I want to begin today’s episode by thanking everyone who had done a Witness Wednesday for me and shared their story. Today is the 100th Wednesday since I started doing Witness Wednesdays, and it wouldn’t be possible without people being willing to share their stories. So, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly feel testimonies really do help people open their hearts to God, and then He comes in and changes hearts! Today I am sharing more witnesses from the popwe.org website. I love that Matthew West and his dad have this website where we can go and read all these testimonies of how God has changed people’s lives! Today, I chose to do healing testimonies because Encounter School of Ministry Boston Campus is doing a healing Service at St. Margaret’s Church in Burlington, MA, at 6:30. So I thought healing testimonies would be good for today. There are five different testimonies, and although they all have to do with someone being healed, they are not all the same. I hope as you listen to more and more testimonies, it will build your faith as to what God can do in your life too. He can heal your loved ones. He can bring your loved ones back to the church. He can take away that illness, that disorder, that anxiety, that alcoholism. Whatever it is, God can help. Bring it to Him and believe He can help. I hope you enjoy the testimonies this morning and if you get a chance, go on the popwe.org sight and read some of the testimonies. Share some on your social media pages so we can build other people’s faith too. God is doing so many good things, and people are not hearing about them. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
I want to begin today’s episode by thanking everyone who had done a Witness Wednesday for me and shared their story. Today is the 100th Wednesday since I started doing Witness Wednesdays, and it wouldn’t be possible without people being willing to share their stories. So, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly feel testimonies really do help people open their hearts to God, and then He comes in and changes hearts! Today I am sharing more witnesses from the popwe.org website. I love that Matthew West and his dad have this website where we can go and read all these testimonies of how God has changed people’s lives! Today, I chose to do healing testimonies because Encounter School of Ministry Boston Campus is doing a healing Service at St. Margaret’s Church in Burlington, MA, at 6:30. So I thought healing testimonies would be good for today. There are five different testimonies, and although they all have to do with someone being healed, they are not all the same. I hope as you listen to more and more testimonies, it will build your faith as to what God can do in your life too. He can heal your loved ones. He can bring your loved ones back to the church. He can take away that illness, that disorder, that anxiety, that alcoholism. Whatever it is, God can help. Bring it to Him and believe He can help. I hope you enjoy the testimonies this morning and if you get a chance, go on the popwe.org sight and read some of the testimonies. Share some on your social media pages so we can build other people’s faith too. God is doing so many good things, and people are not hearing about them.
GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE: When I was a baby, I was diagnosed with RSV. If you are unfamiliar with this disease, it is a cold for adults but can result in a baby’s death. After spending a long time on a ventilator in the hospital, the doctors said that there was no hope. They said I wasn’t supposed to live. They said I wasn’t supposed to breathe. They said I wasn’t supposed to walk. Well, guess what? Seventeen years later, I’m a living, breathing, walking miracle redeemed by His love, power, and grace! In the words of Matthew, “We serve a God who turns impossible into living, breathing, walking miracles!”
IMPERFECTNESS: Hi! I am a 15 year old (almost 16). I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder when I was in 7th grade. Since then, I have had so many breakdowns and freak-out moments when I spiral and get into my own head and can’t get out. I have obsessive thoughts. I finally got out of counseling, and after much hard work, I have been able to shut off my thoughts. And that makes me very happy. I finally feel like I have some level of control over my life and my feelings.
Trusting God and learning about Him always makes me feel better. I turn to him in hard times and pray. He hears me and comes to help me. I listen to Matthew West's songs daily. Me and my twin brothers are big fans. We LOVE his songs, and as someone who wears her emotions on her sleeves, I really feel everything. From his song “Imperfections” to the first Matthew West song I ever heard, which was “Truth Be Told.” At the time, I was going through having obsessive thoughts and breakdowns and a lot of self-doubt. His music really helped. I’m a much healthier and kinder person to myself and others all thanks to fellowship and God and Matthew’s music. And I am always gonna be thankful for music and God.
KORINA: My life is one that I am truly grateful for. God, I know He has brought me through many turbulent times, and He has never failed me. I came from an abusive background as a child. I dealt with mental, physical, and sexual abuse. I made it through those years. I married and had my first child at 18. My son suffered a brain injury at birth. I did my best to raise him with little help.
I had another child at 21, and life just moved along. When I was 25, I had a lump in my neck that kept growing. I went in to have surgery to have my thyroid removed. They thought I had a goiter. Turns out I had a malignant tumor. Further tests showed that it was Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Cancer! I had little support from my husband through my treatments. Other families tried to help when they could. After many surgeries and treatments, I was cancer-free.
I then divorced my husband and started over with my children. I met someone a few years later and had another baby. A girl that the doctors said I would not be able to have after my treatments. But God said, “Yes, you can!” Life moved on. Cancer struck again. I was 45 and was diagnosed with Nodular Malignant Melanoma. I was devastated. “Not again!” I screamed, I yelled, and I had a pity party for myself. I told God I couldn’t do this again. I had already been through enough! I couldn’t do treatments again. I then wiped my tears and moved on. The surgery was all I needed for this cancer. It hadn’t spread! Thank you, God. Today I am grateful for my life. My first cancer was found early enough for survival. It’s been 30 years now! I’m a grandma to 2 wonderful grandchildren. My 3 children are doing well. GOD is my rock. He never fails me. He has always shown me how to find the light in my darkest hours!
Heather: My husband John was in a car accident when he was 4 years old. He died three times on the way to the hospital and was revived. He was placed in a medically induced coma and was told he wouldn’t be able to walk again or live a normal life. He had a severe brain injury.
Today he is 31, walking and living a normal life. He was told he would have to graduate with a special education diploma, but he was able to get his regular high school diploma. He rides dirt bikes, drives semi trucks and we even have a new baby together. He beat all of the odds of the doctors, and we know it was only by God that he is completely fine today.
Jeffry: My name is Jeffry, and my story started 15 years ago. I was in my 12th recovery in-patient 30-day stay for depression and cutting myself. I hated my life as a drunk, but while I was drinking for years, I also would stay sober on my own for a year or 2, and I would run a marathon or 2. I have run 8 marathons, including Boston, 2 times (the 98th and the 100th).
So, I was in my 12th in-patient treatment center, and this lady that I didn’t know (I call her my guardian angel) gave me a church flyer for Kensington Church. I went the first Sunday, and in a one-hour service, God took away my complete desire to drink alcohol. On August 10, 2023, I will celebrate 15 years of complete sobriety from anything not prescribed by my doctor. Plus, I still volunteer at Kensington as a greeter, and I also volunteer as a coffee maker and other jobs at Celebrate Recovery. I also volunteer for contemporary Christian concerts; I have done 9 already this year, including Matthew West in Zeeland, MI. I love Jesus, and He is the head of my life today.
Thank you so much to Korina, Heather, Jeffry, and the first two people who shared their testimonies. I don’t know if you will ever hear this episode, but I hope you know how much your story and your testimony will help others deepen their faith enough to believe that God can help them, too. Your testimonies will give them hope that God can do for them what He did for you or for your loved ones. It isn’t easy to be vulnerable and share your personal stories with the entire world on the internet. Yet you were brave and did it anyway so that your story could help someone else. Thank you!