My personal Testimony
By Paul Barnum
How the Lord has worked in my life for the past 31 years.
I was born in 1944 in Livonia, Michigan. I moved to Oswego, NY in1961 where I meet my wife. We got married in September in 1964 around 1980 my wife and I where looking for a church to attend. We were in and out of different denotation in which we did not care for any of them .I was working at Alcan Aluminum Corp. In June of 1982, When Sam Destin asked me to attend church on Sunday morning Sam was telling me; They were having a special speaker. My wife and I decide we would attend the following Sunday. The special speaker was speaking on Hell that Sunday I thought the most negative message I had ever heard,(He was speaking on Hell and Hell Was a real place and without Jesus you would go there . ) My wife and I decide we would never go back to that church again . The next day (Monday) Sam came up and asked if I would Attend the following Sunday. At that time I told him no way we would go back to that Church (Grace Bible Baptist) again. Not knowing to me at that time the Holy Spirit of God was working in my heart. All week he kept asking me to go to church Sunday. I keep saying no, no, no, Sunday morning The Holy Spirit kept working on me and I decided to go. My wife at that time said no, but my daughter had said she would go with me. (She was about 6 at that time) My wife said if my daughter was going then she would go also. That Sunday (July 4th 1982) I trusted the Lord as my saviour. At 12.15 Sam Destin opened up the word God (The Bible) asked me , are you 100% sure you are going to heaven, I said no. I will show you what San showed me that day. (Click on the arrow on my home page.)
What comes after salvation?
After I got saved, born into the family of God .The very next Wednesday The pastor (At that time it was Pastor Victor Shepherd) He stopped over to ask me if he could do a Bible study with us. Before he left he led my wife to the Lord also. Before he left he told me what the next step in the Christian life was to get baptized not for salvation but to obey the Lord. ((Acts 2:41 KJV) Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.) I had no problem with this if the Lord wants me to, I would do it. . I was told ,you don’t get baptized into the church But just shows the world ( or people ) that you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal saviour. After I trusted the Lord for salvation, I got baptized. The Lord was still working in my life. So what’s next?
So what comes after salvation then baptism? What’s next? I asked myself.
The Lord was still working in my heart. I was wondering what I could do next. About that time the church decided they wanted to add a bus to their bus ministry. You got it I volunteered to drive the bus. This meant I had to get a bus license, Which I did. So I started driving a bus picking up young and old alike.
The Bible says “(Luke 14:23 KJV) And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
Then I started visiting them on Saturday. Many of the people I worked with had about the same type of background that I had when I was growing up. This helped me help them, I could relate to some of the problems they were having.( The answer to all problems in life are found in the Bible which is God’s word.)
About 1987 the pastor (Mark Elliott Pastor at that time.) and the congregation, myself included we decided at that time we would build a new church building. At that time we were meeting in an old school house building, which we had purchased in 1983.Around 1988 the new church, was completed. At The time the church was being build I noticed something. I did not see as good as other people. I went and had my eyes checked and the eye doctor said at that time there was nothing wrong. “I said to myself” I know something is going on, but what”? So I decided to see a specialist. They took hours of test and came up with that I had a very rare eye disease in which some day I might go blind. (“This eye disease reminds me of sin in our lives. It is so gradual that you do not even notice it. Then all of a sudden it hits you.” )
Wow! That was a shock. Here I was doing just what I knew the Lord wanted me to, and The Devil just threw a ton of bricks at me. That was a shock but I still had 20/20 vision with glasses and I still could do the thing that I was doing, I was still able to drive, teaches Sunday school, Preach in Jr. Church. The thought was still there but nothing had changed yet! Except! I knew down the road I could not do some of the thing I loved to do. I drove for about 15 years and then time it happened; around 1997 I had to give up driving a bus. I loved to drive but it was not the end. I was still teaching and preaching. I still visited the bus route, bus captain around 1995 I started working with teens.
So now what happens or what do you do when the Devil throws a ton of bricks at you?
At that time: The Pastor Paul komrowski (My pastor today) Said; Ff I could get 25 teens I could start a teen class. The teens at that time and myself worked extremely hard at getting 25 teens. The Lord blessed and we finally reached our goal. For the past 10-12 years we have had about that many teens sometimes more and sometime less. The Lord laid upon my heart many years ago to work with youth.
I wrote this testimony and put a few of Satan bricks in it, hopefully to help you, for I know even if saved people young or old will encounter problems in life. The answer to this is not drugs, not alcohol, not worry, not stress but to put all your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Prov 3:5 KJV) Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
(Prov 3:6 KJV) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
(Prov 3:7 KJV) Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
The Lord has a plan for all of us.
1st Trust Him as your saviour.
2nd Trust him to guide you.
3rd Trust him in every part of your life.
4th This is not the easy thing you will do in your life, But at the end results. It will be the most rewarding. After 25 years, I can testify to that. A special note to all that read this. Falls in love with the Lord Jesus not just for a moment in time but for eternity. Serve others and see what the Lord will do in your Life.
(1 John 4:19 KJV) We love him, because he first loved us.