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Jacob's Calling I had the most ordinary childhood. I grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I was always a Christian believer from the time I could keep memory. The Lord gave me an abundance of blessings throughout my childhood, such as friends, good movies, good times, good music. We saw the advancement of technology. In school I was very quiet, shy, and socially awkward at times. I figured out when I was 20 that I needed the Lord to help me in this area. I certainly knew God would not create people to live that way. I studied books, and eventually one day when I was in my room I opened the Holy Bible for the first time, and as I read some of the words of Jesus Christ, I could feel His presence move in my spirit. I felt a joy and a life I had never known before, and I believe I was born of the Spirit at that moment.
I had never felt or experienced God's life before I was 20, even though I went to church a lot. I just knew God had been good to me in many areas, and had given me weakness too. Immediately after being born again, there were spiritual manifestations in my life. I learned that it is called "the anointing" of the Holy Spirit, which we have when we are born of Him. A week after I had this first contact with Jesus and my salvation experience, I went to Tama with my dad. I could sense God was calling me to do music in my spirit, and the anointing was upon me the entire night. The most amazing thing was as dad and I drove home, I could sense in my spirit something big was about to happen. As I came home, I sat on the couch, and my mom opened a book (called "Come Away My Beloved" by Frances J. Roberts), and started reading from it. And what I realized is that it was a prophetic word from God, that He placed into the book, and was speaking to me as a live oracle. I was very afraid, and didn't know what to do, because I had never experienced God's personal connection like that before! He spoke some astonishing things to me; he knew I was frightened, but also confirmed to me that my story would be like unto Noah and that he would speak face-to-face to me like Moses, that it was my choice to follow Him or not, and that I am a chosen vessel unto Him. He told me He would speak more intimately with me and that my needs would be met. It shook my world, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It's part of my testimony that God did speak to me, not once, not twice, but three times in early 2007, concluding with a prophecy given at my church on the day of my baptism. The Lord told me on the day of my baptism the importance of seeking His Face, gaining His power by the Spirit, to show forth His life to a lost and dying world. He wanted me to value the knowledge of God and value His Word. I realized over the years, as He enabled me to see and live in the Spirit, that wisdom, faith, prayer, and praise are all ways to show forth His life. The easiest way is to simply live for God's glory, and have a secret life of prayer and dedication where only my Father can see. |