My Testimony Glorifies The Lord God Almighty!

[Doug]

From the diaries of my 9 evangelism trips to Bulgaria,

I have summarized some highlights of my spiritual experiences.

 

I compiled this testimony to show that God …

· deserves to be praised and glorified for the wonderful things He has done

· provides for (and protects) those whom He sends forth to do something for Him

· confirms with signs and wonders the saving truth of His precious gospel

 

Years before going to Bulgaria: After losing a tennis match, I was sitting alone (wearily) when God said very clearly within me (in a medium-volume voice): “When are you going to have had enough of this (i.e. playing a lot of tennis)?” I was shocked … I was not a religious person at all. Absolutely no one else was anywhere around at the time. I knew for sure that this had to be God!

 

Months before going to Bulgaria: I woke up with a major “muscle pull” in my back (it must have been the way I slept). During many years of playing basketball, I had several of these types of injuries, and I knew this one would take about 10 days to heal. At 9 am, an elderly lady from our church phoned and asked me how I was doing. I told her that I was in pain and why. She said, “No problem!”, and told me to put my right hand where the pain was, and we would pray in agreement about it, and the Lord would take care of it. So, we prayed in faith “in the name of Jesus”, and instantly the pain was gone! For the next several months, I had a very very slight pain in that area of my back. I kept saying to people: “Isn’t it obvious that God wants me to remember His great healing power and also when and how He healed me!”

 

My first evangelizing trip (1992): I joined a missions organization which was taking 60 people to Bulgaria. In the capital city of Sofia, at the last moment I was switched from the team going to a city in the far west to the team going to a city located right in the middle of southern Bulgaria. Later, I realized that it was God who did this, because this city was where God wanted me to set up my central home-base for future evangelizing all over southern Bulgaria. In Bulgaria prior to July 1991, it was: “... illegal to mention the name of Jesus or quote a Scripture verse in newspapers, or on radio, or television. Bulgaria had been the most Stalinistic of all the Communist nations in Europe; even more so than Russia itself.”

… from page 6 of the book “Fire From Heaven” (ISBN 1-895-868-00-9)

 

USA … A few months after my first trip, I received the baptism with the Holy Spirit. There were 15 of us attending a Sunday night church service. I was standing at the front, facing 6 people who were on the stage: my pastor and his wife, a visiting evangelist and his wife, my wife, and the piano player. We were all praying for me to receive the baptism. After a few minutes, I heard an angelic choir singing loudly (with instruments). Later, my pastor said he heard me speak a few words in tongues, and I kept saying, “They all had microphones!” (because of the loud singing). All on the stage also heard the angelic choir, as did 2 in the audience, for a total of 9 out of the 15 in attendance. We all heard it “in the spirit” because the angelic choir and instruments were not on the tape recording of the meeting.

 

Bulgaria … One time the car died late on a Friday afternoon, and we pushed it to a mechanic’s shop. They really didn’t want to help, but God had other ideas. One mechanic rushed off to the parts store before it closed to get a water pump, and another one stayed late to install it. Later, our Bulgarian friends said it was quite a miracle for them to stay so late on a Friday afternoon; this is absolutely unheard of in Bulgaria! … Another time we were driving through steep mountains when the radiator boiled over with the temperature gauge showing “Hot”. All we had were about 4 cups of water to put in the radiator, but the gauge showed “Cold” all the way to our church destination. It was here that the Holy Spirit helped Tony (who knew only a few words of English) translate very well for me. Later, when Tony's church heard about this, they were really amazed because Tony didn’t know English. … Another time, a policeman found us parked illegally, and he also found several violations with my driving documents. He said the total fine could be as much as 20,000 leva ($400), but after some discussion (and many silent fervent prayers) he let us go free! About an hour later, we went to order 30,000 more gospel tracts at the government printing company; half of the cost had to be paid in advance and amazingly it was exactly 20,000 leva!

 

USA … At church, about 30 people were praying over me about my upcoming trip when one brother had a vision of me in a complete Orthodox priest’s outfit, holding a staff. In the vision, the people around me were bound by chains and when I touched their chains with the staff they fell off onto the ground. Our interpretation was -- the priest outfit: the people will see me as a man of God … the staff: represented God’s authority and power (like Moses) … the chains off: the people will be set free of spiritual bondages.

 

Bulgaria … My #1 partner (Tony) and I had to use words in Bulgarian, English, and French to be able to communicate effectively. … We visited deacon Dinko and as we were leaving, he and his wife were praying for us and God gave him a vision of many angels around me (and on the road ahead of me), protecting me as I travelled! ... Tony’s sister (Christina) and I prayed for Tony’s painful toothache and red swollen gum, and they were healed almost instantly!

 

Bulgaria … The Lord blessed Christina by instantly healing her painful lower back when we prayed for her. … The next day, Christina and I prayed for a young lady who had an inherited spirit of occultism (from her grandmother); she felt something moving in her stomach and her expression changed, as in: “she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction” (Mark 5:29). Her evangelical mother told us that she had been praying every day for 7 years for this day of deliverance for her daughter. … Another young lady prayed to receive Jesus and was delivered of intense nervousness and stuttering; indeed, we saw a tremendous transformation in her speech and countenance! … In another village, the Lord instantly healed the first lady we prayed for, and she ran around the village telling people about it. … In another village, one lady’s paralyzed right arm was healed immediately, and a gypsy lady with a crutch had her painful hip instantly healed. … A man living next to us (in our home base city) had terminal cancer with only 3 months to live; we prayed for him and he accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior; we also prayed for his healing and 2 days later the family called from the hospital to say that the cancer was now in regression!

 

Bulgaria … In one church, all 8 ladies who came forward for healing were “slain in the Spirit” (knocked over by the power of the Holy Spirit) and healed of what was afflicting them! … In the city where we were staying, the Lord ministered to 3 gypsy believers: Ilia was delivered from spirits of depression and suicide, his sister (who was close to death in the hospital) was healed, and another young man in the hospital was also healed. … In one village, while playing frisbee with some boys, I sprained my ankle (I heard quite a crunching sound), but when I got up off the ground I felt no pain at all and I knew that God had healed it. … Over the years, I was stopped by the police maybe 20 times for various traffic, driving, and parking violations, but I received only one $2 ticket during all of that time!

 

USA … 10 years earlier, God told my wife and I to stop praying for my father’s salvation, that He would take care of it. … Now in Bulgaria, for the first time in 7 trips God persuaded me through 5 separate events (it’s a long story) to return home one month early! This was incredible, but because I did go home early, I had 4 weeks to rest before getting a call from my sister (from Canada) who said that my father was in the hospital again, and that maybe I should come home soon. And I arrived exactly 24 hours before my father died. During the day of his death, I was the only family member to converse with him. He was in a private room, and I felt comfortable praying out loud for more than a half-hour -- as I thanked Jesus, and praised Him, and covered the whole room (and us) with His blood, and chased any demons (who might have been there) out of the room. A few days later, after the funeral, my wife called to say that God had assured her very strongly that my father was in heaven! It seemed to us that his salvation was the result of God’s efforts to get me home one month early.

 

Bulgaria … We met 3 Pentecostal believers who were being persecuted and were called insects (praying mantises) by their village; one of them (who was talking in tongues a lot) said: "God sent you to sow seeds in the village; and also so everyone who hears the message will have no excuse." This was a confirmation of what the Lord had told me years earlier: “I’m sending you to 2 types of people, etc.” … In the same village, God restored one lady who had lost her faith because of the terrible difficulties her blind husband was experiencing. … We actually helped in this “restoration” experience with several people. Some had kept the seed of faith for more than 60 years, all through the communist years until then, e.g. 2 older men who cried all through saying the sinner’s prayer.

[LivingLife]

Hey go tell some one who cares, xians are not allowed to preach on this forum.

 

Predict a short stay for U.

[TrailBlazer]

This all sounds very self-centered. What did you do in the name of God for those people in Bulgaria that they could have called their miracle?

 

Your personal relationship with God may have placed blinders on your eyes to other people because you get so wrapped up in what God is doing for you in your life or how he's blessing you and your family.....

 

People tend to have a lot more humility once they take the blinders of religion off.

[florduh]

We've heard all your bullshit before. Hell, we've DONE the same bullshit. On the chance you are sincere, you're only fooling yourself, for we have seen the light!!!

[Doug]

What did you do in the name of God for those people in Bulgaria that they could have called their miracle?

 

What are you talking about? I talked about their miracles in the testimony.

What could they want except their own miracles?

 

Why do Christians get up in church and testify as to what God did in their lives,

especially in answer to their prayers?

One reason is to glorify God.

Another reason is to encourage others to keep praying for what they need.

 

Sometimes, God tests people by insisting on proving their faith and persistence.

[Thought2Much]

long bullshit story

 

Dude, if you're hearing voices in your head, you don't need to go to the mission field, you need medication.

[Doug]

Why doesn't someone get specific ... and come out and

say what has made him/her so angry at God and His Scriptures?

 

This is what I'm here for ... to deal with these issues.

[Thought2Much]

Why doesn't someone get specific ...

and say what has made him/her so angry at God and His Scriptures?

 

Ah, so now we're already at the "why are you so angry at God/Christians" phase. How adorable. This is just like watching a baby taking his first steps.

 

What a precocious little Christian you are! Yes you are!

[centauri]

Bulgaria … My #1 partner (Tony) and I had to use words in Bulgarian, English, and French to be able to communicate effectively. … We visited deacon Dinko and as we were leaving, he and his wife were praying for us and God gave him a vision of many angels around me (and on the road ahead of me), protecting me as I travelled! ... Tony’s sister (Christina) and I prayed for Tony’s painful toothache and red swollen gum, and they were healed almost instantly!

 

Bulgaria … The Lord blessed Christina by instantly healing her painful lower back when we prayed for her. … The next day, Christina and I prayed for a young lady who had an inherited spirit of occultism (from her grandmother); she felt something moving in her stomach and her expression changed, as in: “she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction” (Mark 5:29). Her evangelical mother told us that she had been praying every day for 7 years for this day of deliverance for her daughter. … Another young lady prayed to receive Jesus and was delivered of intense nervousness and stuttering; indeed, we saw a tremendous transformation in her speech and countenance! … In another village, the Lord instantly healed the first lady we prayed for, and she ran around the village telling people about it. … In another village, one lady’s paralyzed right arm was healed immediately, and a gypsy lady with a crutch had her painful hip instantly healed. … A man living next to us (in our home base city) had terminal cancer with only 3 months to live; we prayed for him and he accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior; we also prayed for his healing and 2 days later the family called from the hospital to say that the cancer was now in regression!

Then you should be very famous.

Where can I read about your exploits as reported by an outside objective source?

If you get a chance to work in the U.S. would you demonstrate your gift by emptying some nursing homes, mental institutions, and hospitals?

If you're the genuine article then the reports of your activity will appear very quickly in the news.

[Akheia]

You can't possibly be real. Nobody can possibly be that ignorant and make such obviously disprovable and ludicrous claims. So you're going to have to actually prove yourself before I get all worked up about you.

[MrsRoper]

What did you do in the name of God for those people in Bulgaria that they could have called their miracle?

 

What are you talking about? I talked about their miracles in the testimony.

What could they want except their own miracles?

 

Why do Christians get up in church and testify as to what God did in their lives,

especially in answer to their prayers?

One reason is to glorify God.

Another reason is to encourage others to keep praying for what they need.

 

Sometimes, God tests people by insisting on proving their faith and persistence.

 

Another reason is that they are narcissistic & deluded. Just like you.

[GardenerGal]

You can't possibly be real. Nobody can possibly be that ignorant and make such obviously disprovable and ludicrous claims. So you're going to have to actually prove yourself before I get all worked up about you.

 

agree. i have serious doubts this person is real. me thinks he's messing with us

[Doug]

You can't possibly be real. Nobody can possibly be that ignorant and make such obviously disprovable

and ludicrous claims. So you're going to have to actually prove yourself before I get all worked up about you.

 

I'm ignorant because I tell you the truth about my experiences?

Obviously disprovable claims ... yes, obviously they are ... so why are you still here?

You're free to not believe me and go to another thread.

[MrsRoper]

You can't possibly be real. Nobody can possibly be that ignorant and make such obviously disprovable

and ludicrous claims. So you're going to have to actually prove yourself before I get all worked up about you.

 

I'm ignorant because I tell you the truth about my experiences?

Obviously disprovable claims ... yes, obviously they are ... so why are you still here?

You're free to not believe me and go to another thread.

 

The question is why are you here? Nobody invited you here to give us answers we already have. We aren't the confused ones you are.

[3DollarBill]

I'm ignorant because I tell you the truth about my experiences?

Obviously disprovable claims ... yes, obviously they are ... so why are you still here?

You're free to not believe me and go to another thread.

 

Said this in your other troll thread but obviously you didnt get it:

THIS IS OUR FUCKING FORUM YOU ARROGANT PRICK. YOU BETTER COME HERE WANTING A DEBATE, BECAUSE WE WILL GIVE YOU ONE.

 

Don't like the tough questions? Don't like the bible stories that prove god is evil? Then just stay on the xtian message boards where they conveniently ignore all that shit. Take the blue pill, nobody says you can't. Nobody on here will even deny that it might make you happier.

[3DollarBill]

And he's gone.

 

Come back dougie I can keep this up all day long. And I'll keep it at whatever level you want... Dodge questions and then turn around and tell us we should leave our own damn forum, and I'll call you on it. Every damn time. But feel free to come back and have a real debate. I welcome it.

[Akheia]

You can't possibly be real. Nobody can possibly be that ignorant and make such obviously disprovable

and ludicrous claims. So you're going to have to actually prove yourself before I get all worked up about you.

 

I'm ignorant because I tell you the truth about my experiences?

Obviously disprovable claims ... yes, obviously they are ... so why are you still here?

You're free to not believe me and go to another thread.

 

Um. Dipshit. Did you not happen to notice our URL?

 

Scurry along to one of those forums where you can make unwarranted claims and display shocking arrogance and delusion and not get challenged for it. Or show proof of your "experiences" so at least you're worth bothering with.

 

3DB: since when did any fundie come here wanting an honest debate? Silly!

[Suzy]

LOL @ the OP.

[LivingLife]

I googled some phrases on his testimony and got a hit on a woo site but the post whatever he posted must have been deleted. This is a troll looking for a home.

[Mudhoney]

lol

[scriptor]

Why doesn't someone get specific ... and come out and

say what has made him/her so angry at God and His Scriptures?

 

This is what I'm here for ... to deal with these issues.

 

I'm not angry at your God, or his scriptures. Not even a little. I'm just not a Christian anymore. Deal with that.

[stryper]

Drive By Evangelism.

 

Stop it in your neighborhood.

 

Report any suspicious true believe to your local mod.

[midniterider]

 

Why do Christians get up in church and testify as to what God did in their lives,

especially in answer to their prayers?

 

 

One reason is to glorify God.

Another reason is to encourage others to keep praying for what they need.

 

Sometimes, God tests people by insisting on proving their faith and persistence.

 

They get up in front of their peers to gain acceptance and feel validated by their mutual delusion. God doesnt test people. People test people.

[TrailBlazer]

What did you do in the name of God for those people in Bulgaria that they could have called their miracle?

 

What are you talking about? I talked about their miracles in the testimony.

What could they want except their own miracles?...

I mean practically. Did you feed the poor and starving? Did you give a child your shoes? Did you spend time with the dying? Did you give money to a bum on the streets? You spoke of faith healing and coincidence miracles, but nothing of how "God" led you to care for the people there.

 

I was angry with "God" and the Bible because it does not make sense! It is not consistent in its story, the footnotes do not match, the original documents are missing, biblical customs are no longer relevant to today, the bible is full of death and racism and bigotry, and just because the bible says it is true does not make it true; if that were true then the Koran is true because Muhammad says it is true. (And who knows for sure? Muhammad could be as true as Jesus Christ or the Buddha or Joseph Smith)

 

But once I rejected the bible I was no longer angry with it or with "God" because it is silly to be angry with something you don't believe exists.

[Guest Valk0010]

What did you do in the name of God for those people in Bulgaria that they could have called their miracle?

 

What are you talking about? I talked about their miracles in the testimony.

What could they want except their own miracles?

 

Why do Christians get up in church and testify as to what God did in their lives,

especially in answer to their prayers?

One reason is to glorify God.

Another reason is to encourage others to keep praying for what they need.

 

Sometimes, God tests people by insisting on proving their faith and persistence.

Ohhh brother, a omniscienct god needs to test people. Ohh brother, god is a pyschopath, he only cares for manipulating his friends and hurting those he doesn't care about. Seriously, starving children in africa, and you see a miracle. Inconsistency at its finest.

 

And if you go about saying god is not omniscient, then how does he know how revelations occurred in detail without it already happening.