From the time that I was saved at age 32, my desire was to seek and understand the true meaning of the contents of the Bible. I was reared in a small, midwestern town, and observed many people performing a kind of religious duty every Sunday morning—and I had no desire to enter into traditional practices with no reality. When I was saved, I had the clear sense that I had received a wonderful, living Person into my being, and that only the Bible could reveal Him to me. So immediately after being saved, I read the entire Bible from cover to cover. When I had finished, I was fully satisfied that this was truly the Word of God. I particularly was impressed with John 8:31-32: “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” I had a sober realization that in order for the Word to set me free, I would need to seek diligently, and that I would need a ministry and fellowship that could open the entire Bible to me.

I opened up myself to several churches and pastors, with the hope of understanding the Bible in a deeper way, for nearly two years. Eventually, I only felt frustrated. The only things I heard were things like: be a good person, be kind to others, or try to be like Jesus. Eventually I came to the Lord on my knees and in tears, begging Him to bring me to a place that could open up the real depths of the Word to me. I pleaded with Him that without an understanding of the Word I could eventually be lost. I praise God that He heard my cry, and fully answered my prayer. A few weeks after this prayer, I unexpectedly received a job offer in Los Angeles. Although I never desired to live in that city, I sensed that I should go. At that new job, I was placed next to a brother in the local church in that city. We soon began to enjoy the Lord together, and he invited me to a ministry meeting on Exodus. At that meeting, the significance of the offerings of the tabernacle was being ministered. I did not have the adequate background in the Word to understand much that evening, but for the first time since I had been saved, I had the sense that I had found believers that were searching for deeper truth. I began to attend more meetings, and read books from Living Stream Ministry, and my testimony is that everything that I heard or read opened the Word even more to me.

In the local churches, I have found the fellowship of other believers seeking to know the real meaning of the Bible. Praise God, in the local churches, I am finding the truth, and being set free. I thank the Lord daily for bringing me to the local churches, and thank Him that He “desires all men...to come to the full knowledge of the truth”. (1 Timothy 2:4)

J.B.

Back to Table of Testimonies