Many Christians are aware that there will be a time in the future when Jesus will return to gather His church (believers) to be with Him forever. They have a concern that some people they know, especially loved ones, who are not believers will be excluded from this event. This exclusion means eternal separation from God, that is, an eternity in hell. (Clarified elsewhere on this site). Clearly then, the strong desire is that these loved ones should be converted to believers. There is a page on this site that offers unbelievers encouragement to become believers, accessed from the Navigation Bar: ‘Reasons to believe’. A testimony is another way of, hopefully, encouraging people to come to faith. So, perhaps long overdue, I offer my testimony here. –------------------------------------------------

Conversion

I was converted to Christianity during the late 1980’s when my wife, Dail, tired of me arguing for evolution, handed me two books from the library: One was ‘The Flood Reconsidered’ by Frederick A. Filby, “A Review of the Evidences of Geology, Archaeology, Ancient Literature, and the Bible.” This book was the result of a study of all the evidence and many writings relating to the biblical flood. An interesting read. The second book was ‘Clues To Creation In Genesis’ by P J Wiseman. This was the book that converted me. In a nutshell, it describes how archaeology and the discovery of colophons and toledoths in ancient tablets is seen in the structure in the book of Genesis, vaildating its authority. That was, in truth, an easy conversion. Perhaps for some reason I was susceptible, but converted I was. Because it started with Genesis, my first Bible reading was with that book. It’s a lengthy book, only beaten by Jeremiah, but an easy read. It was only after reading Genesis that I moved to the New Testament. The noticeable thing about becoming a believer is the change of attitude to life and people. It’s a shame it didn’t happen a lot earlier. However, I hadn’t been ‘born again’ and my Christianity was shallow, more academic than spiritual. In May 1999 we were invited to the wedding of two Christian friends at the evangelical church they attended. The guests were not only the usual expected friends and family, but also included their ‘church family’. Their church took care of all the catering. Although this church was some twenty miles away, we went there to worship with them for the next few weeks, an experience which inspired me and kick-started my study and spiritual growth.

God spoke to me

I’m about to recall the few times that God spoke to me. Please don’t be put off continuing to read this just because I said “God spoke to me”. God ‘speaks’ to people in different ways, and not once did I hear an audible voice. Furthermore, this only happened in the early years of my conversion and hasn’t happened since.

Book of James

The first experience was in the early days of satellite TV when transmissions were analogue, not digital as everything is today. The only Christian channel in this country was called ‘God TV’ which broadcast for just a couple of hours each morning. One evening, before getting into bed, I opened my Bible and read the book of James. To me, at that time, it was a straight reading of words with little, if any, spiritual meaning. In the morning I tuned into ‘God TV’, only to catch the last few words of a program, something like “and the book of James”. I just saw this as simple coincidence and thought nothing more about it. Dail and I had different eating habits at lunch time; I ate and she didn’t. I put two small potatoes in a pan to boil to go with a small salad, and while waiting for them took a Bible out of the book cabinet. This particular Bible was in a case, hardly ever opened and in pristine condition. I made no effort to open it in any particular place, and was surprised to be confronted with chapter one, verse one of James. In my view that was now beyond coincidence. I defy anyone to open a pristine Bible at James 1:1 (or any chosen chapter and verse), even when aiming for it. My only explanation at the time was that God was ‘saying’ to me: I am here you know. If this were my only testimony, many would write this off (perhaps avoiding being unkind) as just one of those rare three in-a- row coincidences.

Receiving the Holy Spirit

I now felt the need to be guided to a more local church rather than ‘church-hop’ and choose one for myself. This need was reflected in prayer for the many months that followed. I had no inclination to go to our local Anglican church, thinking a Baptist or evangelical church would be more suited to me. In the Autumn of 2000, I was invited to an Alpha course at our friends’ new church, this time just fifteen miles away. I thought Alpha would be an opportunity to meet other Christians in the village and so declined and booked myself on a course at our local church. It was in the latter half of this Alpha course that a friend was going to be baptised at their church, and I was asked if I would like to be baptised at the same time. Accepting the invitation, I went to their house on the preceding Thursday evening for a pre- baptism chat from their pastor. At the end of this meeting the pastor said a prayer for us. I felt a little chilly, simply because our friends were economic with their heating. While he was praying a warm feeling came over me. Not altogether, but starting in my head and passing through my body to my feet. My immediate reaction was simply to think “What’s that?” I didn’t say anything, but reflected on it on the way home. To my joy, I realised this was what is called an ‘infilling of the Holy Spirit’. Suddenly feeling a shiver in the body is natural; suddenly feeling a warmth all over, going from chilly to warm, isn’t. It certainly isn’t natural for that warmth to gradually pass through the body from head to feet. Receiving the Holy Spirit is a result of accepting Jesus Christ as your saviour. This happens whether you experience it physically or not. Many people don’t have a physical experience. Why I did, I don’t know. But I feel blessed to have done so. It was at this point I was ‘born again’. Baptised by immersion followed on Sunday, 26 th November, 2000.

Three red lights

Following that Alpha course I joined the Bible Study group and then subsequently the Lent course of 2001. During the Lent course, I read a column in the Christian Herald (long since out of print) which, I don’t recall why, encouraged me to go to the next Sunday service at our church. I was warmly welcomed by my newly found friends from the Lent course, but had doubt whether this should become my church. I felt the decision to go there was mine and not Gods. So, of course, I prayed about it. Shortly after, I was having one of those very mixed and meaningless dreams when suddenly all visual awareness was blocked out by three red lights for a period of just two or three seconds, accompanied by what I can only describe as a 50 cycle hum, after which the dream continued in its muddled way. I took this to be a sign and started to imagine how this might manifest itself in reality. On the first Sunday of May I went to our church for the fifth time. When it came to the sermon I relaxed, took off my glasses, looked down at them and saw the reflection of the lights. As I looked at these reflections the overhead heaters came into view and I found myself looking at three red ‘lights’. But it wasn’t until later that the real significance of this experience sank in. (After all this time, it has just occurred to me while writing this that the 50 cycle hum in my dream is the frequency of electricity mains: 50 cycles!) The reflection in my glasses was obviously natural physics at work, but the circumstance, following the nature of the dream experience, could only be the awaited sign from God. You might be inclined to consider that this was just physics and my subconscious at work, knowing we had overhead heaters. But the circumstances and the nature of the vision defies such an explanation. It could only have been from God. I now became a regular member of the congregation at St John the Baptist church (SJB).

Called to lead our Bible study group

During the SJB Lent course of 2001, we looked at how various activities, projects, or anything, might be initiated or resurrected within the church. Suggestions were invited then attendees asked to indicate which they might be interested in leading or supporting. Bible study was on the list and I declared my interest in attending (not leading). The process was such that the Lent course needed some follow up after Easter. I received a phone call one evening asking if I would be prepared to lead the Bible Study group. I said that my Bible knowledge was very limited and, although I wanted to attend a Bible Study group, I didn’t feel I should be the one to lead it. It was suggested I prayed about it and we would speak after the service on Sunday. I did pray about it that evening, although I had no expectation as any answer I heard in my head I would consider to my own thought process. When I asked God the question, the response surprised me. I heard the words ‘Bible Study’ spin in my head: “Bible Study - Bible Study - Bible Study - ..........” I knew at once this just wasn’t my own thoughts. I related this on Sunday, but only conceded that I might lead occasionally. A date was arranged for a meeting to discuss how a new Bible study group might be set up. A little later I had another phone call saying that the person who was going to lead the meeting was not now available and would I mind doing it. I didn’t hesitate in saying yes as running a meeting was not a problem for me. I put some ideas together in preparation and presented them to the meeting for discussion. The outcome was that I agreed to plan and lead the first few Bible study meetings then only call a further planning meeting if I needed any help. How can you lead a Bible study group when you have a limited knowledge of the Bible? If it’s just involving your peers, it’s easy. You just study one week ahead of everyone else. For me, it became a good learning experience. Bible Fellowship began around June 2001 and, with just a few exceptions, I led the group for the next four years to September 2005.

Concluding thoughts

I have not had any such experiences since 2001 and have often pondered why that should be. The perhaps obvious answer is ‘why should there be’ unless I was to receive a specific calling to serve in some way. My thoughts are that these early experiences were needed to anchor my faith which, particularly with receiving the Holy Spirit and the vision of the three red lights, became unshakable.