My Testimony of what the Lord did for me!

10-04-2007

(Thursday: The Fifth Day Of The Week!)

Truly, all Glory goes to You, O Lord God for what You have done for me!  Even in the approaching of this day, it has been in my remembrance!  You did command us to never forget this day.  It is the most important day of my life, because this is the day that I actually became alive!

People look at me now, and they say it is hard to believe that I was such a wicked person that I describe to them.  I tell people I know how Satan really is, because in my past, I was just like him!  I had two sides, though.  One was very pleasant and innocent, and because of the way I acted, I was a robber and a thief, and a great deceiver!  No one ever knew that it was me who would steal from them and lie to them.  I would let others take blame for the things I was doing, and all the while, they would say, "No, it could not be Riech!"  They never knew that they had actually embraced the robber and condemned innocent people for what I had done.  I had no conscience and I would let people be punished for what I did! 

Then I had another side of me... I was loud, and violent and I was a whore!  I was a chameleon!  I could change in a split second to get into what ever group I was around!  I was a horrible person to everyone who was around me!  I knew how to used words like a sharp knife to cut at the heart of people and I did not care who I hurt as long as I got what I wanted!

I would brag about how I could lie so good and get people to feel sorry for me and they would give me what I wanted.  I did this one time to the man who changed my life forever.  I was on the phone with the Man of God, Xmeah ShaEla'ReEl (which means; Warrior: Divine Angel of God!) and I said, "It is a shame I lie so good!"  I remember that day!  I remember boasting about that to him, and also to my husband!  I was talking about an incident that had taken place where I called my husband's boss and told him that he could not go to work, because he got arrested.  None of this was true.  The man felt bad for me and the kids and asked me if I wanted to come to my husband's job and pick up his check and he'll cash it for me, so the kids and I could have some money!  He really cared about our situation and believed me!  I told him it was ok.  Then when I got off the phone with him I went and bragged, "It's a shame I can lie so good!"  I laughed at it! 

When I told this to Xmeah, he told me, "You need to be baptized."  So, this is how it all started!  This was Moses speaking to Israel while they were still in Egypt!  I was in sin, living happily in sin, but I was being given the Word of God, while I was still in Egypt. 

Lord, it is so clear now, looking at my past and looking at what was written about in the Bible with the children of Israel. 

I was being led into this thing.  I was told that I need to go back and confess what I had done to people in my past.  I was told that the Lord would put people in my mind, and whoever He put in my mind, is who I would have to go back to and ask for forgiveness!

And true enough, later on, a person did come to my mind!  The thought of the first person was so strong in my mind, there was no doubt that this was the Lord's doing!  It was my husband's boss.  I had to go to him and tell him the truth.  There were many fears playing in my mind... What will he say?  Is my husband going to lose his job?  I was very scared, but I knew I had to do it. 

So I walked in and asked the man if I could speak to him privately.  He said yes, so we went to a table and sat down.  I was so nervous, I was shaking! But I told him the truth, that I had lied to him, and I asked him to forgive me.  I felt so bad, because he trusted me and felt sorry for me and I lied straight to his face! 

To my surprise... he actually commended me and told me thank you, for telling him the truth!  I was shocked!  I thought he would be so angry with me, but instead he was complimenting me on my honesty!

It wasn't until the next day that another person came to my mind.  This person was like a second mom to me.  Her daughter and I had been like sisters since we were 8 years old.  We were always together.  She thought of me as one of her girl's and now she was on my mind very strongly.  There was a particular incident that stood out and that was when I had stolen some money from her room, and when she questioned me and her daughters and one of their friends, I denied it!  I acted so innocent that the mother thought it was the youngest daughter, and took out a switch and whipped her!  I sat right there and watched her get a whipping and even smiled about it that I got away with it and let someone else take the blame!  I remember that day so clear, as if it were yesterday!  I stole so much from her!  I would steal money, her ATM cards, even gold and silver bars and old money!  I would steal and steal and then sit at her dinner table and laugh and joke in her face as if I had done nothing wrong!  And she never knew it was me!  She would always say that I was the good one and Renee, (my friend) was the bad one and needed to be more like me!

And now, I had to go to her and tell her that I was not the person she thought I was.  That I was the one who had been stealing from her all this time.  I was the one that she trusted and let come in her house and I was the one who was doing all the damage!

I do not think I have ever been more scared in my life to confess!

But I set out to find her!  And this is amazing, because she had moved from the old house, where we all grew up together.  I had been to her house one time before, but now I could not remember where she lived.  But the Lord brought it back to my remembrance as I set out to find her, which way to go.  And when he led me to the neighborhood, he even brought to my remembrance which house it was!  It was truly amazing!

I got there and she was not home, so I sat in the living room waiting for her.  Her other two daughters were there and they asked me if I wanted to come back another day, but I said, no, I would wait for her, because I really needed to talk to her.  So I waited.

Finally she came home.  She was surprised to see me, and I asked her if we could talk. 

So she took me to her bedroom and we sat down on the bed.  Again, this memory is so clear, it is as if it just happened.  I remember sitting next to her on the edge of the bed.  I remember how afraid I was, and how my voice trembled and how shaky my hands were!  I began to tell her of all the things I had done over the many years of her knowing me.  I asked her to please forgive me for lying to her and for stealing from her.  I was truly sorry for what I had done to her! 

I did not know what to expect.  I did not know if she would slap me, yell at me, or kick me out where I could not be a part of the family anymore!  I did not know what she would do. 

But, she leaned over and hugged me!  She said, "Riech, I have never been more proud of you!"  Even writing this right now, is very emotional to me!  I will never forget that!  I cried even more when she said that!  I did not deserve her to feel proud of me!  I was a horrible person to her!  But she said she loved me and forgave me and said she was so proud of me! 

Over the next few days there were others I had to go to and confess and ask for forgiveness.  Then, on 10-04-1994, I was caused to look into a phone book for a Church of Christ, because I knew that they would baptize anyone any day of the week.  I was shown a number of a place and I called. 

A man answered the phone and said that I could come over.

So I drove over there, with the three kids, who were 3, 2 and a few months old, at the time.  I walked into the building and a tall white man greeted me.

He asked me to come with him to his office so we could talk.  Down the dark hall, I could see a lot of people in a large room.  He told me that one of the people had died and they were having a get-together.  I followed him a little ways to his office, and then I sat down.  Again, I was a little nervous. 

I looked around his office and saw a name plate on his desk.  I will never forget that, either.  It said: "Governor Clemons." 

We talked a little and he asked me why did I want to get baptized.  I began to tell him of all the things that had happened in the past few days.  He asked me some questions about myself, and then he asked me did I believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that He died for our sins, and was raised from the dead, and I said, "Yes I do."  Then he asked me to follow him to the baptismal pool.

He apologized to me that it was not heated, because they were not expecting anyone to come over that day.  I said, the cold did not bother me, but going to hell did bother me, and that I needed to do this.

As we walked he called two ladies, and they followed us down the hall.  One lady took the children from me and said she will watch them, then the other lady asked me to follow her.  We went up some stairs to a room, where she gave me a robe to put on.  After I got dressed, I walked out and I saw the preacher there in the water and he held out his hand to me to come in. 

I could see my kids below, with the first woman, and then I saw two little white kids walk in and stood at the back of the room, watching.  It was very quiet in there and I stood next to the preacher.  He asked me again, did I believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that he died for all of our sins, and I said, "Yes, I do." and then he took me and put me under the water.  I remember that when I was down there and being lifted up, I felt a great weight on me that was being pulled off as I was going up again out of the water!  It felt as if the weight was falling off of me as the water fell off!  I came up and I knew that all the evil I had ever done was completely erased!  It was gone!  I was clean and brand new!  It was a feeling I had never felt before!  I was so happy!  Nothing I did in my past was held to my charge anymore!  I was a new person!  On that day, I past from death to life!  I passed through the Red Sea! 

When the kids and I left and I was driving home, a song kept playing in my head over and over again!  It was a song from a group called Ace of Base.  This one part of this song kept playing over and over in my head and I could not get it out of there!  I said, to myself, "This is not a Christian song! I should not be hearing that!"  I tried to shake it from my head, but I could not!

I went to a Congregation that I had been attending to tell them the good news.  It is a place called New Creation.  I walked in and I was very excited and I told the secretary named Jan.  I told her everything that had happened.  She looked at me, and said, "Why didn't you wait until Sunday, and Pastor could have baptized you!"

She was not even happy for me!  I told her, "What would happen if I were to die tonight, without being baptized, because I am waiting for Sunday to be baptized?  I would have been in Hell!"

She did not answer anything back to me. 

As I was leaving I saw the Preacher down the hall, and I shouted to him the good news!  He made a half a smile, nodded his head and continued reading the paper he had in his hand. 

I turned and walked out of the place.  And went to tell my friends.  I got the same reply from them.  No one cared.  No one was happy for me!  Everyone I told looked at me like I was a contagious disease!  They did not want to be around me, and no one rejoiced. 

The very next day, I called Xmeah, the one who the Lord used to guide me through this.  He lived in Beaumont, Texas at the time and I was in Houston, Texas.  I called him and told him of everything that had happened the day before and he shouted for joy!  He told me the one that would have rejoiced, is the one I did not call!  I began to tell him of all the events that took place that day, and I told him about the song that was in my head!  He asked me, "What did the song say?" 

I said, "It said, 'Don't turn around!" 

He answered, "And that is what the Lord is telling you, 'Don't turn around!"

The Lord also explained to me the meaning of the name of the Preacher that was used to baptize me.  Governor Clemons.  Only a Governor can grant clemency, which is a reprieve from a death, when an inmate is on death row!  I was shocked when I heard that understanding!  The whole day was an amazing day!

Xmeah also told me, "Remember this day!"

Amen!

* * * * * * * * * * *

10-04-2007

It has been 13 years since that day, and I am so thankful to the Lord for the guidance and care He has given me through Xmeah, who is as Moses to me.  Because of him, I was led into this thing the right way, and I remember this day.  And as the years pass, I have received more understanding about that day and how the Lord said we are to remember that day when we were born, and tell it to our children.  And when they ask why we celebrate that day, we tell them of how the Lord delivered us from sin and we crossed the Red Sea.

So where are we now?  In the wilderness of Sin... being tried to see if we will obey God, or not!  600,000 went out of Egypt, but only 3 belonged to God!

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