Jimmy’s Testimony

My name is Jimmy,
I first received the baptism of the Holy Ghost in October 1985. I was twenty-four years old at the time, two days before my natural birthday. My life went through a tremendous change that year. It started with me breaking up with my girlfriend of almost five years. Then my dog died during the winter. And in early spring, I was laid off from my welding job. So, during the summer I wasn’t doing much. Except going fishing, and drinking a lot of beer. I wasn’t really happy. I didn’t know why. I had a lot of friends, I was pretty popular. But still I new something was missing.

When I think back, I think that the Lord always dealt with me in my heart. I always felt that if I were to die that I wouldn’t make it. I didn’t know why, I just felt that my life wouldn’t measure up to what it took to go to heaven. My next door neighbor, Kent, was like a brother to me. We grew up together. He had received the Holy Ghost about a year before this. He would talk to me about the Lord all the time. About how I needed to turn my life toward God. I felt that I would serve the Lord someday. After I got married, had a few children. Then I would serve the Lord. After I settled down. In my own time. I found out something that year, it’s time when the Lord says so, not me.

I was still living at home. I would cut the grass, and keep up the yard work. When nothing was going on, or when all of my friends were at work, I would sit outside, under the carport. And drink a few beers. Well it got to where I was drinking more beers than doing yard work.

Then one day, I was cutting grass. And I seen Tammy driving down the street. She was the sister of my best friend. I got her to pull over to talk to her. She said that her brother was in town. He was in the Navy. I asked her if she wanted to go out later. She said that she would ask her brother if he and his wife wanted to go out with us. I meant that I wanted just us to go out, but she misunderstood. Anyway, it worked out just the two of us. I knew that she had been serving the Lord for a few years. I knew her about eight years before this. I wanted to see if she was still serving the Lord. I thought that if she wasn’t, then she would probably be fun like she used to be. We were at dinner and I asked her what she had been doing. And then she let me have it. She started telling me about the Lord. She talked about the Lord all night. Her eyes lit up when she was talking. Like she really meant it. She gave me a few tracts that night, and asked me to go to the Meeting with her that next Friday night. I said that I would think about it. Well, Friday rolled around, and she called me to see if I was going. I said that I didn’t think so. Then I asked her if she would go out with me anymore. She said no, I don’t think so. Then we hung up. And I started thinking that it wouldn’t hurt me to go see what it was like. So I got dressed and went to the Meeting. It started at 7:30 p.m. on Friday’s back then. When I pulled up out front she was sitting on the front porch. When we went in, she sits me in the front roll. The first thing I noticed, besides how little the place was, was that when someone said hello, and asked me how I was, that they really wanted to know how I was. Everyone I was used to being around, said how ya doin. And kept walking. Never wanting to hear your answer.

I don’t think I heard a thing being preached that night. But I could feel something was different about this place. I had been to a few meetings with Kent before. This was even different from that.

After the meeting, I left, and met a few friends at a little nightclub where we usually went on Fridays. I told them where I had been and that the people really were into it there. Kind of joking about it. During the next few weeks the Lord really started dealing with me. I hadn’t heard from Tammy. But in that time, I stopped drinking. And started reading my Bible. Stopped dating. I couldn’t wait to she her again; I wanted her to ask me back to the meeting again. Finally she came down the road, and asked me what I had been doing. She didn’t know that the Lord had been dealing with me the past two weeks. She asked if I would want to come back to the Meeting this Friday, I said yes.

It took me a while to receive the Holy Ghost, I was kind of confused about the truth. About which doctrine was real. Kent was telling me one thing and Pastor Jimmy and the Gospel Tract News was telling me something else. I would pray on my way to work in the mornings and in the evenings on my way home. Finally I prayed to God to show me which one was the Truth. I went to the Sunday Meeting with Kent that week. And at the end of the week I went to the Friday Meeting. I felt real good that night, when the prayer line started I went up and got prayed for. As they were praying for me, I started speaking in tongues. The whole meeting started shouting! I knew then which doctrine was real. My whole body felt the love of God. It was better than anything I ever felt was! It still is. I’ve been with the Gospel Tract News ever since.

The next year Tammy and I got married. But it wasn’t like I first thought. It was in Gods plan for me to serve him first. Then, and only then, could I marry one of his children. God has blessed our lives ever since. Knowing I can live a life that doesn’t want to cheat anyone. Or want to get mad and hurt someone. God has changed my whole life. He has saved my life. I wish everyone that reads this letter could see what a miracle this is. And could be in your life also, if you put God first.

Brother Jimmy