Yes, I believe in God.
I'm not outspoken about it but if someone wants
to discuss it I don't mind as long as it's civil.
I 1st believed by faith at 10 but also felt a strong
presence of Love that was beyond my self.
As far as proof, you would need to discount millions
of seemingly supernatural occurrences by millions of people
over the centuries.
I had a friend who was the real deal when it came to living his faith.
He had at least 2 bulging hernias that had been diagnosed by his
doctor and the operation would be very expensive. BTW - I felt
them myself personally except for one that was around his groin area.
He and his wife had an incredible encounter with God by his own words.
Alone, in his house, just them 2, not at Church. He had the hernia bulges for
months and the day after this encounter he and his wife had, they were completely
gone in one night. He wasn't praying for them to be gone, it just happened because of this
experience and the doctor was baffled.
Here's a long incredible story if you want to take the time to read it.
It's by Arthur Blessitt who has carried a cross around the world. He just wears old blue jeans
and T-shirts and is not a TV preacher although he's spoken many times on TV.
This story could be made up, embellished ect, but Arthur has had a repretation as the real deal.
A true man of God. You can decide for yourself if you believe it or not.
BTW - He has all the books he's written for free on his web site.
This is part of a story of when he was carrying his cross in a foreign country.
The civil war in Nicaragua was raging at the time, the Sandinistas' popular guerilla movement against the Somoza government dictatorship. It was a horrible and bloody war. Terror was everywhere.
"I never run,"' I said. "We will sleep where we stop with the cross. I have learned you never run. You must face fear and overcome it, or it will haunt you."
The old man who had spoken made the sign of the cross as we parked the truck and trailer under a tree. It is very uncommon for us to park under a tree, because birds often park in them.
We opened some cold canned food, ate and soon we were in bed. Mike was in the front bed, and I was at the back on the bottom, and Don at the back on the top bunk. I was too exhausted to think. I went sound asleep just after I lay down. The night was hot and I was wet with sweat. A loud banging on the side of the trailer and the loud voice of a man yelling, “Narcotica policia” woke me. I shook my head, sitting up in bed, and pulled back the window curtain to look out. A gun was in my face.
"Narcotica policia!"
I turned on the light, slipped into my pants and opened the door. There were guns pointed at me. One short, middle aged man put a pistol directly in my face, pushing me back and stepping in.
All were in khakis or blue jeans and plain shirts. Several had mustaches and most were in their late teens or early twenties. Several came into the trailer and looked around as if they were going to buy it. Don did not say a word, even though he spoke Spanish. Mike was sitting up in bed wondering what was going on. He could not find his glasses.
"What's happening Arthur, what's going on with all these guys?" he asked sleepily.
"Pray, Mike. Pray."
The short man waved his pistol toward the door. They took me by the shoulder and arm and as I started out I reached up and grabbed the truck keys. This was simply on an impulse, for no particular reason except maybe I thought they might want the truck and they could have it.
There wasn't a doubt these were not narcotics police. The people would later say they were government troops, the government would say there were guerillas. Never mind who, the problem was terror on the roads to rob, to kill and to terrorize the land.
I began to witness in the little Spanish I knew. "Dios te ama. (God loves you) Jesus will forgive you and come to live in your heart."
No one seemed to hear my words. I could see seven men with rifles and pistols, plus two more lying on the back of the truck with machine guns protecting the others. It was a clear night and beautiful. Maybe they want to rob us, I thought, but no. They took me beside the truck and stood me there with orders not to move. They lined up about 15 feet away, raised their guns and pointed them toward me. Suddenly I realized they were going to shoot me. I was standing before a firing squad.
The cross was on top of the truck and difficult to get to. Now, this is what flashed through my mind. If I'm going to die I don't want to die without a Bible. The guns were all aimed at me as I suddenly turned to the right, took about two quick steps and reached to put the key in the truck keyhole. I did it on the first try. I was thinking, even if they shoot me I think I can get the door open before I die and grab a box of Bibles. The men were screaming, "No, no!"
I swung the door open, raised the front seat and grabbed a box of Bibles. The gunmen had no way to know what I was getting or doing. Only God knows why they didn't shoot, but my thought was, if I'm going to die, what does it matter whether I get it from the front or from the back?
I set the box of Bibles on the ground and tried to get it open. It was bound with strong corded tape which made it almost impossible to get open. I could see the feet of the men around me and feel their pull on my shoulder trying to get me up. After getting an opening in the box of American Society Bibles, I thought I'd give them all a Bible too, filling my arms as I stood up. No one was there!
What's happening, I wondered. The glory of God was present, and then I saw the unbelievable. All the gunmen were on the ground, fiat on their backs. The short man who seemed to be the commander was lying inside the trailer with only his feet and legs sticking out. As I walked toward them they began to slowly get up in a daze. The man at the door now sat collecting himself.
I said in Spanish, "Do you want a Bible?"
"We won't bother you," he said.
I grabbed a water bottle and offered them water. All of them jumped up and raced away into the night with no truck lights turned on. I stood in silence. What had happened? It was all so fast!
As I walked into the trailer Don said, "We thought you were dead."
"They were going to kill me, shoot me," I said. "But I opened the truck and got some Bibles. When I looked up the men were on the ground."
"Arthur, we could hear the blows of meat against meat. We thought they were killing you. Then we heard them yell '0-o-o-oh' and they came falling back. One of the men fell into the doorway."
We sat up talking and talking. At dawn as I prepared to leave, carrying the cross down the highway, the people of the houses were there. They were saying, "We saw a bright light. God was here and the gunmen fell to the ground."