The following is the testimony of Phillip Loflin:
I have known the Truth since I was a small child. I was raised in a Christian environment, and I have even been a member of my church for quite some time. But as I got older (I'm now 36), I started obeying my flesh and becoming more and more like the world. I drank at first, then turned to painkillers for a "high." I battled this addiction off and on for about fifteen years. It cost me a lot of jobs because I was too sick (when I didn't have any pills). I got to where I couldn't pay my bills. My grandmother let me move in with her. I got back on my feet and went to the methadone clinic after hearing a lot about it. I went there every day for a couple of years to get my high "legally," and subsequently thought this was the answer to my drug problem. However, my body was craving more and more.
I eventually experienced a reaction to the street pills and the methadone leading to a very serious accident on May 2, 2002. My head was literally shattered. I spent two weeks in intensive care, where I had two brain surgeries (one to remove part of my brain because I had hit the road so hard it killed the right frontal lobe). Several months passed, with much intercessory prayer, an abundance of God's mercy, and a lot of time in rehabilitation. I also and to go through a considerable amount of occupational and physical therapy. Eventually, I resumed working and steered clear of drugs and alcohol for a couple of years. However, I lost control again...even on the methadone. It didn't take long for me to end up in the emergency room where they revived me after having a drug induced seizure. I was pressured into going to this place called "Hebron Colony Ministries" (www.hebroncolony.org), a Christian-based recovery program for addicts. Hebron is located in Boone, NC. For ten weeks, they teach you how to immerse yourself in God's Word, and how to develop and nurture a relationship with Jesus Christ. I am not sure whether I was saved there or when I was younger, because I had spent so much time listening to Satan. Having polluted my mind with drugs, Satan had my priorities and my mind perplexed. Now, I know I am saved and I cannot explain the peace I feel and how much I enjoy glorifying and talking about Jesus. I strongly encourage anyone struggling with the bondage of addiction to go through this program! I urge EVERYONE to accept Jesus Christ as their PERSONAL Savior and to take up their crosses everyday by living for Him and reading His Word.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. | The following is the testimony of former Youth Pastor (now Pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in HIllsborough, NC) Matt Farthing: When I was 15 years old, I went to church with my grandmother. One evening, under a revival tent, I sat and listened to the preacher tell me about Heaven, and how I could go there if I would only accept Jesus as my Savior. The Holy Spirit began dealing with my heart. As I started to get up and go forward in the invitation, my grandmother said, “Look at all those crazy people down there in the front, yelling and carrying on.” It was at that moment that I sat back down and the Holy Spirit's conviction left me. I left the service that night still lost and on my way to hell. Years later, I was married, and my family and I moved to North Carolina. My wife and I felt a need to attend church. We had been struggling, searching a better way of life. We passed by New Haven Baptist Church on our way home one day. Something told me that we needed to go to this church the next Sunday. In August of 1997, my family and I began attending New Haven Baptist Church. In October of 1997, my wife received the Lord as her personal Savior. I remember being shocked that my wife would do such a thing, as she was not usually like that in front of strangers. I began to question my wife, asking what she felt like, and what made her go forward. She told me that she had realized that she was lost, and that she wanted to be saved. She trusted Christ as her personal Savior. Over time, I was asked by several different men in the church if I was saved. I always told them I was. But, I had not yet been asked by the Pastor. Little did I know, that was about to change. On the evening of November 2, 1997, I was again shown by God's Holy Spirit that I was lost and on my way to hell. The invitation was given, and I stood gripping the pew seats so hard that my knuckles hurt, yet I refused to release my grip and go to the altar. Well, the Holy Spirit moved Pastor Johnson, and he did something that, to my knowledge, he has never done. He came off the platform and walked straight to me. He told me that my wife had been saved and they wanted to talk to me about joining the church. But, he had to first determine if I was saved. I looked at him and told him I was not. He asked if I would like to be saved, and I told him I would. We walked to the altar, where I knelt and asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and save me. My life was immediately transformed, and I became a new creature in Christ. Amen! I am thankful that, after twelve years had passed, the Holy Spirit came by my way again. God did not give up on me. God is so wonderful to me, and I invite you get to know Him more. You will never be sorry you did. |