Searching For God
My name is Brandon Pek from Singapore’s city-state, and I am at the Christian Leaders Institute for free study of the Bible online (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here). While reading philosophy in the university, I was confronted with deeply spiritual issues that rekindled my search for God. I had the opportunity to study some aspects of Christianity and other theologies and theories.
Intellectually stimulating but yet torturous to have my mind looping ceaselessly with questions about God and His existence and more. During this period, He placed a few Christian friends in my life who introduced me to their faith.
It was a temporary relief from the mental torment.
Encountering God
The Gospel of John has special significance for me. It’s where I found the one True God whom I was searching for.
One day, I picked up a free copy of “The Gospel of John” from the train station on the way to campus. It was one in a stack of booklets left behind by a local church. After returning home, alone in my room that evening, tears started flowing unexplainedly as I read about Jesus. The Holy Spirit moved me that night.
Therefore, I decided to attend church on my own. The first visit was with some defiance, not standing or participating in the worship at all. That day, sitting in the cushioned seat, God shook my body gently with enough power that I knew it was Him.
The next Sunday, I visited again. This time, it was a different experience when He touched me with His love. I wept uncontrollably. That day in 1989, at age 22, I received Jesus as Savior and Lord. I cannot remember what was preached at that service except the warmth in my heart telling me that I was home.
Rescued By God
But it was not without resistance from the devil because I had switched sides. I was rescued from the power of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of Light. Time was perhaps running out, and the enemy thought he had me. However, God did not give up on me.
Following my salvation, three distinct supernatural experiences occurred.
The first incident was that of sleep paralysis as science would call it, or “Gui Ya Chuang” (translated as “ghost pressing in bed”) as it was commonly called in the Chinese circles. Just as I was almost out of breath and dying, I called out the name of Jesus with a burst, and the weight on my chest left me immediately. I regained my breath! It was a pure joy hearing my heart beating until it calmed down to the heartbeat of God.
Another time in my sleep, I saw myself struggling in bed (not my bedroom as I slept on the floor mat in those days) only to see some beings dressed in white appearing and then surrounding the bed. I felt calm and saw myself settling into a deep sleep. When I woke up that morning, I felt refreshed. These beings must have been angels sent by God to guard and protect me.
The third time, I dreamt that I was running along a trail of lighted candles in underground places, through tunnels and openings between different levels. Exhausted after the endless run, I saw myself sitting with my back against the earthen wall. I started singing “Glorify Thy Name,” which kept playing in my head when I awoke in the morning.
Belonging To God
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
The enemy wanted to seize my body, but he couldn’t because it had become the temple of the Holy Spirit. And he tried to ruffle and mess my mind. However, the new peace I received from Jesus cannot be taken away. Still, he attempted to imprison my spirit in the old religion, but I belonged to God when I received our Lord Jesus as Savior.
Free Study of the Bible at CLI
Therefore, I am at the Christian Leaders Institute for a deeper free study of the Bible and sound Biblical doctrine. The free classes online are a blessing for me. I am looking toward to what God has next for me!
Glory to God Alone!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
The Origin and Formation of my Calling
I am Rani Aby, and finding the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here) online for Life Coach Ministry study is a great blessing to me. I am from the capital city of Kerala, known as Trivandrum. Kerala is a state on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India. I am married and the mother of a 17-year-old son. By profession, I am a Counsellor and Trainer. I am the eldest of my siblings, and we were three children of our parents, who are from a middle class educated Christian family. I still remember my parents telling me that. When I was in kindergarten, I recited Psalms 23rd chapter. There starts my familiarity with the word of God.
My Salvation
God gave me the privilege to witness and understand various Christian denominational faiths that existed in Kerala. My primary school life was with Seventh Day Adventist schools. From 6th grade till 10th, I studied in a Catholic school under nuns. Until the 8th grade, I was a “normal” Christian girl. But when I reached 9th grade, my family was touched by God to understand His Calling on us. My only youngest brother was affected by Angio Edema. Even though our father was a doctor, it was becoming beyond his treatment and worsening day by day.
At last, our parents took three of us and visited an evangelist and spiritual radio speaker, Br. John Rabindranath, who came from a then-famous Hindu family. In his prayer meeting, my brother was touched by the Lord and healed. For the first time in my life, I witnessed a visible miracle. At that moment, our family surrendered to God. I accepted Jesus as my Savior. For 15 days, my parents and I underwent a short Bible study training under Br. John. On the 15th day of the prayer, the Lord filled me with His Holy Spirit with tongues the symbol. After that, at home, we started monthly prayers. I accompanied my father for evangelical work with vivid experiences and practical learning.
My Marriage and Our Son
I met the man of my heart when I joined an international college in the North part of India for my Masters. Since we belonged to two different Christian traditions, both our parents disapproved, but God united us. The second blessing was our son Philip. When I conceived, I prayed and dedicated my child to Christ. More than a calling or counsel, I prayed in that way out of my love for Christ.
However, challenges started from then. From the third-month Sonography test, the doctors advised us to abort our child. He had a cyst grown around his neck, which could harm both the child and me. Again there was a lot of tension. We both left our jobs and returned to our native. Many supported me in prayer. So I took a firm decision not to abort and trusted my Lord.
A few days before the delivery date, while I was taken for a test, the hospital staff and my family witnessed that the big cyst disappeared from his neck. My Jesus did what He promised. Thus my son became a miracle child. However, we also understood the naked truth that he was born with Down syndrome. Many questioned our faith. I wasn’t shattered. I knew God had a purpose behind everything.
Challenges and God’s Power
We underwent many hardships bringing him up, but God provided the assistance of my parents and many other beloved people in balancing his parenting and other duties. Satan was still behind my son. A few days after his delivery, my baby fell on the floor from my mother’s hand. But God protected him. Again nearing 1 year, he had heavy dysentery on his deathbed with no medicines to treat him. There too, I knelt in prayer and fought. Again God helped. Until the age of 3, he didn’t walk. However, because of the prayers of Br. John, my son stood for the first time and started walking. God again did a miracle on him. Now he is 17 years old and going to school. He recites Bible verses and sits for a long time in prayer. He loves to praise and sing, even though his speech is still developing. Through our son, God molded our faith in Him.
My Calling and Desire for Life Coach Ministry Study
I always doubted, within me, what kind of a calling I had. God granted me platforms to conduct and teach kids and youth Bible classes. I lead praise and worship in the fellowships we attended. Sharing stories and testimonies were important to me. And of course, the best part is that I always loved to pray for others. To sit for long hours to pray alone in my closet was a joy. But, what I never experienced was learning the Word of God to understand it theologically.
God Showed Me CLI for Life Coach Ministry Study
During this phase of life, the financial crisis started mounting like a Jericho wall. I earned worldly degrees in philosophy, sociology, and clinical counseling. I also earned a post-grad diploma in pastoral counseling from Serampore University. Still, I wasn’t satisfied. Through my online searches, God made the Christian Leaders Institute visible to me. I was so happy that God provided. Within my heart, I understood to commit to His Call in Life Coach Ministry.
I am learning and know I have more and more to learn in my walk with my CLI studies. I understand now, all these years from my childhood, how God called me. He was shaping me, molding me, and training me towards His Calling. My life underwent many hardships, rejections, financial crisis, criticisms, unemployment, loss in business, etc. However, I understand that it was all for good as per Roman 8:28.
Along with me, my husband and our son are being molded by the Lord toward their callings. I sense in my spirit what the future holds for my family and me and the projects God has planned for us. Moreover, it was a wonder and co-incidence to understand that I am joining for a second Masters in Education with Andrews University, Michigan, where CLI is also located.
My Prayer
As I learn God’s Word more via the Christian Leaders Institute, I pray that it will help me stand in my calling and ministry. The Life Coach Ministry study at CLI will equip me for my calling. I have seeds within my heart for a differently-abled school, care home, worship center, and counseling units in different parts of Kerala. May my walk with CLI definitely help me for laying the foundations for these seeds. God bless you all!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
My name is John Pignataro, and I am called to jail ministry and free ministry training at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here). I was born to a family of believers in 1988 in Rockville, Maryland. I was dedicated at the Church of the Nazarene. When I was four, we moved to Lewes, Delaware. There I would spend my formative years until the age of twenty-two when I began working for the Washington DC Fire Department in 2010. I resided in the DC Metro area until 2021, when my wife and I felt God calling us to southwest Florida, where we now reside.
My Journey
I didn’t grow up going to church. My parents “believed” in God but didn’t really enjoy making the weekly pilgrimage to the Father’s house. As I grew older, I began to question God’s existence more and more, leading to my becoming an atheist. I lived my life as a moral person, but as if it were my own and not the gift from God that it is. At age 15, I became a volunteer fireman. I rose through the ranks in Army JROTC, played for metal bands throughout high school, figuring, “I did all of this myself.”
On September 2, 2008, I was t-boned in my driver’s door by a dump truck that ran a red light. I should have been dead. However, miraculously, I walked out of the ICU two weeks later with no substantial long term damage. I chalked it up to coincidence. In 2010, I landed my dream job with the DCFD. In 2014, I received $1.2 in a lawsuit with the company that almost killed me. I bought a house, traveled internationally, bought a truck for myself and my father, and made sure my parents were situated well. I also invested a good sum.
Challenges and Finding God through Jail Ministry
Backtracking a bit, I met a girl in 2011 whom I fell in love with. I lavished her with love and gifts and took care of her family as well. She cheated with two other men before I caught her the third time. She told the police that I wanted to kill her (which was untrue) and that she feared for her safety. They arrested and booked me on a multitude of charges, held me without bond.
To break up the monotony of life incarcerated, I decided to go to a Bible study. An older man named Bob was our teacher. Bob had been a radio tech in the Korean war and stationed in Turkey. Besides informative Bible studies, he painted pictures with descriptions of the holy sites that he visited while stationed there. I looked at it as a history lesson (my favorite subject) that bolstered every account in the Bible, God’s Word.
During my pre-trial incarceration, I spent most of my free time in the Word. I prayed regularly and attended every Bible study that I could. After six months, I went before the judge and was offered a plea deal. I took it and was released to house arrest with the ability to travel to DC for work-related events (i.e., fighting to keep my job).
New Challenges
I began talking online with a woman whom I had met on a dating app. We went on a few lunch dates. She worked next door to the firehouse I parked at to meet my union representative. After a week, I had her over to my house and was very frank and honest with her about everything. She agreed to date me.
After three and a half weeks, my ex lied and said that I tried to contact her. They locked me back up in what I call my “Job” moment. It was a test to see if I would lean into God or turn away. I did the former, and the harvest was well worth the sowing season.
Incarceration lasted for another 8 months as I fought the new charges, which were ultimately deemed false and dismissed. In the end, however, I lost my job, but my new girlfriend of only three and a half weeks (now months) stood by me and picked me up when I was released.
Baptism, Marriage, and a Move
The week after my release, we began attending National Community Church in Washington, DC. My girlfriend and I were baptized on my thirtieth birthday by a pastor friend who was a volunteer fireman with me. Little did I know, he had prayed for me all of that time that I would come to know Jesus. We married shortly after our baptism in 2019.
We were active in our church and small groups and missions throughout the city. I was to go on a mission trip to Jordan in 2020 but for COVID. In September, we felt God prompting us to make a move to Fort Myers, Florida. He lined up a church, and my wife’s job transfer like clockwork.
Jail Ministry Call and Study at CLI
I came to the Christian Leaders Institute because I know that God wants to use me to reach others. I would love to start a jail ministry at our new church. Then, I can use my experiences of God’s grace and faithfulness to speak to those going through similar circumstances. I kept in close contact and walked with a recovering addict I met while incarcerated. He has been clean for two and a half years now after God put me at the right place at the right time to pull him out of an overdose.
My wife and I have been happily married for over two years, and I am a walking testament to God’s goodness and redemption. Thank you for reading this, and may God bless you and keep you.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.