My name is Terry and I am about to share a story with you that may seem far fetched, but I assure you that every word is true. And that what I went through and experienced has drastically changed my life, my way of thinking, and guides me daily.
As for my past, I was not a very good person. I am an oilfield worker, and that has been my career my whole life. Along with the oilfield came a lifestyle of drinking, doing drugs, and ultimately prison. In which I lost my family and everything I had.
While I was in prison I started reading the bible, not going to church mind you just reading the bible. I had spent so much time reading novels that one day I figured that I should be reading something that would do me some good. I was wanting to change my life and I figured the Bible and God was a good place start.
Upon my release I wound up in Austin Tx. Broke, no clothes, no food. I wound up at the Salvation Army. It was there that I was introduced to Brother Duane, and Mission Possible. You see my intentions were to find some day work, get some clothes, and get a bus ticket to Odessa Tx. Where I could go back to work in the oilfield.
What actually happened was after I met Brother Duane and attended Church Under The Bridge I felt a strong urge to hang around Austin and that church. Which was just and old R.V. With a fold down stage on the side in which Brother Duane would play his guitar and sing and preach his sermons.
After the service a meal was served for all the homeless and anyone wanting to attend the service. I spent that whole summer there and was trying real hard to find and feel the spiritual gifts that were being shared with me. I was even going to two different churches. I had been baptized as a child for I was raised Baptist, I claim no denomination now though, just a deep unending love for Jesus, and God. And I thank Him daily for the price He paid for me, and the gift of the Holy Spirit that He bestowed upon me.
I was rebaptized outdoors in Barton Springs and also Baptized in the Spirit and anointed with oil at the prophetic church where I was attending. A week after being baptized in the Spirit I was approached by a brother and he ask me if I had been moved to speak in tongues yet? I told him no I have not and he proceeded to show me how to talk in tongues. I told him that I did not want to be taught to talk in tongues, that in Acts when the disciples received the Holy Spirit they just started talking in tongues and that's the way I wanted it to be with me. If I was taught, or taught myself to speak in tongues in my heart it would be false.
By the end of the summer I started falling away from the church and my christian circle of friends and ultimately messed up again and went back to prison.
While I was waiting to be transported to prison Brother Duane would visit me on Wednesdays and share scripture with me. After I got to prison all I had was my bible and a two year sentence.
After about four days I got frustrated with the people that were around me and one morning on the way out of the door for breakfast I pushed the door open to hard and it bounced off the door stop and hit the guard in the shoulder. I received thirty days solitary confinement for staff assault.
The best blessing I ever received in my whole life. That thirty days changed my life. Now from here on this story will probably read like a Stephen King novel please don't think I am crazy or weird or anything. I am praying that maybe I can find someone through this story that I can relate with or share with. Although I have been told, upon sharing this story that I am demonized.
When I was put in the solitary cell all I had was a blanket, sheet and my clothes. The first thing I thought was that I would get a good night sleep with no noise and that I really wanted my bible.
I was awakened the next day by a little old man knocking on my door. I got up and went to the door and he ask me if I needed anything to read? I told him yes and he dug into his book cart and handed me a Victory magazine. I thanked him and he ask me if I needed prayer? I told him no that I pray for myself and he left and went on the the next cell.
When I went back to my bunk a thought came to me that I should have let him pray for me, that when you turn down someone's pray it's like turning down a gift.
I was grateful for the magazine though and I read the whole thing that evening. The little old man showed back up two days later and ask me if I needed anything and I told him yes I needed a prayer. He prayed for me and ask if I needed anything else?
I told him yes if he could please get me a bible? He said yes I can handle that and ask what kind of bible I would like? I requested a large print NIV. He said he would have to hunt around for one of those and then he ask me, if it would not offend you could I offer you something? Then he dug way down deep in his book cart and handed and pulled out an old paper back book and handed it to me. I took it and did not pay attention to the title and thanked him for the book.
He told me he would come back if he could find me a bible. When I returned to my bunk and read the title it stopped me in my tracks. And then his words came back to me "if it won't offend you" and the fact that he had to dig so deep as if he knew exactly where the book was. I do not remember the exact title of the book it was something like Spirit Controlled Temperament by Tim Lehaye and then I thought how did that man know about my anger?
I sat down on my bunk and started flipping through the pages and looking it over I think it was about ten of fifteen minutes or so and he returned and placed the bible outside my door, it was to big to get through the slot.
I read that entire book that evening, and when they brought the evening meal around they handed me my bible. That book though by Tim Lehaye was a treasure, a real blessing. He told how you take all of your weaknesses anger, depression, jealousy, addiction, any weakness you have and declare it a sin, and ask to be forgiven of that sin, and then believe that you have been forgiven of that sin, then thank God for foregiving you of that sin.
I can't quote the whole book, but one thing that I can testify is that God is real. Through reading that book the main thing that I realized, is that through all the reading and praying and baptism's, I never repented I was saved at a very young age and a lot of sins had been committed in that time span.
Right there I got on my knees and did every thing the book said to do first and most important I repented of my sins and declared Jesus as my personal savior and ask him to come into my life and be my Lord. I then went deep inside and one at a time I confessed every weakness I had and one at a time I asked to be forgiven of that sin and thanked God for each and every one.
Then I ask to please be filled with the Holy Spirit and thanked God for filling me with His Holy Spirit and believed that he filled me. After all of that I layed back down and started reading again and fell asleep.
I woke up a little later and picked the book up off my chest and started reading again, and after a little while a tear started rolling down my face. Then another one, and another. Then the thought came to my mind why are you crying? And I thought back I don't know I have nothing to cry about. And the tears really started flowing. Then another thought came to me your crying why are you crying and I replied I don't know. By then the tears were streaming and I looked up and felt it, I said your real, and the thought came back to me yes I am real.
I was looking at the ceiling and talking out loud and crying at the same time. I kept saying your really real and apologizing for my whole life and for not knowing how real He really is, and the whole time the thoughts kept coming to my mind I am God and I am real.
I got back on my knees and started praying saying I'm sorry, over and over. Then a thought came to me why don't you pray in tongues? And I said I don't know how to pray in tongues. Then He told me to just open my mouth and do it. I do not know what I was saying but I know when I started it was like it was never ending the words just kept coming and coming all I had to do was let go.
Then it was like my eyes were guided to the table where the new bible lay. So I picked it up and opened it. It opened to Galations and I started reading and man every thing was clear as a bell the Spirit, the flesh, like a light bulb turned on in a dark room.
I looked up again and said out loud again looking at the ceiling you are really real. Then a real happy feeling came over me and I was up all night reading the bible and listening in my mind as the sermons and teachings were like being transmitted to me. That was the most special night of my life.
I spent that whole month in that cell me my bible and God no outside interruptions, just me and God. It was wonderful, not being in prison mind you, but the time I had alone with God was Beautiful. The number of my cell was GT-1, I came to know it as God Training 1.
Now it was not all as happy as the first night I am here to tell you I went through what I call discipline to and a lot of things that I will not tell right now, but I will tell of one.
One night I was sitting on my bunk reading my bible, the lights were off and only a night light was on, barely light enough to read. I had a vision of a yellow sphere on my wall and I sat up and looked at it. I ask what it was and the thought came to my mind, its your soul.
Then a dark cloud appeared and started covering the sphere that was supposed to be my soul. I ask, father what is that? And the thought came to my mind that it was satan. I ask what he was doing and the thought came to my mind that he was taking my soul, and then my toes started going ice cold, the farther the cloud moved to cover the sphere the farther the cold crept up my legs.
I said father please help me my soul belongs to you. And the thought came to my mind, you better start casting him out apparently he thinks he has something on you. And the whole time the cold was still creeping up my legs by now the sphere was half way covered and the cold was up to my knees.
I started crying out loud and I know that every one in there must have thought I was crazy because I was loud begging please don't let him take my soul. And I started yelling leave me satan my soul belongs to Jesus. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior but the cloud kept covering the sphere and the cold kept creeping up my legs.
I kept begging Father please help me my soul belongs to you, he can't take it. The thought came to my mind you better start fighting he is going to take your soul. I did not know how to fight and the thought came to my mind about sins. Right there I started spitting out sins one by one, father I have stolen please forgive me of this sin thank you father for forgiving me of this sin. On and on, I was confessing sins and it was working the more I named the more of the sphere was uncovered and the farther the cold withdrew down my leg.
All night long I did this, fought satan over my soul, and when I thought there were no more to confess, a thought would come to my mind, what about this and I would remember and confess. Sins from my childhood, by the time the sun came up, I had been through my whole life. Then I heard the thought in my mind, Leave him this is my son, you have no hold on him. Then the dark cloud faded away, and the sphere was bright and shinning yellow again, and all the cold was gone out of my legs.
I have never hallucinated in my life, what I went through was real. I am not a hard core christian, I believe in Jesus Christ and have a personal relationship with God. I do not go to Church, but I read my Bible and constantly talk to God, and listen to His Guidance in my mind daily. There is a lot more to this testimony and I will gladly share more. Maybe my story and experiences will help someone else with their awakening. Thank You
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