It has been a little while, to say the least! I had a lovely Christmas holiday that lasted only three quick weeks. Now I am back to the races, so to speak, although that is really a poor metaphor for what Bethel life is like. Perhaps I should say that I am back to an adventurous journey, or perhaps, to be more precise, I could say that I am back to my "floundering in the River". Whatever I'm doing, it's certainly good to be back, although I miss my family, friends, and girlfriend more now that I have been home for a short period.
Since returning home, the theme around here has certainly been "New Beginnings". The number 8 in scriptures symbolizes, among other things, the concept of new beginnings and it prophetically denotes a 'fresh start'. This has most definitely been true for both myself and my classmates, as we have seen incredible changes within ourselves and through our ministries. The church itself is planning for some new endeavors, and the leadership is modeling the habits that are necessary for big changes. We have been encouraged at Bethel by Bill and the senior leadership to write down our goals and dreams for the year, and to partition them into specific categories. The three categories intended were those dreams that were "Probable, Improbable, Impossible". The reason why these divisions were made in the list was so that as we position ourselves to live out these dreams, we continually realize that God makes everything on our list possible through faith. In this way, it is easy to see what level of faith we live at, as we are the ones who decide the difference between "impossible" and "possible".
I personally have committed to adventure into the depths of God this semester. I feel a stirring to go deeper and really 'sink my teeth' into this stuff. So far, it has been overwhelming! Normally, I would reserve testimonies for the end of my post, but because of the nature of this testimony, I will write about it now.
My friends and I felt we had a word from the Lord that spoke of us seeing "seven miracles in seven days". We began to seek out opportunities to put this word to the test and found ourselves all about Redding, hungry to see God work. We weren't hunting miracles per se, but instead looking for chances to express God's love the way we believed He said He would.
Within one week, without any special impartation or divine encounter, only with the boldness that came from the word we recieved, we saw the following miracles:
Shoulder pain, healed; Dormitory
Arthritis in the hands, healed; BestBuy
Deafness, 95% healed (only words spoken at a long distance [over 30ft.]were still slightly muffled but she reported 95% improvement]; Walmart
Blind Right Eye, healed; Walmart
Man in motorized cart with long list of ailments, partial healing and pain subsided; Walmart
Shoulder pain, likely healed (likely meaning that they felt the presence of God, they could not test it out, and we could not later confirm that the pain had stayed away); Mall booth
Liver Cyst, likely healed (again, felt the presence of God but would have to go for tests); Mall booth
Broken Right Ankle, healed; Starbucks
large Bruise, disappeared; Starbucks
Scholeosis, healed; Starbucks
Leg grown out; Target? (Unsure of location)
Hip Problem w/ use of cane, partial to full healing; Parking lot
Ruptured disc, healed; Walmart Mcdonalds
Carpal tunnel, partial healing; Walmart
Charcot-Marie disorder/disease, healed; Walmart
Car Accident victim, divine appointment to pray- full recovery and man's health bills were covered; parking lot
Deafness, healed; Stop-light
Cold, healed; Walmart
Deafness, partial healing; invited to person's home
Knee problems, healed; Walmart
Sympathetic Muscular Dystrophy, partial healing; Walmart
Praise God!
Unfortunately, I don't have the time to recount every single story through this medium, so I hope that this list will whet appetites. If you need specific breakthrough in one of these areas, or if you would like to step out with boldness to see these same testimonies repeated through your life and ministry, then I will try to send the story behind it. I am truly sorry that I can't fully testify of such an amazing week through this blog.
I personally have had other amazing God-encounters and transformative experiences outside of this week in particular, and it has truly been an honor to be brought into a new place through the power of the Holy Spirit. I'm excited for what lies ahead, and I'm radically thankful for what lies behind me. God is moving, and I will never be the same again!
Blessings,
Connor
