TESTimonies pt.1

As Spoken Word Church has grown and having seen countless people visit with us, I continue to get confirmation that there IS a GOD. Of course we believe in God, but there are times in every Christian’s life where our belief level is decreased a little or a lot at a given time.

After hearing various different stories regarding past experiences with demons, drug use, times of incarceration, various types of abuse, and so on, I couldn’t help but realize that there have been many people who have experienced the exact same circumstances in life that never got to live another day, or be able to look back on “what was”.

It’s one thing to have seen movies with characters or people of talk shows who have experienced horrible situations and have made bad decisions, and it’s another to actually sit side by side with them in real life. I can’t help but think about how awesome their testimonies are and how powerful they can be to help others, within and outside the church community. Haven’t you noticed that we as human beings are more at ease knowing that someone else has experienced the same things or who are more experienced in the path that we were/are embarking on…now think about each of our testimonies and how much of an impact those testimonies would have on other. If only one person was affected, that makes all the differences in the world and in the body of Christ.

I sometimes think, “What kind of testimony do I have?” , have always associated testimonies with stories of miraculous experiences with after drug use or after having a horrible accident. I realized that even experiences such as simply being into an occult related “fad” and coming out of it, is just as much as a powerful testimony as those who have experienced obvious life threatening situations.

What’s your testimony?

Discerning of Spirits-Visual

I was prompted to post this entry today after having bible study last night. We have begun to focus on the various gifts that are available to us as well as callings.

During the last portion of bible study we discussed further about discerning of spirits and in which way do those of us who have experienced or continually experience in recognizing spirits. For example, a person may “sense” a spirit, rather demonic or angelic. In my case, I see spirits as animals whether the animal exists in the natural world or not. I have always been a visual learner and fascinated with things that are visually appealing, whether it be weird, ugly, beautiful or simply interesting. I believe that the Holy Spirit allows us to operate in various gifts in ways that are appealing to us or allow us to use our natural functioning abilities.

Before I became a born again Christian, I saw and felt spirits around me. Unfortunately, most of my encounters were with foul spirits back then. I was never afraid of them for some reason, yet a simple horror movie about a talking doll would frighten me and keep me up ALL night. It was never the times when I would sit in the living room at night, in the dark, listening to felt like people walking all around me…usually from behind or the side of me. I have seen a manifestation of my grandmother, whom I had never met, standing just outside my bedroom door. That was the first time I had actually visually seen any type of spirit manifested in such a way that I could describe every last detail of her face and garment. This never scared me….however not long after I saw my “grandmother” , I first heard my desktop monitor creek, before I pulled the covers down from my eye level and saw my screen slightly shifting towards me before stopping and complete silence followed.

Ever since becoming a born again Christian, I have been able to see both bad and good spirits. This gift of discerning spirits has been a very reoccurring gift that I operate in when in prayer with others around. Other times, it’s just a knowing that comes to as a form of a word that is audible or visual, like looking at a text a word typed in thin air.

It was interesting to hear that others around me can see the same types of things. It kind of makes you feel as if you’re not the “only one” that can see the same things you see and sometimes at the exact same time. Of course we know that we aren’t the only ones with this particular gifting, but sometimes people can go a long time without knowing that their neighbor can see the same things.

I could easily go on and on about this topic, but I’ll have to leave it for a while and come back to it as I recount past experiences with discerning of spirits.