Testimony 10 - Walking Without A Limp
Today, 27th February 2019, I gave this
testimony at "Perth Prayer", a lovely city-wide-church meeting which happens
Wednesday lunchtimes at Wesley Church (which could not be nearer to the centre
of Perth City,
capital of Western Australia).
I was asked to testify because the previous week I received a beautiful miracle at
that meeting. Jesus is alive and blessing the world .. They gave me 20 minutes
to share so this post is quite long ..
The last part of this post is all new, and
to me, very exciting. Other parts are also new and there are parts which have
been previously published in earlier posts. We had a rich and sweet meeting, and I trust that you will be blessed by reading this, bless you, John.
Early
Years
When I was little we didn't go to church
much. Then when I was 10 my dad took me along to Sea Scouts which were part of
our local Anglican church. Scouts was great, and I learned about nationhood,
honour and loyalty, and to sail and row boats, to build boats and fabricate their
rigging, and to camp and cook and trek in the mountains.
Twice a month we scouts attended
"church parades" where we would help old people to their seats and
carry the flags and sing really loud when the songs had some zing; I remember
"Onward Christian Soldiers" very well. I did not become a believer.
By the time I finished high school I was
offended by the Church, I did not see Jesus or godliness there, instead I saw
disinterest and hypocrisy. So I stopped having anything to do with church
people. I had learned some Christian doctrine and many songs. Church was very
much a part of society in those days, so avoiding it was a big step.
Years later, Jesus had to soften me up
before I would be open to His approach.
So He gave Trish and me to each other.
I love to tell how Trish and I met in New York when I was
there as a tourist. I saved Greenwich Village
until Saturday night and was in my first bar enjoying live jazz music when this
really beautiful young lady came through the door; my heart leapt! She was with
this handsome young man who made a bee line for the loo. She came and stood
near me and we began to talk. I was delighted to learn that the young man was
her brother! That is how I met my bride to be; I fell in love across a room!
How impossibly unlikely that meeting was,
and how un-alike we are, we are like chalk and cheese, yet we have six gorgeous
grown children, daughters-in-law and grandkids; there are now sixteen of us in
our immediate family! In July we'll have been married 39 years. What a very
long and lovely conversation Trish and I are enjoying. Why should I be given
such a glorious gift? Why such favour towards me? It is the mighty outpouring
of God's grace like this which shows us how minutely He cares for us and how
much He loves us.
First
Light
Trish was a church-goer and went to Mass in
Hoboken every
Sunday evening. An amazing priest would give the sermons; he was on loan from
the local diocese to the office of the Governor of New Jersey. As he spoke he
would reflect Jesus' light on all the events and happenings in New Jersey and even the USA and the world. I saw Jesus
in a new way - in today's world. I believe this was a very important step in my
coming to Jesus.
In 1980 Trish and I were married, also in New Jersey. Looking back we see the grace of God. The church we were married in is in the classic movie, "On The Waterfront" with Marlon Brando. It is an Episcopalian (Anglican) congregation and our priest had been Catholic but fell in love and married so had to leave his priesthood. We were married by a Christian who had been Catholic and was now Anglican, and who loved Jesus and loved marriage! Neither Trish nor I were Christian but Jesus showed His love for us. We look back and are in awe of what Jesus does for His people!
Soon after we came to Western Australia where I had an apartment
by the sea.
The beginning of our marriage was rocky for
Trish and, after some time, a group of ladies from church took her to a prayer
meeting .. it was there that she met Jesus and her life was changed. She
"knew" that she had "come home". I became interested and
went to many meetings with Trish and these other, very excited, Christians.
Salvation
It was some time later when we were
expecting our third baby, we attended an Anglican charismatic conference in
Manjimup, in the southwest of Western Australia, that I finally gave in to Jesus.
The keynote speaker was Father Terry
Fulham, then the parish pastor at St Paul's, Darien, Connecticut,
USA, and
previously a university professor. Terry talked about John Baptist, announcing
that Jesus would come and baptise His people with the Holy Spirit, and what
this means in the light of the Book of Acts, the Gospels, the New Covenant and
the whole Word of God. He was talking about the charismatic element in
Christian life and in the life of the Church.
By now Trish had been an enthusiastic
Christian for three years, but I was not. In truth I was "sitting on the
fence", with one foot either side. We, and the people we fellowshipped with,
were familiar with "life in the Spirit" that was why we were at this conference.
Pastor Terry's teaching was very
compelling, it had a certain academic and scriptural rigor, I saw things more
clearly than I had previously. On the Saturday night, as we drove to our
friend's house where we were staying, I told Trish that for my birthday I
wanted one of the new NIV Bibles. She immediately asked "so you are ready to
give your heart to Jesus then?" "No" I replied, "not yet", I knew that I would
have to bow my knee to Jesus when I became Christian, and I didn't think I was
able to do that. "Maybe next year".
Next morning we did Sunday Church
at the conference. At one point Pastor Terry asked if there were any present
who wanted to give their heart to Jesus that day, who wanted to become
Christian right then and there.
I had thought this through the previous
night so stood quietly, a bystander, with my hands clasped behind me.
Soon, very clearly, I felt strong fingers
encircle my right wrist and tug me backwards. "Very funny", I thought. Trish
had gone out to check that our kids were OK; no doubt this was her having fun
with me as she returned to her seat.
Imagine my surprise when I turned and
nobody was there. No Trish. No-one was near enough to have reached out to touch
me.
Who held my wrist? Who tugged my arm? In my
innermost self I knew that it was Jesus. "Come now", He seemed to be saying,
"don't wait till next year, I want you now".
Straight away I went to the front, I did
whatever was asked of me, probably I prayed the "sinner's prayer", it was all
just "extra"; I already had said "yes", I already knew that I belonged to
Jesus, I was in a cloud of love. I was almost forty-three years old.
I have never for a minute doubted that
Jesus actually came and took hold of my arm, and drew me to Himself. No matter
how tough things have gotten over the years: how my life seemed to be
inconsequential, how I was unemployed for long periods, how spiritually I was
stuck for years and years, how I seemed not to be growing in Christ, not going
anywhere .. Never for a moment have I doubted!
Three
Strands
Trish and I had serious trouble with our
marriage for a time. My memory is that neither of us moved out from home because we both
wanted to keep the children. Truth be told, I was more scared of God, who had
given me Trish, than I was of Trish herself. Then after much prayer we decided
to link up with Jesus into a three strand cord. He has kept us together,
bonding us ever stronger and closer.
(Ecclesiastes 4:12) "Though one person
may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. But a cord of three strands is
not easily broken".
Now, more than thirty years later, I see
Jesus' plans for me, for Trish, our marriage, our family, and His Kingdom, all
working out. There was never no progress. But it was always His progress. It is
His plan, He equips and makes ready in His own time. Patience and perseverance
are fruits of Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We do not grow and become patient
by living only in gratification. "God is love"(1 John 4:16), "Jesus is Lord"(Romans 10:9).
Jesus has been going before Trish and me,
all these years, pouring out His grace upon us and our marriage and our family.
He has our backs. He is at our shoulder.
Paul again: (2 Corinthians 12:9) "..
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness ..".
I think I understand something of how there
is so much trouble and pain in the world: many people do not want to
acknowledge that the spiritual world is real, that God is, and that He is in
charge, Lord of all. They prefer to think of themselves as ruling their own destiny
and providing their own wealth and wellbeing and that their ideas are the best
for everybody. But their ideas come from the world ..
(Ephesians 2:1-2) ".. you followed the ways of this world and of
the ruler of the kingdom of the air".
www.PsalmsOfJohn.com
Some years ago Jesus began to ask me to
"write this down" when I was pondering something from the Scriptures
or from the world. So I did. As a kid I had wanted to be a writer and this
desire never left me; a few failed attempts made it clear that I was unlikely
ever to be a published author!
I thought that Jesus and I were preparing
for us to write a book together and became very excited. Well, you can imagine!
But soon enough Jesus told me to start
www.PsalmsOfJohn.com and publish the pieces that we had written together. I
knew that no-one would want to read me .. but the idea of having Jesus as my
ideas man, my mentor, my editor, and my only reader was explosive, it gave my life new
meaning. I was very excited.
Now, 9 years later, Jesus and I have published
113 articles, and His thoughts are being read all over the world, in my WWW
statistics Russia comes up, and the USA, and France, China, Australia, Britain, The Philippines, New Zealand, Canada, and countries I don't recognise.
If Jesus and I had written a best-selling
book I'm sure I would have been ruined with pride, but with PsalmOfJohn I am anonymous,
most people I know only say something briefly then let it drop. What a
blessing. Thank you Jesus for the work and the great satisfaction, it’s the
most satisfying work I’ve ever done, and thank you for the anonymity.
Charismatic
Trish and I found Christian life and faith
in the Charismatic Renewal, our early experiences were mostly at prayer
meetings and healing meetings. We knew to expect to pray and that prayer
introduces God's power on the Earth. I have seen and experienced wonderful
things which have helped people and that science cannot explain.
Miracles
A miracle is something which occurs outside
of what science can explain, in other words, it's a supernatural event, a
spiritual event. This is God's realm. I have experienced many miracles and
witnessed hundreds, possibly thousands more.
Trish and I were once at a city
wide Christian meeting where a man had a heart attack. A doctor was there and
immediately did what he could; after a time he announced that the man's heart
had stopped and he was now dead. This was shocking to us who were gathered to
worship Jesus. We all prayed, together as one; the heart began to beat again.
Soon the person was able to be taken to hospital by the ambulance which had
arrived. The doctor said the man had a good prognosis, (a good chance of full recovery). Praise Jesus who tells us: "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive
out demons. Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 10:8); this
was that teaching realised, in our city, in our time and witnessed by
hundreds.
Praise Jesus.
My
Healings
All my serious health problems have been
healed. Sure, I can't do everything that I could when I was 40, I am slowed
down and a bit limited. But I am not unwell ..
My skin is damaged, and I have a
tummy! I cannot run. Neither my balance nor my memory are what they were .. but I
can remember the people I love and can still do hugs and kisses.
I love to
cook. And I can still share Jesus.
And
• I
no longer have a heart problem, (Atrial Fibrillation), I've been healed after 25 years.
• I
am healed of four melanoma cancers. When Doctors read my history for the first
time, they pause, look at me, and laugh, "Four melanomas" they say,
they laugh again and continue to read. Melanomas are very dangerous cancers
because parts of the tumour can flake off and travel through your blood-stream
to your heart or brain or kidney or breast or eye, or anywhere and everywhere.
I am a miracle and believe that I'll never have a 5th melanoma!
Treatment for my last melanoma was tough.
The surgeons took out all the cancerous tissue from my temple and then 34 lymph
nodes from my upper body. There are scars under my chin which look like zips
and I now have a lop-sided smile. Also, my thermostat and sweat system are very
damaged.
• My
cancer oncologist put me on Interferon (which is like chemo-therapy); I
injected myself every day for almost a year; it was a painful treatment and I
became very run down; this tipped me over from being pre-diabetic into full-on
type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a filthy disease; your body rots out from the
inside .. your eyes begin to fail, and your circulation deteriorates, feeling
goes from your legs and feet, from all your extremities, and ultimately you may
need amputations! Many doctors say that diabetes is incurable, effectively a
life sentence. To be diagnosed is very scary!
But I no longer have diabetes, I have been
healed.
• Jesus healed me from smoking after I tried
to quit many, many times, a miracle healing! I have COPD in my lungs from years of heavy smoking, but my respiratory doctor no longer needs to see me, I'm in steady-state and not at risk.
• My
eyes are old but my ophthalmologist also kicked me out of his clinic, he said
my eyes had improved (I was about 70 then), and I no longer needed his skills!
I am now 76 years old, nearly 77. Most people
my age are deteriorating noticeably, but I can report that I am healthier today
than I was at 66, 10 years ago. Thank you Jesus.
Feet
and Knees - Walking With A Limp
I was born with unusual feet, my family
said I had "Grandma's feet". Grandma was my Dad's mother. By the time
I was 45 I could no longer fit into footwear from the shops. For about 30 years
I have seen orthopedic surgeons who have done wonders with what would have
been rapidly declining mobility. The first surgeon said "It's a good thing
you're here, otherwise you could be in a wheelchair by age 60". I wear
custom made orthotic boots, shoes, and sandals and can still be a house-husband
and family handyman, I can walk, climb ladders and hike in the bush. Praise
Jesus for the lovely, caring medical people He has given me.
Along the way my "basketball
knees" became troublesome; x-rays showed them to be arthritic with torn
cartilages "like an old worn blanket". At one time I believed that
Jesus healed the left knee (which was much worse than the right); my symptoms
went away and my walk was easier. More recent x-rays show that the damage was
still there; I now believe that Jesus simply made everything work better so
that I could get around.
Recently
Last Christmas Trish and I went camping
down South for 2 weeks. Most days we would go on a bush walk, which we just
love to do, and my left knee suffered, there was constant swelling and pain in
the knee, and my limp, which I had had for years, was more pronounced.
A
New Miracle - The Reason I Was There Today
Last Wednesday Jesus gave me a new miracle ..
It happened here at Wesley Church, in the very centre of Perth city ..
A fellow named Fred gave his exciting Christian testimony. I felt strongly to ask him to pray for my mobility. I was in shorts
and able to show him my swollen knee.
Fred asked me to sit, he picked up my feet
so that my legs were parallel to the floor; he noticed that my left leg was
shorter than the right, by about a centimetre, I think. While continuing to
hold my legs he prayed. After a short time I saw looks of amazement on people's
faces and Fred announced, with great excitement, that my two legs were now of
equal length.
He asked me, "Do you still have pain?
How will we know if you are healed?" I replied that there was still mild
pain in my knee and added "I walk with a limp". I then stood and
walked, not limping, towards the font at the entry to the sanctuary .. and
walked back .. I am told that I was grinning from ear to ear .. There was much
laughter. We all gave a spontaneous clap offering to our lovely Jesus. It was a miracle. My
mobility is assured for another season!
Later, walking to my train I noticed that
muscles were working differently, they were having to get used to the new
configuration of my leg!
The disciple John wrote: "This is the
Bread that came down from heaven. It is not like the manna which our
forefathers ate, and yet died; he who takes this Bread for his food shall live
forever" (John 6:58 AMP).
Grace and Kindness
There are countless testimonies of God's
love and grace and kindness today.
Our testimonies and our stories are the
evidence of God's promises being worked out.
We can say "this is that of which the
Bible promises", or, "this is that which Joe talked about at the
house meeting last week".
It's everywhere amongst God's people and it
never stops ..
"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" (John 21:25).
Praise Jesus
Amen
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Bless our lovely Lord Jesus.
