When was your first mission trip? How much did it impact your life?
Josh and Charla both went on their first trips when they were teens (Josh to Mexico and Charla to Turkey), and it opened their eyes to a much bigger world.
I first became aware of the concept of flow in 1979. I was reading a book about the mind and there was a research article on “The Flow Experience.” Science had discovered that when people are in flow, they are more creative, more insightful and more effective than when in their normal state.
I pondered that and said, “That is sure true in my life.”
This month my Inbox has filled up with prophetic words for 2020. A prophetic word comes from a prophet who God has spoken through providing inspiration, and sometimes ominous, thoughts from God. I listened to the 20 prophetic words sent to me by Sid Roth's ministry. Soon after, I received another 20 prophetic points for 2020 from James Goll’s ministry. Then every other day, I received additional prophetic words from Elijah list. All these words challenged me, but frankly, I felt a bit overwhelmed. I started to ignore them because there were just too many words, and I was uncertain about what I could do about them anyway. Then I felt stirred; I pondered what I could do. These prophetic words are all wonderful; how could I contribute to make them happen?
After my heart surgery I prayed numerous times for healing of my heart. I used the prayer approach Inner Healing for an Organ. Every time I did this prayer exercise, I felt the healing power and presence of the Holy Spirit moving upon me. This was experienced as a manifestation of shaking which I believe to be my body's reaction to the Holy Spirit’s healing presence and power.
Dreams are a wonderful way God counsels us (Psalm 16:7). Below is one of Mike Bastien's dreams which he received as he worked through the course Hearing God Through Your Dreams.
After I learned about the opportunity to speak in tongues, I did. However, it sounded like such gibberish I felt I was making it up so I quit. So after that, I prayed for a long time to receive this gift. Then I started again and guess what, the tongues sounded the same as before. Now I just go with it and even have received interpretations some times.
You are probably aware of the church shooting in Texas last week where a mass slaughter was averted by a church security guard. It was a miracle that more people were not killed. This was God’s grace in action.
As a young Christian, prayer didn’t seem to work very well. In my prayers I informed God of my situations and asked for Him to help. It all seemed quite rote and redundant and uneventful. It couldn’t be called a relationship because there was no communication back. There was no conversation. Just me talking.
I had been a Christian for about six years and was feeling that my heart towards Jesus had grown cold, my prayer life was practically non-existent, my walk with the Lord was superficial, and I kept thinking that there must be more than this. I kept sending up prayers to God asking Him to fill me with the Holy Spirit. At the same time I was scared as I didn't know what would happen. The Toronto blessing happened and God poured out His Spirit on certain places in England where I live. I met in my home with a youth worker. She prayed for me and the Holy Spirit filled me.
I became a Christian in the 80’s when people in our area (Ottawa, Ontario) were just beginning to talk more seriously about the Holy Spirit. My mother (who had a Catholic background) and I, age 16, were attending a small Anglican church. One of the landmark books that everyone was reading was Holy Spirt and You by Dennis and Rita Bennett.
