GOD SPOKE TO ME!

(By:  Chris Alexander)

Have you ever longed to have God speak to you personally?  He spoke to me, and I'll never be the same!

I'll share some of my past to help you understand why it means so much to me.  I subtitle my story: Lost to the world.

I was born on April 12, 1972, in Harbor Beach, Michigan, to Jerry and Kathy Alexander, my wonderful parents.  Both mom and my dad worked, but we had very little money. 

We moved a lot.  When I was about 12 years old, we moved again, to Port Austin, Michigan.  That is when so much trouble started.  I hated school and I started to rebel against my mother and father.  I started drinking and doing drugs.  I was in and out of trouble at school from the age of 12 to the age of 16. 

At the age of 15, I met a beautiful young lady whom I had strong feelings for.  When I met her, she already had a four month old son who is now my stepson.  At the age of 16, she moved in with me and my family.

Now as I said, I was always in trouble in school.  When I turned 16, I was kicked out of school and sent to court.  This was the first time I was ever in trouble with the law.  The judge told me I would never go back to school and I could not get my drivers license until I turned 19. 

That is when my adult life started, whether I was ready or not.  I had to become a man at the age of 16 and work to support my new family.  That is also where all my trouble with the law started.  From the age of 16 to the age of 29 I was in and out of jail a number of times, for crimes of driving on a suspended license to drunk driving.

By age 25 I  had one stepson, one son and three daughters.  That year I found myself back in jail for drunk driving.  While I was there, I met this chaplain.  His name is Chaplain Chuck Rondo.  We all called him Chaplain Chuck.  One day Chaplain Chuck came to my cell to talk with me.  He talked to me about this man, Jesus Christ.  I didn't know who this Jesus guy was that he was talking to me about.  At that time in my life, I was lost to the world and it's pleasures, as Galatians 5:19-21 speaks of:

But when you follow your own wrong inclinations your lives will produce these evil results:  impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, spiritism (that is, encouraging the activity of demons), hatred and fighting, jealousy and anger, constant effort to get the best for yourself, complaints and criticisms, the feeling that everyone else is wrong except those of your own little group -- and there will be wrong doctrine, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild parties, and all that sort of thing.  Let me tell you again as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God.  -- Living Paraphrase Bible

July 19, 1997, I found out who Jesus Christ was.  For the first time, I excepted Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior, but my life did not change right away the way it does for many others.  I now realize that I needed some inner-healing from hurts from the past, and I needed to understand some Biblical truths that I was ignorant of.  I wanted to please God and be right with Him, but I just wasn't able to rise fully to the call.  Maybe the timing wasn't right; only God knows.  I say this, because when I got out of jail in August 1997, I went right back to my old ways of living life.

Over the next four years I was in and out of jail again and again.  Out of jail, I was free and able to do whatever I wanted to do.  What I wanted to do was be high on alcohol whenever I pleased.  Being high was my escape from reality.  It was the only way I knew how to survive, because when I was sober, life was just too depressing. 

By 2001 and I had nine children: one stepson, one son, five daughters.  I had another son, but his mom gave him up for adoption.  (I had another daughter who died of S.I.D.S. at two weeks old).  

In 2002, at the age of 29, I was arrested once again.  This time, it was no misdemeanor charge.  It was a felony.  I went to court and pleaded guilty and got sentenced to three years, six months, to 15 years in prison. 

April 19, 2002, I was sent to prison.  Once again I looked to God for help.  I started to read my Bible while I was locked down 23 hours a day, but that changed.  They moved me to general population in Saginaw Correction Facility.  While in the Saginaw prison, I found drugs, and once again my Bible went up on the shelf in my cell.  Resorting back to my world of feel-good escapism was the trap Satan kept luring me back into.

 He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  -- Hebrews 11:6

August 29, 2002, I was moved to Carson City Correction Facility.  This time, before I arrived, I made up my mind to seriously find Jesus and let Him change my life.  I started reading my Bible again and the Daily Bread devotional, and started going to church.  I got baptized September 9, 2002. 

Over the next two years, I was a closet Christian.  I went to church and read my bible, but I didn't talk to anyone about Jesus Christ.  That began to change as the months went by. 

In 2004 I started a Bible study course with Forgotten Man Ministries from 2004 to 2006.  That has been very helpful in helping me understand the Bible.

One night in January 2007, while laying in bed praying and talking to God ... God spoke to me!  It was the very first time I've ever heard God speak to me!  God said three words to me, and the best three words I have ever heard!

God said, "Welcome home, son."  

I didn't know what to think!  I was scared at first, but then I started to question how could God ever welcome me home -- a sinner, lost to the world?  I have heard of God speaking to others, but ME? 

I know some reading this will be skeptical that it was really God who spoke to me.  Many will just think I imagined it, or am lying about it to impress others.  That is understandable.  I'm not out to try to prove to anyone that it was really God who clearly spoke to me.  God knows the truth and I know the truth, and that is really all that matters in the end.  I believe God knew I needed to hear His voice clearly, otherwise my relationship with Him might well have continued on shaky ground.  Lord knows I sure didn't deserve to hear His voice, but because He did allow me to hear it ... it has helped me greatly to get much more serious about walking in obedience to Him.

I've since learned that God promises to speak to each of us once we become fully born again and purpose to walk in the Spirit as Romans 8 speaks of -- becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus.  He doesn't want it to be some big deal (Though it is!). It should become very common-place - very ordinary.  It may not be in any remarkable and dramatic way like the first time it happened to me ... but it certainly can be.  Often it is more of a knowing that anything else.  It's hard to describe it to anyone else at times, but you just have a knowing that it wasn't you listening to your own thoughts, but the voice of God talking to you.  God has also been know to speak in dreams and even visions, or it can be through another person.  Most often, learning how to hear His voice comes as you study the Bible with the purpose of really wanting to know everything God has to say to us in it, with a desire, of course, to obey Him as He reveals His truths to you.  That is the most common way Jesus teaches His true followers how to hear His voice.

Jesus states:  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."  -- John 10:27 

February 12, 2007, I was notified that I was accepted to take my Emmaus Walk with Keryx # 17.  My Keyrx weekend started February 16 and ended February 19.  Keyrx has been the most impacting time yet that I've spent with God.  God's Spirit moves so mightily during the Keyrxencounters.  I would encourage every prisoner who wants to please God to go to one, if they get the chance.  I can promise, you'll never be the same again!

During my Keryx # 17, I sat at the table of Luke.  I sat with eight brothers in Christ.  One was our Pastor.  During my weekend, I learned a lot about Christianity and how to be a true Christian witness for Christ.  Out of our talks, I had to write a summary and give a talk.  It was called: "Your world."   I'll share a little about it in a bit.

Here is an example of god's love, grace and mercy for me, a sinner.  December 2006, by the grace of God, I started college for my associates of Religious Education Degrees.  I am now with Family Radio School of the Bible of ordained ministers.  I receive my credentials of ministry.  I was ordained January 4, 2007, with Universal Life Church.

I currently attend the Alpha Prison Ministries outreach on Monday evenings.  I finished my one-to-one discipleship Bible study with Alpha and now I am helping disciple other brothers.  All of this was done, not by my own ability, but by the grace of God. 

Now I will give you my summary of "Your world."  This summary was inspired by our speaker Leon Stump.  Thank you and God bless you, Leon:

YOUR WORLD

The Lord has placed you right where you are at, not to fight humans, but to fight for humans.  Do not let the world dominate you.  You dominate the world, with God's help.  Watch your tongue, use it for Christ, and be a good witness.  Jesus gives us everything we need.  Just say, "Here I am, Lord!  The heavenly father is there to help you.  God bless. (See: Luke 10:1-3).

I now know, not only has God chose me to be a part of His royal family, but God has a plan for my life.  I am no longer "lost to the world," but I am now a son of the most high God.  I am not alone.  I am a worker of faith, helping to spread the message of God's salvation plan.  I thank God for his faithfulness, loving kindness, his grace, and his mercy.  Think of amazing grace.  "I was lost to the world, but now I am found," in Jesus Christ and His family.  All praise and glory belong to our heavenly Father.  He saved me.  He will save you too.  (See: John 3:16)  God bless you!

Thank you for reading my testimony and I pray God will somehow use it to be a blessing of encouragement to you, or someone else you may feel moved to give it to.

PLEASE HELP US HELP YOU SHARE THE BEST NEWS GOD HAS FOR EVERY PERSON BECAUSE...

JESUS DID IT! and...

YOU ARE SO GREATLY NEEDED!

Remember: All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-21 is our assurance)