Category: Claiming the More Abundant Life

Since I can remember, school was very challenging for me in every aspect. I was told by my fellow classmates I would never amount to much. In reality, I suffered from a speech impediment or stuttering. I also had a tough time understanding what I read, so learning wasn’t my forte. My organizational skills lacked order due to my inability to stay focused. However, in all this, God blessed me with being athletic, so that is what made my life worth living for many years. At least that is what I told myself to make me feel better.

I was raised in a well-known Christian denomination and attended school there from prekindergarten through high school. I had a deep love for God but never understood Who He was. I can remember having thoughts of wanting to become like the Apostle Paul or perhaps the Prophet Moses. These great men had to understand God to a boundless degree. So, if I wanted to become like one of them, I knew I needed to understand God a whole lot more.

These men spoke to God and God spoke to them, and I remember wanting God to speak to me too. I had so many questions in my pursuit to know my heavenly Father better, but the more questions I had, the more confused I became. The church told me I would get my questions answered when I got to heaven where I could ask God Himself. That made me feel completely helpless, alone, and lost.

I chose to see if the world had any answers. I also searched through multiple denominations. After twelve years, I became so tired of guessing about God and trying to live a decent life. I began praying and crying out to God. The very next day I met a man who changed the course of my life forever. He started answering all the questions I had by quoting Bible verses from memory with the chapter and verse!

Two of the verses he quoted were II Peter 1:3 which is “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” And the other one was II Peter 1:20: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” He told me the Word of God is the will of God. If you know God’s Word, you know His will. God set forth His Word perfectly and it interprets itself! God’s Word is His heart and so much more. I began to see that the only way to have the relationship I wanted with God was to know His Word.

This man was fellowshipping with The Way Ministry and he knew so much Bible. He was an inspiration to me. I just sat and listened to him for hours. My thirst was finally being quenched.

From the Foundational Class offered by the ministry, I was taught Biblical principles of research so I could understand God’s Word when I read it. I know for a surety that I am heaven bound and all hell cannot stop me from going, according to I Peter 1:23. It reads, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” That’s not all! I found out the Devil was stealing the more abundant life God had for me due to my ignorance and from wrong teaching. John 10:10 opened my eyes too.

John 10:10:
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

I went from being confused and tired of life to my new mission which became to prove that God’s Word works. I developed a desire to be completely sold out to God. I wanted to experience the Word working in my life, just as it did with Paul and Moses. God did say He magnified His Word above all His name according to Psalm 138:2. That’s when I began to see that I needed to think and become obedient to His Word. I started practically applying II Corinthians 10:5:

Casting down imaginations [demolish your human logic], and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Through commitment, persistence, and perseverance, I can truly say that my dreams are becoming a reality. I have seen God’s deliverance firsthand by signs, miracles, and wonders. The Word of God does work when believed. But don’t take my word for it; try it yourself! It will be the greatest thing you will ever do for your life!

I no longer stutter and am a top sales representative in door-to-door cold calls for the organization I work for. I am organized and understand what I read. The best part is that I have a close-knit relationship with God, and we fellowship daily. My desire is to be the best “me” I can be for God. The key is seeking God first. That’s done by learning and obeying His Word.

John 8:31,32:
…If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall [absolutely] make you free.

I have been set free from every mental, spiritual, and physical prison. You can be too!

If you would like to know more about The Way Ministry or the Foundational Class, contact us.

For the first nineteen years of my life I was raised as a Christian, but I was never taught how to truly live the Word of God. In the fall of 1985, when I turned twenty years old, I took our ministry’s Foundational Class for the very first time. In that class, I learned that The Way Ministry is a how-to ministry, meaning that we don’t just tell people they ought to live the Word of God, but we teach people how to live the Word of God. Learning how to live God’s Word and seeing the powerful benefits was and still is an exciting learning adventure for me.

One of the great and many practical truths that I learned in my first few months in the ministry was how to keep God first. Matthew 6:33 tells us about keeping God first and the benefits of doing so. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” As we keep God first, He promises to meet our every need. As I applied this truth in my personal life and with the believers in my local area, I began to see God’s prosperity in so many ways. This inspired me to make greater commitments to God because I had the utmost confidence that He would take care of my every need.

In the summer of 1986, I signed up to participate in our ministry’s outreach program at that time. I remember the wonderful excitement I had to reach others with the truth that I knew and the believing anticipation I had to see how God was going to meet all of my needs. Four of us were assigned to a midwestern state of the United States. The morning after we arrived to our city, we were eating breakfast at the home of our local leadership. We were talking about where we would go shopping for furniture and other items that we needed for our home.

As we were planning our day, we noticed that the next-door neighbor was having a yard sale. Since we were staying right next door, we had the opportunity to shop before any other customers arrived. Our plan was to pick up a few items then continue elsewhere with our shopping. As we looked at the items available in the yard sale, we began to realize that the neighbor had everything we needed to fully furnish our new home, including kitchen supplies. The only thing we still needed, and I mean the only thing, was our beds, which we had before we moved into our new place.

Seeing God meet our need so beautifully gave us great joy. For the rest of the year, we were never fearful, but had complete confidence that God would meet our every need, no matter how big or small, as we continued to keep Him first. Since that time, I have graduated into The Way Corps, gotten married, raised two wonderful children, and successfully served in many different ways as a Way Corps minister. Throughout the past thirty-plus years, in various seasons of life and in all kinds of circumstances and situations, God has never failed me once as I have kept Him first. He has abundantly met my every need.

I had all the lab results and medical records from all the appointments I had gone to. My desire to have children was great, but it was taking longer than I had expected. We had been married for three years at that time, and now it was six years later, and we still had no child. I faithfully ran scriptures through my mind like Romans 4:20 and 21, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” I had no doubt in my heart of God’s ability or His willingness. I questioned at times if I was doing all I could to believe. I continued praying with my husband, praying with a wonderful like-minded believer, and studying every barren woman in the Word who had a child because God heard her prayers. I believed that my deliverance in spite of my physical incapabilities was coming.

We moved to a new state and secured new jobs, a different home, and service to the household. Three months later, we found out I was expecting our miracle baby! We were so thankful to God for His goodness to us. That baby had his first birthday, and I found out I was expecting again. What a delight to our souls! Our second boy turned one, and I found out I was expecting again. This time, it was a beautiful girl—a desire of my heart. She turned one while I turned forty and found out I was expecting again! This was exceeding abundantly above all I could ask or think! Speaking, teaching, living, loving, and doing whatever I can to teach my children what God has taught me about the goodness of God is my joy and greatest life accomplishment. Seeing them love God and experientially know Him thrills my soul. It is a great blessing to experience this life with a believing family in the household, and I thank The Way Ministry for pointing me in the direction of God and giving me the tools I needed to be successful!

Psalms 34:8 reads, “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” This verse aptly describes what the Word taught in The Way International has meant to me. I attended my first fellowship in high school, and from the moment I tasted God’s goodness, I just couldn’t imagine not standing and serving Him.

In high school I was a decent guy. I had pretty good grades, was fairly nice to people, and played sports. My family life was OK at best. We did the best we knew to do, but we knew something was missing. I remember I used to ask my parents questions such as Why are we here? Where did God come from? How do we know He’s real? They did their best to answer my questions, but we were all searching for understanding and searching to know God.

About the time it looked like our family was going to be broken up, I was witnessed to and attended my first fellowship. The Word taught in this ministry changed everything for me. I found purpose and meaning to life. I took this newfound understanding back to my family, and it gave them purpose and meaning as well. To this day, over twenty years later, we continue to reap the benefits of knowing God as His Word is taught accurately in this ministry. And we continue to reach out to our family and others, sharing His goodness. God’s goodness to me has resulted in

• being physically healed on several occasions, including God saving my life;
• my parents’ marriage being saved and restored;
• my siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles taking the classes and getting to know God;
• having a beautiful wife and two wonderful children;
• having real best friends that love me;
• having a place to serve Him and to live my dream job.

I am thankful to stand with this wonderful ministry that has taught me the greatness of God’s Word and has given me a place to serve the Word of Life to others.

The very idea that the Bible could be understood was a concept that I personally thought to be impossible. Like many of my friends, I had tried to read it, and to me it was a dull book with sections that were just too hard to comprehend. I could make no sense of it, let alone actually live it. Yet I wanted to know God and tried different religions. I talked “at” God without results I could see. Eventually I just gave up thinking that understanding and finding God would ever happen for me.

After joining the navy, I walked in on a fellowship being held in my barracks room. For the first time ever, I heard someone teach the Bible so that it made sense. I understood it clearly and simply.

I was excited and talked to the teacher right after that fellowship, wanting to know where he learned that. He showed me some of Dr. Wierwille’s books and told me about a class and The Way Ministry. A few months later, I sat through the class and saw that the Bible not only made sense and that I could understand it, but I also learned how to work it to answer any question I had while reading it. Not only that, I learned keys to glean truth from its pages with a certainty and absolute trustworthiness that left all doubts behind.

I was a person that thought God hated me, and I hated myself, thinking I was unlovable. I had come to see God as this vengeful character just waiting to punish me because I was no good. I’d often consider myself as better off if I just died.

I was born again at a young age but had no perception of that occurrence until I started to see the truth from God’s Word unlocked. I learned that I had been saved years before—something I got from churches I visited while seeking God. I grew up speaking in tongues but did not know what it was or what it meant. The truths that this ministry unlocked for me gave me a life that I had no idea existed.

Every day since then has been a growing adventure of finding treasures about my real future, my heavenly Father, and His real love for me. The life I live now is rich and fuller than I could have known or believed back then. The Way International has shown me a family, over the last forty-plus years, that is more wonderful than any I have ever known.

That family continues today with people who are rich in love, thankfulness, and caring that is so real, it must be experienced to appreciate it. What over seventy-five years of The Way International, with Dr. Wierwille’s teaching and research by way of the books and classes, have given me is a real life where my future is certain and more blessed than I could have imagined.

God Will Take Care of Every Aspect of My Life

To isolate a single incident in the last forty years of what God has done for me would be impossible. I have seen healings, deliverance, and victories over and over again. So, what I have determined is that when recognizing what God has done, I need to see it as all-encompassing.

The biggest thing I have seen is that God, when I do His Word, will take care of every aspect of my life. This includes not only the big things (to me) like being given a car when I have no transportation, healing my daughter from a subdural hematoma, or restoring the sight of a fellow believer by me just praying for him after a welding incident, but it also includes the day-by-day things that could be considered insignificant: things like having a parking place open when it’s raining or stopping to talk to someone to find out they have plurality that meets a need I have and vice versa.

What that means to me is that every hour of every day I can see that God accomplishes many huge things in the lives of many individuals, but is also intimately concerned with the smallest things to increase the quality of life of His children.

The biggest thing I have seen over the years is to recognize the little things and rejoice in what God does for me on a personal level.

My Life Has Been Blessed!

I have experienced a life that is more than abundant because of the Word of God I have learned in The Way Ministry. My life has been blessed in many categories due to the Word of God that I have learned. I can make this declaration because of many victorious incidents over the last thirty-five plus years of my life.

• I have had many opportunities to serve in the household of God in both support and leadership positions, which has been very satisfying and enjoyable.
• Because I learned to faithfully practice tithing and abundant sharing, I have seen my family’s need met in so many instances that I cannot remember them all.
• God blesses me and my family because I know how to pray perfectly and fervently.
• I have learned how to read, research, and teach the Word of God to myself and to others.
• I understand how the adversary moves in the world and how to rely upon my heavenly Father for and in all things.
• I know that God loves me, and I know all that He made available to me through His Son, Jesus Christ.
• And I have the hope of Christ’s return that continues to motivate me each day.

These and other things I have learned because of the Word of God taught and presented by The Way Ministry. May the work of The Way Ministry continue for another seventy-five years, should the lord tarry.

Simply put, I have come to truly understand that I, personally, am nothing without the Word of God in my life. I have come from a very frustrated and angry place with God. I have questioned many ministries, church groups, and church leaders, and most ended up giving me only their opinion.

Then one day I was blessed to meet members of The Way. I asked many questions, and they were all answered with scriptures. They were answered with what God says, not opinion or what they thought God says. I became “obsessed” with finding more answers and understanding God’s Word.

Now I understand and view life through God’s Word, and I am experiencing His power for myself and helping others to live an abundant life.

In 1981, I was working as the art director for one of the largest and most successful advertising agencies in Houston, Texas. Every day, I faced the challenge of generating original graphic concepts that could be produced within our clients’ budgets and time frames, concepts that would succeed in selling their products. I remember looking down at the blank sheet of white layout paper on my desk each day and feeling the constant pressure of quickly coming up with something from virtually nothing, and searching anxiously for the right inspiration.

At twenty-one years of age I had already reached my goal of becoming an art director, and was working successfully at my “dream job.” I thought I would have felt fulfilled once I reached my goals, but I still felt an emptiness in my life and that was puzzling. I traveled home to Pennsylvania to visit my family and to reconnect with my high school friends, thinking maybe that was what I was missing. But it didn’t take long to see that my old friends hadn’t matured at all beyond the games we used to play in high school, and I didn’t miss those.

On the trip back to Houston, I felt that empty feeling emerging even stronger than before. It didn’t seem logical to me that this could be all that life is about. With many thoughts swirling around in my mind, I suddenly blurted out, “God, I know there must be more to life than this! Please show me what it is!” Looking back, that was the first time I had ever prayed to God in that way, like I was speaking directly to Him. It was a short prayer, but it was sincere and from the heart—unlike the habitual repetition of the prayers I learned in the church I attended as a youth.

I purchased a Bible that looked easy to read, and began to read it. It provided some comfort, but I could not understand much of it. So I focused on the Gospels, because the message of Jesus Christ was pretty clear to me. The prayer I had uttered and my believing action to start reading the Bible must have been enough for God to open a door for me, because it wasn’t long before I was witnessed to by a Way Corps minister.

One weekend, I was out dancing at a local honky-tonk, country-western dance hall, when a waitress walked over to the table where I sat watching couples circling around the dance floor. I had noticed this particular waitress before, because she really stood out from the other waitresses. She had a bright, happy smile, she was a diligent worker, she was always so friendly and helpful to the customers she served, and she kept all of her tables clear and clean. As she approached, she put her hands on her hips and peered at me as if I was pitifully sad and abandoned. Shaking her head, she smiled and said the most amazing thing—“Don’t you know, there’s more to life than this?” Startled, I sat up in my chair and just stared at her. How did she…?—that was what I had just prayed about recently! Still confounded, I replied, “Yeah…what?” She laughed, waved her hand at me and said, “Oh, never mind, you wouldn’t understand,” and walked off.

There was no doubt in my mind that God had sent her to help me, so I tapped her on the shoulder several times that evening to ask her what she was talking about. The first couple of times, she reacted much like she did to my dazed reply, “Yeah…what?” Eventually, she must have perceived some sincerity in my tone of voice, because she turned around, looked me in the eye and said, “It’s God!”

Wow! I was electrified! That was another validation of the godliness of this woman and God’s involvement in this situation. I replied, “I’ve been reading my Bible lately.” To that, she laughed in disbelief and challenged me by asking, “OK, which one?” as if perhaps I would not have a clue on what to answer. I replied, “Good News for Modern Man.” That got her attention. She seemed impressed that I was actually reading a Bible, but unimpressed with my choice, and with all confidence and boldness she said, “Oh, come to my fellowship, I’ll teach you the Bible!”

It took a few weeks due to my busy work schedule, but I did make it to her household fellowship, where I met her husband and children. Soon the room was overflowing with excited, smiling people. When the fellowship began, I was immediately impressed with the way this group of people prayed with their understanding, from the heart. It was the first time I ever heard the manifestations of speaking in tongues, interpretation, and prophecy operated. I remember that the messages were so comforting, edifying, and inspiring. They were amazing!

Later, she taught about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the Book of Daniel, chapter 3. She taught like she knew the record by heart, with boldness, confidence, and authority. The teaching was in-depth and penetrated my heart. I learned vividly that day about the law of believing and what an impact we can have when we believe God. I saw how deeply those three men loved God and were so committed to keeping Him and His Word first, and how God protected and delivered them. I wanted to be like them and to have a relationship with God like they did.

After the fellowship, I told her that I had some questions about God and the Bible, so she led me out to their patio, where we sat down in lounge chairs that she positioned face-to-face. She opened her Bible evenly in her lap, folded her hands on top of it, and said, “Okay, what are your questions?” I thought, “Is she really able to answer my questions right out of the Bible?” As I posed my questions, she efficiently turned from scripture to scripture and gave me answers by reading verse after verse after verse and letting the Word speak. I was amazed that she knew where all of those truths were and at how clearly and simply she was able to explain spiritual truths I had wondered about all of my life. I felt as if I drove home on a cushion of air that night and never missed another fellowship.

That night I had met a group of people who really understood and lived the Word of God and walked in the love of God. It was clear to me that they had tapped into something special. It was also clear to me that they were all as committed to God as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and they were as bold in their witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God was living and real in them, and I could see that the spirit of God worked in them mightily.

It wasn’t long before I was sitting in the Foundational Class, where the Word of God set me free in so many ways. By the end of the class, it dawned on me that the heavy weight of past hurts, bitterness, resentments, condemnation, and many other negatives that had weighed me down for many years had all been lifted and were gone! My heart felt so light! I felt so liberated and free! It was like a new beginning! I recall how exciting it was to begin learning to walk by believing, to walk in God’s love, to walk with no fear—to walk with my mind renewed to God’s Word, and to be at peace.

No longer did I have anxiety and fear when I faced those blank white sheets of paper on my desk at work. Now the inspiration flowed easily and effortlessly. I could see that God was prospering my work as I applied His Word on the job. I grew from just trying to survive day to day on the job to having full confidence and the ability to reach out to help support others.

That was thirty-five years ago. During the last thirty-five years I have even had the joy and privilege to serve God and His household as a Way Corps minister on Staff at The Way International Headquarters. I have a beautiful wife and wonderful children who all stand with us in the ministry. I have indeed discovered from this ministry that taught me God’s Word just how much more there is to life—the more abundant life that Jesus Christ came to make available, and I’m enjoying that every day!

When I was a child, I used to ask many questions about God, and every night I would remind my mom that when she tucked me in, it was time to pray. As I grew older, my heart for God did not change, but my actions certainly did. My parents were very strict with us when we were younger, but as my parents divorced and separated, our household got to a point where we no longer had any rules.

As we grew older, our decisions became very irresponsible, and as a family, our unity was no longer there. Eventually, because of lifestyle decisions and continual bad habits, one of my brothers became very ill. I did not know what to do, so I did what I used to do when I was younger, and I poured my heart out and prayed to God. I did not receive an instant answer, but over time, I saw that God certainly was leading me down the path that I needed to go.

I went to many different churches with my friends and cousins. However, as my actions improved, my household got worse and worse. So a neighbor opened up her house to me, and as I would stay at her house, she would share God’s Word with me and listen to me patiently as I would talk for hours. On Sunday mornings, I would race over to her house to go with her to Sunday morning fellowship—she was a Way believer. It took me only a few weeks before I signed up for the Foundational Class. From there, I continued on to take each class as it became available. In a few short years, my mind was no longer full of the world’s negatives, but was flooded by God’s joy and peace.

The Word says in Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” For me, it wasn’t enough that I was healed and believing God’s Word. For my more abundant life, I needed my family to believe God’s Word and be healed. So as I progressed in my understanding, I always made a point to share with members of my family what I was learning that week.

My brother that fell ill became worse over time and at one point was hospitalized. My oldest sibling and I were both taking ministry classes and were searching for answers and ways to get him healed. We prayed and continually spoke the Word to our brother that was ill, but it got to a point where he no longer desired to live. At what felt like the lowest point, my older brother and I went to our first Advanced Class where we were greatly energized and enlightened to come back with God’s delivering love and power. Again, it was not an immediate healing, but things did improve greatly as the weeks progressed.

Being in the Word has not only saved my life, but it has done so much for my family as well. Each member in my immediate family is now standing in the ministry and thriving in their believing. My brother that fell ill was healed completely—unrecognizable! He loves God’s Word and has graduated from The Way of Abundance and Power class series and is living a victorious life.

The scripture that changed my life most dramatically was shared at the very first fellowship I went to in The Way Ministry.

I Peter 1:23:
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

This scripture saved my life! At the young age of fourteen, I was on a path of destruction because the people that were supposed to be the ones in my life to give me stability, security, safety—my earthly parents—had abandoned me in the most vulnerable moment of my life a year earlier, and I felt worthless.

My friend invited me to that first fellowship, and I went from being lost in life before the teaching of God’s Word that night to being found by God during the teaching. I felt like I was home, that I had a new lease on life.

Until I heard the Word that was taught that night, I believed that I was corrupted and didn’t think there was any way to stop it. I had cried out to God and prayed for help, but I kept doing destructive things because I didn’t think I mattered because the most important people I knew weren’t providing the most important need I had—to be loved.

I knew I loved God, but I didn’t know if He loved me. My friend invited me to fellowship, and my unstable foundation began to change. During that fellowship meeting, I was put on solid ground. I knew God loved me wholly, no matter the condition I was in, and that I had received His incorruptible seed in me and that the Word had God’s backing! After trusting in the truth I read and heard that night, I had complete believing that my eternal life was secure with God Almighty! The caring support of others at that fellowship and afterwards made me think that my future would be bright.

Forty-five years later, I still have that firm foundation, and I have never had to back down from what I was taught from God’s Word at my first fellowship in The Way Ministry. My life has gone continually forward on solid ground as I renew my mind. I have been provided the more than abundant life through my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, in ways beyond what I ever thought might be possible before I heard the Word taught in The Way Ministry.

I have come to know by living proof that as you trust, delight in, and commit to God, as Psalms 37:3-5 records, you will receive blessings beyond measure. God knows the matters of the heart and how to heal them, and He did that in a profound way for me that first fellowship night; and He hasn’t stopped since because His promises are true. I was rescued by them starting with that first fellowship and the promise of I Peter 1:23, providing me wholeness and a life that has been full of Ephesians 3:20 blessings ever since.