Power Verses…… "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

I was asked recently by the leadership of the Baptist Church where my wife and I worship, to give my testimony during the Sunday morning service.

In preparing, I looking at my life retrospectively, and realised how extremely blessed I have been by the number of “God moments” that have impacted my life and how God has used individuals down through the years to demonstrate His love towards me.

In 1954 aged twelve, in my home town of Aberdeen, Scotland, I attended the local Church of Scotland Sunday school. I can remember with amazing clarity and deep affection my Sunday school teacher. His name was Mr. Park. He was a gentle, patient man, severely crippled, but week by week he faithfully attempted to teach his class about the things of God. Sadly, his class, including myself, gave him a hard time, as twelve year old boys were prone to do. Yet fifty four years on, I still remember his name, and can clearly picture him standing in front of that class, Sunday after Sunday, faithfully fulfilling His commitment to Christ. That was my first “God moment”. And with every “God moment” there is always a Bible verse that confirms that moment. 

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

It was 1957, Billy Graham came to Aberdeen. I so much wanted to attend his crusade. It was another “God moment” because I felt something within urging me to attend, but my mother said no. I have often wondered what might have happened had I been allowed to attend. Would my life have followed a different path? However, down through the years Billy Graham has been my ‘spiritual hero.’ His lifetime of faithfulness to God has been wonderfully used to influence millions worldwide to come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

In 1961 I found myself stationed in Singapore and serving with the British Army. One day I was approached along with others, to help raise money to installed new washing machines at a leper colony in Singapore. We raised the money, and I, along with a colleague, were asked to go to the colony to hand the money over. The culture shock for this 20 year old lad from Aberdeen was indescribable. The leper colony, isolated from built-up areas, barely provided basic human amenities. For the first time in my life I saw human beings disfigured by leprosy, separated from healthy family members, and, in my naivety, I believed they had been abandoned, without love and hope. Wrong, and here comes my next “God moment”. I was introduced to a group of Roman Catholic nuns, who loved and cared for these lepers in quite remarkable ways. That was forty seven years ago, and that powerful moment is stored in my memory bank along with my other “God moments”.

Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Matthew 25:40

The year is 1965 I’m back in the U.K., based in Winchester, in the south of England.  I respond to a Centenary Year appeal from the Salvation Army which appeared in a national newspaper. I made contact with their International Headquarters in London, and was invited to hear about their international work. I accepted, and met a Colonel in the Public Relations Department. I handed over my cheque and listened, as he told me about the international work of “The Army”. Here comes another “God moment”. At the conclusion of our meeting the Colonel asked if he could pray with me. He knelt down and he prayed for me, yes me! I was stunned. Because this was the first time that anyone had prayed for me face to face, and on their knees. But to the Colonel, this was the very ‘life blood’ of his Christian experience. This had such an impact on me that shortly afterwards I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour, joined the Salvation Army, and in 1968 for two years trained at the International Training College in London, and served as a Salvation Army officer for a number of years. Forty three years on, that sacred moment of prayer, along with Mr. Park, Billy Graham, and the Catholic nuns, are without doubt, amazing “God moments” in His unique demonstration of His love for me.

“………The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available-dynamic in its working.” James 5:16

1996 was a very low time in my life. I had made some poor lifestyle choices and was struggling to see any light at the end of my life’s tunnel. I was living in Spain, at home alone watching television, and participating in that favourite pastime, ‘channel hopping.’ I hit upon a station at random, The Hour of Power, which I discovered to be the amazing ministry of Robert Schuller from the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove California. This minister certainly knew how to present the Christian message in an extremely positive and challenging way. I looked forward each week to The Hour of Power, sometimes laughing; crying but was always challenged. As the weeks past, bit by bit God was reminding me again of how much He loved me. I’ve since visited the Crystal Cathedral on a number of occasions, and in 1997 yet another “God moment”. I attended a Men’s Conference at the Cathedral that impacted my life beyond measure. My wife and I still watch The Hour of Power weekly, and continue to be greatly blessed.

“Who shall separate us from the love Christ?.......For I am persuaded that neither life nor death, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, not any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35, 38, 39.

I am able to testify, that despite my stumbles along the ‘path of life’, God, in wonderful ways has been so faithful. At times of personal need, with precision timing, He has ‘introduced’ me to powerful born again Christians, whose words, actions or life style have helped me to re-focus and to keep my mind on the things of God. These ordinary people have unknowingly, become extraordinary saints because they have harnessed the power and the reality of the Cross of Calvary, have wrapped themselves in the love and forgiveness of God, and shared that authentic experience with the world. And now I am able to share my faith with you, in the belief that you may experience a “God Moment.”

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes……Romans 1:16

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