The Touch of God
by Jay RobledoHi. I am Erwin Robledo, and this is my testimony:
I was raised in a Christian home so as a child, and with child-like faith, I believed everything that was taught to me about Christ. I was an active member of the church, participating in the children’s choir and in musicals. However by high school my faith began to wane, and in college I questioned the existence of God.
It started when I missed church for two years because of ROTC and became spiritually famished. I also became fascinated with alternative religions, astrology, UFO’s and the like. When a groupmate for a class project asked why I believed in God, I couldn’t give an answer.
He was an atheist. One rainy day in front of the library he told me how God could not be real and that Christianity was more tradition than truth. I instinctively rejected his views thanks to my Christian upbringing, but doubt found its way into my heart.
I thank God that instead of giving in, I started to read the Bible again in search for answers. That time, I saw the Bible in a different way. There were commands that no longer made sense, commands that were too hard to do, events that could not possibly have happened. I understood why some people say Biblical principles and laws are outdated, and are no longer applicable in the 20th Century. I said to myself, “If God isn’t real then I won’t waste my time following God and His principles and start living the way I really want to. But if He is, then I will serve Him with all of my being. I hope there isn’t a God.”
I compared Christianity with other religions and found that Bible entries are almost always history, making the claims of the Book verifiable by historical records. As if on cue a local TV station showed a number of programs discussing the authenticity of the Bible that leads to the existence of God. I was able to read books and articles about the subject and was satisfied, but I wasn’t ready to believe just yet.
One night a special service was held in our church where a guest pastor preached, and he did something I did not expect. He invited churchmates to stand before the altar and placed his hand over their chests. While nothing happened to some, others fell on their backs, caught by an assistant before they touched the floor. They call this Slaying in the Spirit, something a conservative Christian like me did not believe in, and am wary of to this day. This had never happened in the church before (then again, I was absent for two years and occasionally cut church) so I was sitting on a pew, wondering why we were doing that. Nevertheless I stood up and went in front, partly because I wanted the experience, and partly because of the blessing promised to those who participated.
The pastor put his hand over my chest and I moved backwards. He did not touch me, nor did I move by my own accord. What I felt was a force on my chest that was beyond all the science and reasoning in the world, and came to the conclusion that it could have only come from a supernatural source. I found what I was looking for. While my research had convinced my head that there was a God, that experience convinced my heart.
As promised, I now serve the Lord with all of my being. I now take care of the music team in our church as its adviser, encouraging each member to read the Bible and be joyful that the Lord they sing for does exist.
The Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, whom I serve, is real. Amen.
But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Deuteronomy 4:29 (KJV)
