home she said, "Well, I am going to ask you something, and I know that you are going to be MAD for me asking, but I am gonna ask anyway: Katie, do you want to go to church tonight? There is going to be a special speaker tonight." BEFORE I COULD STOP THE WORD'S FROM COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH I SAID, "Yeah, sure!!!"

Well to make a LOOOoooong story short, I went to church and for the VERY first time in my walk with the Lord, I was prophesied to, and told EVERYTHING that I had been through, and that the Lord had NOT FORGOTTEN about me, and that He was doing a NEW thing in me!!! Jesus said "I will NEVER leave you nor FORSAKE YOU" As a result of my sister-in-law asking me to go to church with them, my LIFE was changed FOREVER!!! I didn't know that evangelist from ADAM, yet the LORD knew that I was going to be there!!! Just goes to show you JUST HOW MUCH THE LORD REALLY LOVE'S HIS CHILDREN huh? Keep this as "Food For Thought" Love KatieFrench!!!!!!!!!!!

Katie (35 years old)

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Dave: I run a business that my parents started in 1974. I took over in 1993. One day, we were having a VERY bad day in sales. Over halfway through the day, it looked like this would be the worst day we had ever had! I had several bills coming due, and I wasn't sure how I was going to pay them on time. I was very discouraged. Well, a couple of ladies came in the store, and bought about $100 worth of merchandize between the two of them. While it wasn't exactly enough to save the day, I was grateful nevertheless. I said a short prayer of thanks, and I had barely finished my prayer when these words were in my head:

Needless to say, I was stunned! I know without a doubt, that the Lord was speaking to me. I said another (longer) prayer of thanks and praise, and asked the Lord to forgive me for my doubts, and even though we were already over halfway through the day, we ended up having the second best day of sales we have ever had! More than enough to pay the bills that were coming up! That quick, with just a simple prayer of thanks, God turned what looked like an absolute failure of a day into a way to glorify Himself, and taught me an unforgettable object lesson. Now, if I ever catch myself starting to worry about how we're going to get by (and I have caught myself a few times), I simply think about that day, and I don't worry anymore! I simply trust Him to meet our needs as He promised in His word, and He always does! I think the problem that a lot of people have is getting their "wants" confused with their "needs."

Jesus told us not to worry about what we're going to eat, or drink, or wear in Matthew 6:25-34. Verse 33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." God bless!

Dave (33 years old)

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Penny: Three years ago my husband had asked me to marry him. The answer was easy, "Yes!" Then he said he wanted to move from California to Missouri. My response was "No!" I didn't want to leave my family and friends. What to do? I wanted to marry him, but I knew he was serious; he wanted out of California really bad. We had talked about getting married and moving to a different state, but I never thought it would really happen. Well, I began praying about what to do, and I asked that the Lord would give me peace if we were to move. I made it obvious that I didn't really want to go. About a week later I was at work when I was thinking about going to Missouri. My whole attitude changed. The Lord spoke to me and said, "Go." I began to feel at peace about the whole thing. I couldn't believe it! Needless to say I'm married, in Missouri, and I'm happy. I know the Lord was in charge of it all. We moved here without jobs, and the Lord immediately gave us both jobs in our fields. Everything went too smoothly for God not to be in charge.

Penny (27 years old)

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Dana: Each time I think of this event in my life, I get goose bumps. There were several people gathered together to pray for a woman in our church who had been experiencing some major physical problems. The prayer session turned into a praise session, and, though we did pray for the lady, the whole meaning of the gathering seemed to be swept by the Spirit in a totally different direction.

I began to feel like the Lord had a message either for me, or for me to share with the group. No words would come even when I purposely yielded my mouth as an instrument to God. We were all gathered in a very close circle, and were praying together and seeking the Lord's will. As I was yielding myself to Him, He put His hand on my head. Now, I know that it was physically my pastor's hand, but in the Spirit I know it was God. It took me to my knees. I never did get a verbal message that night, but I did get a message.

When people in the bible placed their hands on the head of someone or something, it was a sign of identification. In the Old Testament, the high priest would place his hand on the head of the sin offering, identifying with the animal so that God would impute the sin of Israel to the animal. That's how sacrificing the animal was able to take care of their sin. In the New Testament, the apostles laid hands on Paul and Barnabus, sending them out as a part of themselves. They identified themselves with the missionaries they were sending out in service to God. Everything they did was an extension of the body of believers they had left behind. When God put His hand on my head, He was identifying me with Himself. What a message!

Now, I don't pretend to know everything I need to about that experience, but knowing I have been identified with God in such a real way makes me so much more conscious of my whole life purpose. I know He has set me apart for some special service. I've watched as others made wrong decisions for their lives and have been tempted to follow suit, but knowing that God has a mission for me to carry out has helped me keep on track. I don't always stay in His will of course, but in the big major life decisions (like staying with my marriage even through the really tough times) I can't take the worldly route. I know I would be damaging my effectiveness in the future.

I don't know what His plan is for me, and I don't need to. Knowing that He knows is sufficient for me. I just make myself available to Him to train and use. God bless you all!

Dana (37 years old)

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Shane: There are many experiences that seem to point to the moving of God in my life. But I think the most vivid was the year Penny and I were saved. We had a desire to reach our families for the Lord. Though our families were not saved at that time, some of our friends were. They were the ones we least expected. The moving of God's Spirit was powerful that year.

As for God speaking to me: I cannot say if it was the Lord or an angel. But one time I was looking at a poster for a Christian event. I couldn't memorize the place, time, or date, nor did I have anything to write it down with. There were many similar posters around for the same event, and this one seemed to be in a very cluttered place, I didn't think there would be a problem with taking it. In fact, that is what this particular bulletin board was about. It was a "take what you need" thing. So I started to take it down, it was just a 8 X 11 sheet of paper. But before I could pull it off completely, a voice spoke to me. It was very small and quiet, but also very easy to hear and understand. It said, "Put it back, Shane." It was not an angry voice, but rather one of concern as if to say, "Wait! I'm saving that for somebody else." I looked around, but there was nobody near enough to whisper that to me, so I figured it must be God. So, I put it back. As I walked away I wondered how I would remember how to get to this Christian event. Later that night I discovered that Penny (my then girlfiend) was planning to go too, and had already written down the information. That is the most dramatic episode of God speaking to me that I have to date.

Shane (26 years old)

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Betty: Not long after I became a Christian, Rick (my husband) and myself were praying about where the LORD wanted us to be. Rick kept saying that he felt that the LORD was leading us to go to California. I didn't want to go there. We both enjoyed living in the Ozarks, and traveling around together. We had a nice home, and wanted to stay. Well, the LORD had other plans for us. We prayed repeatedly. Finally, I fasted for a day, and then that evening I went into prayer. I told the LORD whatever HE wanted us to do, we would do it. HE said to me, QUITE LITERALY SAID OUT LOUD TO ME, "You need to tell Rick about the needles" I was in shock! I had recently recovered from a drug addiction. I kept needles around; not to use, but just in case! A security blanket of sorts. I hid them everywhere. I had a bit of an obsession. (ok, a real obsession!) Well, I said back to GOD, "Are You sure?!" GOD spoke again, "Tell Him!" So, I turned to Rick. We had been driving down the highway, and I said "Rick, the LORD has just told me that I have to tell you something. HE won't answer anymore until I do, so here goes...I have needles hidden everywhere. I am to give them TO you, and you have to get rid of them for me. This will keep our marriage whole, and honest." Rick said, "I know already" Well, it was a blessing. GOD did move us to California, and caused us to be very protected throughout. I believe when the LORD speaks, and you listen, the blessings mount up, but, for those who ignore...well, trouble will follow until you take the wax out of your ears and LISTEN! I have had a number of occassions when the HOLY SPIRIT has spoken to me directly.
GOD BLESS TILL NEXT MONTH!

Betty (35 years old)

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Michael: Probably the most vivid example of God moving in me was this past week, when I was in Panama City doing a ministry called BeachReach. Each night for 3 nights when we all gathered to worship, we prayed out loud for Jesus to speak to our hearts. He did! Boy, did He!! I am a self-conscience person because I am overweight. I had always had low self-esteem, and this caused me to be in a shell, sorta. I struggled with opening myself up and talking to other people. This battle had been going on all of my life. Well, this really bothered me, and one night when we had invitation, I knelt down at the altar and gave it all to Christ. He freed me from that, and now I don't have much of a problem talking with other people. Jesus has really blessed me by also showing me how to witness without fear. I praise Him for it!

Love in Christ, Michael

Michael (20 years old)

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Leslie: Christmas of 1988 I had planned an elaborate display of Christmas lights with a theme that Jesus was real and was alive. One evening I was watching a Christian program that had former cult members and satanists giving their testimonies. Earlier that week I had discovered that we had a cult living a couple of streets behind us. On this progam they were talking about human sacrifices, and that the most perfect sacrifices were small boys with blonde hair and blue eyes. The exact description of my 3 year old son. After that program was over, a "fear" overcame me that was almost more than I could bear. I became paranoid because of the cult that lived nearby. I was too frightened to go forth with my Christmas light show. I wanted no attention brought to our home.

One night after this fear had taken hold of me, I had a dream. I dreamed that a "hit" man had been hired to kill me. Everywhere I went I was always looking over my shoulder constantly scared. I had hidden my family so that when the hit took place they would be safe. This hit man was reportedly the best and never missed. I can remember in this dream the awful fear that I was forced to live with. I was afraid of everyone because I didn't know what this hit man looked like. I had moved into a hotel trying to hide. As I was returning to my room I noticed 3 men in the corridor; a man drinking from the water fountain, a man hanging a picture, and a man vacuuming. As I approached the door of my room another man came up to me and handed me a package. Before I could take it the 3 men that were in the hall rushed to take it first. They grabbed the package and were examining it. I asked them "who are you?" They said, "We are your bodyguards." With that, the dream ended and I awoke.

This dream stuck with me. It was a nightmare to me, and I couldn't shake it from my mind. For 3 days I prayed asking God to please reveal to me what this dream meant. The morning of the 4th day after this dream, I was standing in my bathroom praying while getting ready to go out, and suddenly the meaning of the dream was clear. Deep down in my spirit the dream was revealed. The hit man represented Satan. The 3 men in the corridor represented God's angels. God revealed to me through this dream that as long as I continued to glorify Jesus in my life the enemy would always be out to get me but would never succeed because God and His angels were watching over me. At that very moment the fear that had gripped me was suddenly lifted off me.

That Christmas I displayed an even more elaborate Christmas light show than I had orginally planned, with the name of Jesus glorified, and every night cars were lined up to see my house!

**I'd lke to express one thing. Christians are always looking for God to speak to them in supernatural ways. However, the most common way is through His word, the bible. The bible is God speaking directly to you.

Leslie (35 years old)

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Leslie used this poem in her answer to February's question. I liked it so much that I decided to keep it posted here.

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