Testimony/God Stories

We hear the phrase the miracle of life but also there is the miracle of death. I can’t explain how life begins and it is just as much a mystery to me how the physical death occurs. The hand of God is in both. As a kidney specialist who takes care of dialysis patients, and lots of mostly elderly people who have chronic kidney failure plus multiple other medical illnesses, I have witnessed many of my patients die over the course of my 26 years of practice; saved and unsaved. I will never forget to my dismay the man who was dying from liver failure after a lifetime of alcoholism who when I asked him what would happen to him once he died, he replied to me he would be reincarnated! He told me he sat on the second pew of his church for 40 years!

Daily I am reminded that one day I will be the helpless one who needs attention but please I pray that there will still be a kind Christian MD who will do the most important part of his busy rushed day and pray for me!

“The person who is born once (the unsaved) experiences two deaths (physical and spiritual), but the person who is born twice (born again!) experiences one death.

I know that in all illness, all healing only comes from God the Father. Man cannot so much as heal a paper cut without the gift of life! But we must remember that even Lazarus was healed only to die another physical death later. The miracle of God is the instantaneous healing of our soul for eternity the moment He saves us! And what gift is more important than the gift of eternal life? And why does he save us? This is the mystery which for which there is only one answer..He loves us because He loves us because He loves us! For God so loved us that He gave His only Son. That whoever believes in Him shall NOT DIE BUT LIVE FOREVER!

Christians are often asked where they have seen God at work recently. I see God everywhere-in nature, in other people and even in technology in which God has given humans the mental capacity to use in amazing ways.

Some people believe God does not reveal himself as He did in Biblical times because He doesn’t perform miracles such as walking on water or parting the sea. I see miracles that evidence God’s presence on a continual basis. My position is summed up by the following words of a song “Holy Now” by Peter Mayer: “Wine from water is not so small-But an even better magic trick Is that anything is here at all-So the challenging thing becomes Not to look for miracles-But finding where there isn’t one.” It is truly a miracle that we are alive, that God cared enough to create us and place us in a world perfectly designed to maintain life. It is a miracle when you look at animals that are perfectly suited for their environment and who instinctively know how to best provide for their wellbeing. Other miracles are the setting sun, full moon and just the expanse of the sky. Scientists believe there are 122 precise and interdependent environmental constants that must exist to support human life on earth. Astrophysicist, Hugh Ross, has calculated that the probability that all 122 constants would exist on any planet in the universe by chance would be one chance in 10 to the 138th power which is one with 138 zeros after it. Obviously, that is impossible without God being the Creator especially considering that there are only about 10 to the 80th atoms in the visible universe. “For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:16). When we examine the complexity all around us, its impossible not to see God’s handiwork.

When I was asked to write either about my testimony and walk with God, OR a miracle, I could only think that life is full of everyday miracles. The biggest miracle in my life came when I was just 9 years old. I grew up in church and my precious Mom & Dad had always shared how Jesus loves us so much that He gave His life on a cross for us, then was resurrected. The Holy Spirit began to show me that I was a sinner and not worthy of God, but that Jesus died to make me worthy. A new joy and purpose came to my life as I believed and received Jesus as my Lord and Savior and God forgave my sins. Plus, I was born again and got a new home in heaven! Later, I remember praying many nights in a field looking up at the stars and wondering how the God of this magnificent creation cared for even me.

At the age of 12 I found myself in turmoil seeking answers from God. I was a paper boy praying while stopped on my bike at the top of a hill when suddenly a pigeon came out of nowhere and landed on my shoulder. As I looked at him in surprise he looked at me as if to say he was supposed to be there. I knew instantly that God the Holy Spirit was with me as I remembered the dove coming to Jesus. As he flew away the peace of God fell upon me and the turmoil vanished. I know that this was just another everyday miracle which happened only once in my life at just the right time. God is so awesome!

“I knew instantly that God the Holy Spirit was with me…”

People always want to hear about a huge supernatural miracle, and I would love to tell you that I experienced such a powerful miracle when my brother Jeff jumped off his deathbed at age 20 as we prayed, but that did not happen. Instead, God’s answer to our prayers was “no” and my young brother went to be with Jesus. He had his miracle as did the hundreds of shocked Mosley High students who came to his funeral and heard the gospel about why my brother was now in heaven. I wonder how many of them experienced a miracle that day as they considered their own mortality. Was it also a miracle that my Dad witnessed my brother speaking to someone above him on his hospital bed when nobody was in the room as if discussing what was to come? Was it a personal miracle when his softball coach told this broken hearted young man that my brother now has the answers while we are still asking the questions and the peace of God again fell upon me? How about when God’s grace and comfort pulled my family through the pain of losing him without losing faith, and gave us the peace to accept that we may never know the “why” in this life?

Yes, they are all miracles and I could tell you of many more of finance, of healing, of mercy and protection. In fact, it is an everyday miracle that we even wake up each morning and live and breathe. From the millions of stars in the sky to the baby’s first cry – truly our world is full of everyday miracles – but the greatest of these is love. God so loved us all that He gave His only Son to die, so we may live the miracle of eternal life with Him by simply believing and receiving forgiveness. Thank God for His everyday miracles…

Nobody wants to admit failure. In a society that bases success on position, money, friends, possessions, status….you never think you will end up in the same position as the Prodigal Son. Sittin’ in a pig pen realizing…..I’ve come to the end of myself! I’d really prefer to talk about my athletic conquest, my master’s degree, or even all the important positions I’ve held as a platform for a testimony…..but that’s not what happened. It’s not to say God can’t use people like this; in the big picture I squandered those opportunities, I was too busy enjoying the limelight. If I had used them, I probably would have taken credit for that success; God won’t share the spot light with anyone.

Two words I hear used almost exclusively together….divorce and alcohol dependence. Don’t ask how a “health nut” and drinkin’ go together…..that’s a whole testimony in itself. I want to focus on the day Jesus spoke to me. Sounds crazy, something you would see on a Face Book post or a magazine at the grocery store check out….but it happened. I don’t care what you think.

My ex-wife had not spoken to me is 3 years. I had issues I was working on. I had not had a drink in about 3 years and had worked on sobriety, church, mission trips, choir in church, and teaching a 12 step class at the Rescue Mission. I was the problem so I instituted a sure fire make-over plan…and it was working! The notion hit me to call to see if she wanted to have dinner, so I did. The first miracle was her answering the phone with caller ID and all. I was stunned…she said yes. At this point I must ask you to digress to the days of your very first date with the girl of your dreams for the guys; ladies, think about the Captain of the football team, who also was homecoming King, asking you out. Excited and thrilled do not describe that moment. I set out to really impress her. A plain dinner would not do….a dinner cruise…yeah, that will impress her! Got to have a new set of clothes, washed and waxed my car…twice. Should I bring flowers or candy…both should fix that!

The day arrived. I was early…by an hour. Drove around, washed my car again…..then the time came. I knocked on the door and ….NO ANSWER. Maybe she was still in the shower! Thirty minutes after the appointed time, I called her. She had an emergency arise and had forgotten to call me. After the disappointment subsided….my first thoughts were about me, naturally. I worked hard, cleaned up, changed my life. This was just wrong. Returning to my old ways crossed my mind, but another thought showed up just in time. Pray about this. So with all my disappointment and despair I asked God…why do I deserve this?! At that moment a voice clearer than any Bose system answered. Jesus never wastes words….He cuts to the heart of the matter; it quickens your heart. He said, “How many days have I gotten ready for you and knocked at your door, only to no answer?” I suddenly realized, He’s gotten just as excited about my return to Him…everyday, Jesus had new clothes on for me everyday…for years. If He has a car….He has washed it every day waiting on me. Look up ‘conviction’ in Wikipedia…..my picture was there at that moment.

We were remarried in 2007 on the same day we were married on our first try. I married up, I out punted my coverage with my wife. She is a blessing and a gift. I prayed for God to return her and…He did. You see, my wife spent those 3 years praying for me and growing closer to God. We are two people that think each one of us got the better deal. That’s how God Works, miracles happen, lives are changed, prayers are answered. There are abundant blessings, but there are changes you have to make..

I was blessed to be raised in a home where on the rare occasion that someone was sick, our first resort was to pray the prayer of faith and believe for a miracle. As a young boy I witnessed people get out of wheelchairs and walk. I have come to personally believe that miracles should be common for Christians.

A recent miracle I witnessed happened within one of our services. During our time of worship, I received a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit concerning God healing and restoring the cartilage in the knee. I asked the congregation if there was someone who had this issue in the knee. A young man within our congregation raised his hand. People then gathered around him and began to pray for him.

His parents later told me that he had an incurable condition where the cartilage in his knee had disintegrated and was nothing more than a very thin layer. It was causing him pain and the inability to participate in sports activities. The doctors had told them that it was impossible for the cartilage to regenerate and he would probably be in a wheelchair before he was thirty years old.

The following week, this young man had a doctor’s appointment to reexamine his knee. The young man was excited and kept telling his mother, “God healed me.” His mother waited while the doctors examined his knee and conducted an MRI. She began noticing that it was taking longer than usual. Finally the doctor reappeared and asked that she come back to the examination room. He showed her the MRI and began to report to her, “We don’t know what has happened.” He continued by telling her that the cartilage in her son’s knee had been totally restored and there would be no need for surgery or for her son to see them again. PRAISE GOD! He is the miracle worker!

When all seems lost, God will show you the way. It was February, 1995, I was training in the middle of the Mojave Desert. My artillery battalion pulled into our position around midnight and expected a mock attack moments before dawn. So, we started digging fox holes. We used sand bags and built bunkers, and coordinated with the rest of the gun line to interlock our lanes of fire. As dawn approached, my squad was ready for the attack. Everyone down the heavily armed gun line was ready. And then the order came to open fire.

It was a sight to behold! We had 9mm handguns, M-16 rifles, M-60 machine guns, Mark-19 grenade launchers (basically shooting grenades as fast as a machine gun), 50 caliber machine guns, and 155mm cannons with high explosive rounds being shot right in front of us. We called in air strikes from A-10 Warthogs and had other artillery units dropping explosives right over our heads. It was loud and impressive until one or two of the artillery rounds landed extremely close to our bunker. It rattled the walls of the subterranean fighting position, which began to collapse. There was a Lieutenant and a mechanic in the bunker with me shooting an M-60 machine gun. As the roof of sandbags began to sag I grabbed the Lieutenant and pushed him to the exit. The mechanic was still shooting the machine gun and could not hear what was happening. Before the roof collapsed I pushed back on the roof of the bunker. Fortunately, the gun jammed and the mechanic could finally hear me frantically yelling for him to exit. He got out. But now what? I was stuck. If I let go and tried to exit thousands of pounds of sandbags might fall on me. If I didn’t move, there would be no way to hold up the tonnage that would invariably crush me below the weight. So I prayed, closed my eyes, and jumped toward the bunker exit. As I stretched my body and leaped, the bunker collapsed. The roof fell in and just missed my legs as I lunged to safety. What seemed hopeless was just another funny story from the National Training Center. But as my friends reflect and laugh about it, I recall my prayer and a divine hand delivering me from certain death.

An active teenager in church, I had never given thought to entering the ministry. A Week after my high school graduation in 1973, I attended a “Youth Revival” with our church group. That night the guest evangelist spoke about what we “young people” would do with our lives. I remember going forward and asking for prayer. Shocked as I was to hear it, I knew that God was calling me to enter into full-time ministry. Guess what? I didn’t want to do it, so I didn’t. I ran away from that calling and avoided doing anything very spiritual for a number of years.

God blessed me anyway with a good paying job at the Postal Service, a great marriage, and 2 healthy kids. Later, when I got involved in my local church and recommitted my life to Christ, God started calling me again. I realized that things I was doing to find fulfillment in life were making me miserable because I was not in the center of God’s will for my life. In 1995, I reluctantly went on a Mission Trip to Mexico. The whole time there, God kept whispering that he was still calling me to ministry after 22 years of running away. At home, I told my wife what had happened and she said, “What took you so long? I recognized your calling many years ago.”

We started life over in 1996 by quitting our jobs, selling our home, and moving to another state for me to attend College and then Seminary. Now, after having served 13 years as a pastor, I know that God “allowed” me to run from Him those years for a reason. He knew I was not quite ready to serve Him yet. In seminary, I felt guilty for wasting years I could have been serving my Lord, but God has since affirmed that my life experiences during those years of “testing” has made me more compassionate to peoples’ needs, and more ready to serve God’s purposes not my own. I, for one, am proud that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29), and that God equips and uses those whom He calls in His timing.

Publisher’s Note: When I asked Bubba Hill if he would like to share a miracle with the Cross Reference, he readily agreed. He explained that there was a place at the corner of West Hwy 98 and 17th St. where miracles happened on almost a daily basis. Naturally, Bubba had my attention.

He suggested I call Windell Holley, director of St. Andrew Christian Care Center (SCCC Inc.) located in the Center of Hope building. Windell is someone that I could have listened to all day. I’m pretty sure that every word that came out of his mouth was inspired by God. I won’t be able to get close to how he explained the Center of Hope to me, but with God’s help, maybe you’ll get the idea.”

bobby weaver

At the Center of Hope, we share the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4) to each and every person that comes to the center. Our motto is “meeting needs and sharing Christ.”

The Center of Hope located at 3101 W Hwy 98 lives up to its name every day…to the world, the word ‘hope” has a lottery flavor; to the believer, it is absolute assurance in both God and His Word! The Center of Hope started out in 1998 as a vision for one local church, St. Andrew Baptist. Today, a total of 12 churches across Bay County combine to minister hand and heart each day to spread the gospel, meet basic needs and be “Jesus” giving hope. As we reach out to the less fortunate, unforeseen miracles occur daily. Read below several examples of those miracles: Miracle One: She needed food & clothing but who could concentrate…her husband was missing, he had wandered off due to medical issues. She had looked, called, seeking help everywhere for the past 2 weeks…no luck, no hope. She had come to our COH burdened beyond measure…and found people that cared. Meeting privately with a godly volunteer of faith, she poured out her heart. As they prayed, the God of Hope heard. She left our “prayer closet” with a ting of faith and hope as she made her way to the clothing section. Her cell phone rang; it was her husband! He was safe! God had answered! Miracle Two: Two men entered the COH for last minute help with food and clothes. In just a day or so they were leaving PC for Los Angeles. One began sharing his thoughts with a counselor on Jesus, salvation and how a person could be saved. He had quite a mixture of thoughts not rooted in God’s Word. Then his friend joined in and declared, “I’m demon-possessed!” Unshaken by this brash statement, Hugo (counselor and man of great faith) began to share that Jesus could and would replace those demons with the Holy Spirit IF he so desired. The Holy Spirit fell on the young man in power, conviction and love. The demons had to go, no room for both. As they prayed, the young man cried out, “I see the demons leaving, going right through the roof of this room!” He stood on his feet and began to praise God. His friend who was watching declared, “Whatever just happened to my friend, I want it! He too was gloriously saved. LA would soon have 2 God-changed men! Miracle Three: Bill, one of our most godly counselors, a chaplain of several decades, parked his car and made his way to the COH. Another day to share Jesus with those God had so brought to the Center. As he approached the entrance door, suddenly he fell on his face to the concrete pavement. George, another counselor, rushed to Bill’s aid. Checking, he found no pulse! Starting CPR, someone called 911 and when E-T’s arrived, things did not look good. Using all their expertise, knowledge and training, Bill was quickly placed in the ambulance. Then it happened, Jehovah Rophe, Giver of all life, brought Bill back! Bill now comes every week using a walker to steady his steps and with his strong faith anchored in God alone, still shares a message of healing and hope…giving God all the glory! AND LET’S NOT FORGET THESE MIRACLES: At our pregnancy center, “The Sheltering Tree,” 843 women were ministered to in 2015, 3 known babies were saved from abortion and 14 women prayed to receive Jesus. In Conclusion These stories are not the Center of Hope’s stories, they are God’s stories about his story: Redemption, made possible only through the shed-blood of Jesus Christ. In 2015, 235 such stories of lost Bay Countians led to the COH by a sovereign God prayed to receive Jesus. There is no greater miracle! “Coming to COH for bread, they left with the Bread of Life!” Below are the 12 churches that combine efforts to support the Center Of Hope: Emerald Coast Fellowship, Northstar, Lynn Haven United Methodist, Cornerstone Family Fellowship, First Baptist of Panama City, Woodlawn United Methodist, Woodstock Baptist PCB, Living Spirit Community Church, Youngstown, Northside Baptist, Forest Park United Methodist Church, St. Andrew Baptist Publisher’s Note: We would like to thank Mr. Bubba Hill and Mr Windell Holley for this remarkable story of God’s love and His power

I have had the privilege and honor to work with many Godly men in my life. One particular man that I became friends with was Henry Pulsifer. Henry was a missionary that preached the gospel as he walked with a cross.

The first trip that I made with Henry was to Bombay India (Mumbai) sharing the gospel with the untouchables in the slums.

The biggest slum that we visited had over 1 million people in an area of less than a square mile, the most populated in the world. What a contrast the poorest people in the world being touched by the Glory of God Himself –when they heard who we were, they flocked to have us pray for them.

The second trip that we made was to Tanzania, Africa not to soon after the bombing of the U.S. Embassy. We worked with a missionary that had been in Africa for over a year –Steve Grey. In Dar-as-Salem we each preached in a Church, gave a seminar for three days to teach pastors, and walked with a cross around the capital buildings as we prayed for the nation. After loading up a four-wheeler Jeep we went to the bush, to share the message of Jesus Christ to tribes that never had heard his name. After spending a week at four different villages along the Rufiji river one hundred and sixty people came to the LORD and many were baptized in the crocodile filled river.

The story of Gods work did not stop here but continued in the other side of the Africa continent, and many other countries. Being in the will of the LORD never has its ends but it is a continuous journey.

“We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus” Col.1:3,4a

Many are looking today for evidence of the supernatural. Consider this: you have about 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body, enough to circle the globe twice and then some. The surface area of your lungs is big enough to cover a tennis court. You have 600 muscles and 206 bones, movements all smoothly coordinated by your brain. Stanford professor Stephen Smith points out, “A single human brain has more [synapse] switches than all the computers and routers and Internet connections on Earth.” The human eye is a marvel, with more than 2 million working parts. And when sound enters your inner ear, it moves into liquid and the hair cells there discharge chemicals that carry messages to the brain’s auditory nerves. Psalm 139 says, I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made! Science speaks of two universal laws: the law of conservation and the law of decay. The first law reminds us that the total mass and energy going into something will remain the same, even if the form is changed. This means, therefore, that “something cannot come from nothing.” So our Milky Way Galaxy’s 100 billion stars and our Universe’s 200 billion galaxies didn’t create themselves. The second law reminds us that in this world there is always a loss in any process, such as a loss of heat or information. The usefulness of everything decreases over time. Simply put, this means that this world cannot be eternal or it would have “burned out” long ago. Psalm 19 says, The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork! Although the sovereign Lord does what He pleases, you may not ever see in this life an axe head float on water, the Red Sea part or a friend raised from the dead, but God’s supernatural works are all around you. To God be the glory!