The Truth Of The Spirit - My Story by Trisha Sharp

When Jesus went to the country of the Gadarenes, He met a man with an unclean spirit. This man couldn’t be bound, though many had tried. He would stay in the tombs crying and cutting himself with stones. Even though he was possessed with the unclean spirit, when he saw Jesus approaching, the man ran to Him and worshiped Him. Jesus healed this man and told him in Mark chapter 5 verse 19 “…Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion for thee.”

The apostle Peter, told us in 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every men that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”

What I’m trying to say to you, dear friends, is don’t hold your testimony to yourself. Share it with anyone and everyone who will listen. If you will have a few moments of patience with me, I would like to tell you my story.

I was raised in a loving home. My parents didn’t force me to go to church, but gave us the choice to go if we wanted. I did go to church…for a while. Until I was forced into a baptismal by the Southern Baptist Church, telling me I would go to hell if I didn’t get baptized that minute! I arrived home on the church bus, soaking wet, and crying. You can better believe that my momma called the church and gave them the what for. We didn’t believe in being force into baptism. It is a choice. Later in my life, I had a really rough time of it. I was an unwed mother, I was abused, raped, and repeatedly degraded by my partners. By the time I arrived whole heartedly at the Catholic church, I was a broken soul. I was trying to learn, but I guess I asked too many questions. I was asked to leave though not excommunicated, because I was disrupting the classes. It was only a few years later, that I was thoroughly lost and still broken, that I found a fit as a Wiccan. I practiced Wicca for thirteen years. I brought others into Wicca in effect taking them away from our Christ Jesus. Just before Christmas, in 1998, after doing a ritual for solstice, I went to bed. I still don’t know what happened to me that night. Was it a dream? Was it a vision? I don’t know, but I woke scared to my core and after all I had seen in my life, that’s saying something. I don’t get scared easily. I also woke with an OVERWHELMING need for a King James Version Bible. This is something I needed above all else! I got dressed and headed out the door. I was at the Christian bookstore, before they even opened, by several hours. As I waited, I asked myself many questions about what I was doing and why. But the need for this King James Version Bible was just as strong as when I woke. When the store finally opened, I went in. The first thing I learned in this store was that there wasn’t any version of the Bible that was less than fifty dollars, which was to rich for someone living on $338 dollars a month. The second thing I learned was that I couldn’t read the small print. I went home totally disappointed and dejected. I called my momma, and told her what had happened, though I didn’t get into the detail of the dream. Just my overwhelming need for the Bible and that I needed it to be large print. She told me to pray about it! I was floored! Pray? What was that? I didn’t know how to do that anymore! The next morning, the 23rd of December, I received a Christmas card in the mail, from my momma, to include a check for thirty dollars and a short note telling me that Walmart had the Large Print King James Version Bible for $13 dollars. I immediately got dressed, went to the bank, deposited the check and went to Walmart. Walmart, in 1998, had this Bible for $11 dollars! I bought it. I used the rest of the money to buy a pair of jeans, as I only had one pair, and I took myself out for an early Christmas dinner. I was really tired when I got home, so I went to bed. When I woke on Christmas Eve, I started reading in Matthew and didn’t stop until I had read through John. On the evening of Christmas Eve I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life and heart. In case you didn’t notice, I was being Blessed even before then, just by trying to find a Bible that I could read and telling my momma. She sent me the money that allowed me to fulfill my need. She gave more than I needed, so I was also Blessed with clothing that I needed and nourishment for my body. Since I asked Jesus into my heart, I have received an education that was paid for by the VA. I was able to get out of a bad relationship and eventually married a good man who has stuck by me through the good and the bad for the last 21 years. And though I hated being forced into retirement through disability, I have the funds to live comfortably. My health has not been restored, but I have received the knowledge to treat myself as naturally as possible to be as healthy as I can be considering. My health is not really my concern though. My heart and soul have been healed from the moment I asked Jesus to come into my live as my Lord and Savior.

Now I know this has been a bit of a long lesson, but I’m telling you now, that if you do as I did, even if things are really rough in your life, you can get there too. Your heart and soul can be healed and you can follow Jesus into eternity. Let the Holy Spirit guide you to make the changes in your life that you so desperately need. The Holy Spirit convicted me and brought me to Christ even after all I had done. He will do it for you too…if you but only ask. If you wish, to start changing your life right now…say the following prayer with me right now, even if you’ve said it before:

Dear Lord in Heaven, Please forgive me of my sins. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was born of the Father, was crucified and died on the cross for my sins, and on the third day, rose and ascended into Heaven. I ask that Jesus Christ come into my heart, my soul, and my life as my Lord and Savior. In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ…Amen

Now in the words of Jesus…”Go and sin no more…”

I love you, God loves you!! Jesus loves you too!!