Christianity Oasis Forum

[richanderson107]

I'M going to daily write of true accounts of the wondrous miracles of God that I've been so privileged to be a part of, and to have witnessed with my own eyes! I'M doing this in hopes of increasing the faith of all who read these posts. I've always ever since I can remember had an absolute faith in God and his Word. I grew up in The Church and I've seen so many wonderful works of God that science cannot explain! These are all true, first-hand, in my face, Miracles!

The first miracle,

My Dad took our family up to a lake in Minnesota for vacation. He rented a cabin on the lake and was preparing for 2 weeks of swimming, fishing, and canoeing. I remember he was carrying the canoe by himself over his head when he doubled-over in pain. (My brother was 7 and I was 9 so he didn't let us kids help him carry it.) Anyway, the pain was so sever he ended up going to see a local doctor so assess the damage. To our surprise, he had a strangulated hernia! (This is where a rip occurs in the groin and the small intestines fall into the sack and wrap around the testicles) OUCH! My Dad was in incredible pain! The doctor said that he needed surgery within a couple of days or he could die!!! I remember that night My Mom, Dad, brother and myself held hands in a circle and prayed to God to heal my Dad. I believed with all my heart that God would heal my Dad, and then we went to bed-still praying. When we woke up the next morning, My Dad WAS HEALED!!! He went to the doctor for a confirmation of what could only be a miracle. Sure enough, the doctor did all the tests and said, "This is a miracle straight from God Himself!" That was 38 years ago and he's NEVER had a problem with it since! He's alive and doing very well to this day! (What a great, gracious, and wonderful God we have!

Tomorrow I'll share another! (There are MANY MANY more)

[richanderson107]

NEXT: 13 years old....
I was in my church Gym playing basketball when in walked a very old man and he said to me, "Son, go find everyone in this church that has a back problem and bring them to me. Tell them God is going to heal them today." At first I was a bit perplexed and curious all at the same time as I went into the main entrance where I found a man I had known for 3 years who always walked with a cane. I told him what the old-man told me and he agreed to follow me back to the gym. The old-man introduced himself as a evangelist and told the man with the cane to sit down and put his legs straight out in front of him. Curiously I watched from about 5 feet away as the old man knelt down on the hard gym floor and started to pray out loud. He said," God, please do what you do and give us your power!" (Now the man with the cane that was sitting down had one leg that was noticeably about 3 inches shorter than the other!) And this old preacher started praying, or commanding, Come-on baby grow! Grow! I almost started laughing being skeptical and naive as I was but, right in front of my eyes- This mans leg GREW! The old preacher (Who's name I can't remember) told the now healed man in his 40's to jump-up and run around the church! And he did just that! I was in awe.... Now I knew this wasn't staged as I had known the man with the cane hadn't ever been without that cane for the 3 years we attended that church, and I had never seen the old preacher before or after that day. How awesome is God! I never saw the man who was healed use a crutch again, He had been completely healed.

There will be more tomorrow......

[richanderson107]

BAPTIZED BY FIRE!

When I was 17 I was living with my drummer, and drinking became a way of life to me. We were in a metal band called Stormbringer and we were actually quite good. After a 7 month haze of partying and wasting my life; little did I know that my dear mother, in her worried state about my lifestyle, was fasting for 3 days on her face before God on my behalf. By the third day, I found myself breaking up with the band and hitchhiking 16 miles back to my parents house with guitar in hand. (Walking about 8 of the 16 miles) When I finally arrived home I found my parents pulling out of the driveway. I explained my situation and asked them if I could live there for a while. They said yes and that they would be back soon as they were going to our church for their, once-a-year Holy Spirit Conference. I immediately told them I wanted to go with them. They said NO! And left me standing there in the driveway..... This was the first time my parents didn't try to force me to go to church! I understood though. I had long greasy hair, a ring with a skull that spikes protruded from. I hadn't bathed in a couple of days, and I was A half-crazed wreck. Still, something pulled at my heart at that moment and I just knew I HAD to get there! So, I put my guitar in their house and started walking. It was another 5 miles at least to the church, and after walking about 1 1/2 miles, I got a ride right to the door! As I walked in I realized how out of place I was and sat quietly in the back. There were many pastors, and Evangelists there and each one gave there sermons until it was time for the alter-call. I was still sitting in the back watching the show when God spoke to me! He said, "Go up there!" I argued with Him and said NO! He said it again, "Go up there, Now is the time!" I finally went. I was the last person to go up there and I met with an evangelist that had Fire in his eyes! He asked me what I wanted, and I told him I wanted to be born again. He told me to close my eyes and pray with him, I did. All of a sudden I got mad! I got so angry I wanted to punch this preachers lights out! (I didn't act out of anything, but he knew!) He said, "OPEN YOUR EYES!" I did and he said, "What's inside of you!?" I told him what I had been doing and he said, "Lift your hands to Heaven. We are going to get this out of you right now!" I did what he had asked and all of a sudden about 5 other people came over and laid their hands on me and began praying with him. Well I got so angry I felt like killing the lot of em! I didn't understand what was wrong with me! I think I prayed, "God help me" or something like that. Then, I felt the evil/rage in my stomach-rise out of me at what seemed like the speed of light! I was free, baptized in fire and crying my eyes out like a baby! I started shouting/slobbering, I'M SAVED! I'M SAVED! I'M SAVED!
And that my friends, is how God delivered me into His hands, by the prayers from my dear mother. And I've never been the same again. Ever.....
More to come tomorrow.

[richanderson107]

Still 17.....

One night my 15 year old brother decided to get drunk and steal a truck.... He didn't know how to drive-I think it might of been his first attempt. It was reported by the police that he was going 90 mph on the highway, and hit the median; Causing the truck to roll 9 times and ended up looking more like a metal shaped "V" than a truck. At the hospital, his tests confirmed a compound fracture in his back-He couldn't walk.....I was staying over-night at my pastors house where his son and I were jamming to some christian Rock when we got the call to pray for my brother. Now this wasn't long after my conversion, and I started going to a church called, World Thrust Christian Center. (There was a reason for the name) Miracles were like eating breakfast at this church! So, we got together and prayed for my stupid/criminal brother; and we got a call from my Mom almost immediately after. She said that my brother just got out of bed and pulled the wires off of himself and started walking down the hall! The doctors and nurses had a fit! They put him through all the tests again and found NO EVIDENCE of a fracture! It was a miracle, the doctor said! He is doing fine to this day with no problem in his back at all.

More to come. Many more!

[richanderson107]

Demons vacate the premises!

I was yet 17 years old and was living downtown in a not so savory part of it. My roommate and I started a street witnessing team with my church and every Friday and Saturday night we would go walking around "The One's."Preaching the Word of God, trying to save the world! "The one's" were primarily where all the street gangs, prostitutes, and drug dealers hung out. (This was my neighborhood) I had a nice neighbor lady that would always make us (The witnessing team from church) cake and cookies before we would go out and witness on the street. One night she told me she didn't believe in Hell, or the Devil. (I thought at that time everyone did.) When she went to the bathroom God spoke to me and said, "Tell her when she gets back that if she will pray with you, I will show her that Hell and the Devil exist." So, when she got back I told her what God said to me. She laughingly agreed and I asked her to take my hands and we began to pray. I sensed that something was wrong, and so I invited a few of the church team that was there to pray along with us. After about a minute or so I felt her pulling violently away from my hands-(I held on tighter!) As I opened my eyes, I saw terror in her's.... I quickly began to pray harder and in my prayer-language, And The demons that held her left! She started laughing and crying at the same time saying, "Now I believe in The Devil and I believe in Hell!!!"
She was set free from demons I had no-idea were in her! (She didn't either.) This is the power of prayer and obedience to God, and I am forever grateful for having listened to God's voice, for she was a dear-soul to me and my friends.

There will be more......

[richanderson107]

Construction worker healed!

I started hanging out at this really cool Christian Coffee-House which used to be a large downtown bank. I liked it so much that I started volunteering there a few days a week. We built a stage there and brought in bands from all over the mid-west and I played guitar there quite a bit myself. Eventually they hired me on full-time and I even started living there! (My bed-room was the bank vault!) I grew close to God in those days staying firmly in The Word, going to church, and staying away from my old lifestyle of drinking and hanging out in bars. I asked God for the gift to heal people and Living in The Spirit-I could! It was an awesome feeling to know that I could actually touch others supernaturally! (By God's divine appointment and will of course!)
One day a man I'd known for a few months that was a regular at the Coffee-House came in with a boot on his foot. I asked him what was wrong and he replied, "I have gout in my foot and it's very painful to walk on!" He asked me to pray for him, and I did. The next day he came in jumping on his foot praising God saying that he was totally healed! Our God is so good! I had many more experiences like this in that wonderful place that I'll share with you soon!

(For the record, these are absolutely 100% true happenings in my life. They are not candy-coated or spruced-up at all.)

For now, May God bless you. May He keep you! May He make His face to shine on you and give you peace. And may Our Lord give you a new-found, and stronger faith as you venture more closely to Him. In Jesus Holy Name! Amen!

[richanderson107]

Brought back from certain death.

One morning at the coffeehouse I was awoken by my pastor who ran into the bank-vault (Which was my bedroom) and startled me when he yelled, "Get up! We must hurry! Our dear sister is at deaths door and the doctors say she has less than an hour to live!" It was my dear friends mother, and I, along with my pastor rushed to meet and pray with her. We got there at the nursing-home with minutes to spare. We tried to get access to her room but the doctors prevented us from getting in. She hadn't eaten for days, was going through the death shakes, and was extremely delusional. We stood outside of her door and prayed that God would prevent death from taking her that day and would heal her.It wasn't long after we prayed that she sat up in bed, regained her composure, and in her right mind said, "I'M hungry!" She laughed and ate like nothing was remotely wrong. The doctors and nurses were dumbfounded! They all agreed it was a miracle and we knew it was too. To raise the dead is not so unlikely when it comes to an Almighty and loving God!

This was not the last experience I've had with death; Ultimately with the very same results! I'll share that story with you another time! This one was much more personal to me. There are many more to come-And I expect miracles to KEEP COMING in my life until my final days are complete. Amen.

[richanderson107]

Infected Wisdom-Tooth Healed!

At the coffeehouse I was witnessing to a regular who seemed to be amused at my zeal for Christ. I don't believe this man was saved but attentive however at my ramblings. (When The Fire of God is in you, You cannot help but talk and witness about Jesus!) He kept holding his jaw and wincing as we were talking and finally I asked what was wrong with him. He said, "My wisdom tooth is infected and it is extremely painful!" (Now the Spirit of God was upon me at this time) I smiled and said, "Do you believe God can and will heal you?" He said, "Yes." and at that very moment, without us praying or anything; When he said, "Yes." He was healed! It was at his "Yes"(of faith) That he was made whole! Normally, I will get prayed-up, and set a time where I can lay hands on the person that needs healing, but it was his faith that made him whole that day! Remember when Jesus said to the woman that touched his garment-
Matt 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Her faith had made her whole! God is so awesome! He really wants us to BELIEVE in His Word, and His Promises. Faith pleases Him very much!
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

I have hope that these experiences of mine are truly helping some of you. There are many more to come! The next one makes me laugh! -I hope it will make you laugh too!

[richanderson107]

Sickness leaves! November 2003

We had a packed house at the coffeehouse one snowy Saturday night preparing for a Christian Rock Band that was coming in from Chicago. The Band was semi-famous and were thought of as a big deal at that time. They were on the radio and they might of been part of the Dove Awards that year-I just can't remember.... Anyway, we were at full capacity (Around 300-350) and the band was a little late getting there due to the snow-storm coming in. I remember everyone being so exited! I was too, but I knew I was going to have to work about twice as fast as I was capable that night! The snow was coming down in big fluffy flakes and causing havoc to drive in so the crowd didn't mind the wait.
Finally the band arrived about 45 minutes late and started setting up for the show. I helped them as best as I could noticing that two of the band members (The lead singer and the bass player) looked very ill.... I finally was able to take a breather after making many espressos, lattes, and real fruit smoothies. I had just sat down when I heard my name being called out from back-stage repeatedly. I KNEW that they were calling on me to pray for healing for these men that were now looking really, REALLY, SICK! And I remember saying to myself, "OH why can't anyone else do this!" And," I hope God comes through this time!" and...."I don't FEEL very powerful or like a strong Christian right now." (How awful that I had felt like this! But it does, more often than not, happen to all of us from time to time.) I grudgingly went to the back and sure enough, there stood these two Rock -n- Rollers trying to believe all the hype that there was a faith healer in the house. I asked the lead singer if he was ready and he skeptically said, "Yep." (So i mustered up all the faith I could find from every nook and cranny in myself hoping that God would come through) I laid my hand on his head and commanded the sickness to leave In the Name of Jesus! I did the same for the bass player. Immediately the sickness (Which all thought was the Flu) left and they were able to play the entire concert without any more concern or care of what could of been a trip to the hospital!

God came through even when my faith was failing; When I didn't feel like I had any strength, courage, or power at all-God came through! Knowing what I know now, It's all about Him and all the power and all the Glory belong to Him alone! Thank God for his tremendous patients with us! Thank God that He is WHO He is, and not who we make Him out to be!

Again, I hope this is helping some of you who are reading these testimonies. In writing them, it is helping me too. I have many more miracles to tell you of! (Soon.)

And please excuse my bad grammar, wrong punctuation, and improper diction. I am not much of a writer. (Can't you tell!)

May God bless everyone who reads this with more hope, and more faith, IN JESUS NAME amen!

[richanderson107]

The Rain Stopped.

I used to line soccer fields for the YMCA years ago. (This was right after my baptism by fire) I was talking to God thanking Him for all He had done for me and I couldn't of been happier. The sky began to get dark and a storm was beginning to brew right over the field I was lining. It had started to sprinkle and I had half the field left to do. Knowing I couldn't risk lining it during a storm, I began to pray... I prayed, "Lord, would you please hold back the rain until I am finished lining this field?" Instantly it stopped! I was very grateful and wondered if it truly was God that had stopped the rain answering my prayer, or could it have only been coincidence? As I continued lining, The sky grew darker and more ominous. I just kept thanking God instead of packing things up, and I continued as if my prayer was answered. As I got to the last few feet of lining I had left to do I said, "Thank you God! You can let it rain now." IMMEDIATELY it started pouring at that very second!
Now tell me, a miracle is a miracle, no matter how small. I just wonder going through life how many times God has done so many incredible things in our lives that we'll never know about until we see Him face to face!

More to come soon!

[richanderson107]

The Miracle on The One's

I and my church group were doing street witnessing on the (One's) which were the bottom streets 1-4 in the slums downtown where the drug-dealers, pimps, prostitutes, and gang members hung out. We would walk around in circles approximately 2 miles from start to finish. (Which was my apartment) We would normally walk this 2-3 times every Friday/Saturday night. We had to pass 2 porn shops while witnessing and there was always a large group of trouble hanging out around them. One day I walked up to both porn-shops (Each a block away from each other.) and I spit on my finger, and using the spittle I drew a cross on each building saying, " You shall be destroyed In The Name of Jesus!" I then kicked the dust of my shoes off on the side of the building- as did the disciples when they were rejected in some of the towns they has witnessed in. Not many days later (Maybe a week) BOTH of the buildings were bulldozed to the ground!!! This was an amazing miracle to me! I believed that God would destroy them and He did! FAITH in prayer is the only way to please God and to tap into His limitless power!

I have a few more stories I'll tell you on "The One's" soon! God bless you!

[richanderson107]

No Bug Spray Required...

While living downtown in one of the most unsavory apartment complexes, I was forced to live with several thousand roommates. (Cockroaches)!!! Not just a few here and there; No, they were everywhere! Crawling on the walls, tables, just everywhere... Sure the manager had the place sprayed regularly, but it never seemed to even put a dent into their numbers.... One day I obtained some Holy-Oil and I anointed every wall, door, and window with a cross and prayed to God asking Him to keep the demons out of my place. After I did this I prayed for God to make the cockroaches to leave; Instead, I was given an impression, or thought- to speak to them myself. So I shrugged my shoulders and told myself that I'd give it a try. I spoke to the pestilence, "In The Name of Jesus I command every cockroach in my apartment to leave NOW and never come back!" I remember leaving the building thinking about how crazy the whole thing sounded, and quite happy no one else was there to witness me speaking to bugs! But I was also grateful for the strong faith I had. When I came back several hours later, there were no bugs in the apartment! None! Zero! I even looked for them in every corner and they actually did leave as commanded!!! (If you are wondering, they never came back as long as I lived there.)

Jesus did tell us to SPEAK to our problems in faith and believe that we would have whatever we ask for as long as we didn't hold doubt in our hearts! (Within reason of course!) We cannot simply ask for something that is against God's will and believe we will have it. Jesus said this:
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Our God is such an awesome God and I am so happy to serve Him!
More to come soon. HAVE FAITH!