Letting the Peace of God Rule in My Decisions

I was a young married man getting ready to end my service in the United States Marine Corps, and I had many possibilities ahead of me. I was looking to make big decisions in my life such as where to move, where to go to college, what to go to college for, where to work, and how to continue coordinating a household fellowship. These were some of the decisions that I was facing. I wanted to keep God first and make the best decisions for myself and my family. But I did not have one clear, logical choice to choose. Many of the choices were good or great; however, I wanted the best. I knew that God knew which one was the best. I needed to go to the Word and give time for prayer.

The Way Ministry has taught me the Word and the godly principles that I needed to be successful in this situation. I was taught in this ministry that we do not want to make a decision based solely on money or fear. These are not aspects of a situation that should be the focus when making godly decisions. During this time, I was offered a substantial signing bonus with the military to stay in for four more years, the housing market had just crashed that year in the United States, and there was a high unemployment rate across the country. I had concerns about money and fear nudging me. The scripture that I held on to while making this decision was taught to me at a Way Ministry fellowship.

Colossians 3:15:
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

The peace of God is what is to rule, judge or umpire, decisions that I make in my heart. I did not know the future, but I knew God did, and I needed to let the peace of God in me rule in this decision. I prayed and took believing action by researching my top options for many days regarding this decision. I set a date for when I needed to know what my decision would be. A few days before my “need to know” date, my wife and I went for a run to the top of a prominent hill in the city that we lived in. As we stood on the hill and looked out, I knew by the peace that I had in my heart that what was spiritually best for my life and my family’s future was to stay there.

By applying the Word that I learned in The Way Ministry regarding decision making, I reaped God’s abundance. We loved it there. We both received a great education, had jobs that we enjoyed, continued to coordinate a household fellowship, and we grew and matured in the Word a lot.

Five years later, my wife and I had another big decision to make: when to go into The Way Corps training. We applied Colossians 3:15 again, prayed, and took believing action. I set a time for me to make this decision by about what year we would enter the training, and by my “need to know” date, I knew. The very next year, we were going to be leaving the place that we loved to go into The Way Corps training to fulfill the calling that God had put on our hearts. The peace of God ruled, and we knew we were supposed to go. I have no regrets regarding this decision, for my life has only abounded in spiritual, physical, and mental blessings since making that decision.

Because of the Word and godly principles that have been taught to me in this ministry, my family and I are living our best lives today, and our future is as bright as the promises of God.

A Worthwhile Life!

It all began for me in a house full of strangers and a house full of love.

I remember (like it was yesterday) the night I cried out to God, asking Him to show me that life was worth living. I was beginning to think, What is the point of living? I wasn’t quite sure I was even praying correctly, but I must’ve believed, because God answered my prayer.

I never would have guessed how much my heart would find comfort in a house full of strangers and in a house full of love. It was in a home fellowship that I experienced for the first time the power of the spoken Word and the love of God in manifestation. In that home fellowship, I heard a scripture that my heart found so easy to believe and that made my life worthwhile!

II Timothy 1:7:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

This verse changed my life! Power, love, and a sound mind—these three great realities combat life’s one crippling negative—fear. It’s no wonder the foundational class, called Power for Abundant Living, had my attention instantly. It was becoming obvious to me that God was answering my prayer to live a life that is worthwhile! I signed up for the class and began the journey of how to have power for abundant living.

What has God’s Word done for me? It gave me my life’s dream—to live a worthwhile life! I found it in serving God and His people and in moving His Word. I cannot imagine my life without God. His Word is my touchstone for truth—it melts all my fears away. It’s the basis of my believing and action, and its solidity gives me stability in life. I simply know no other way to live.

It goes to show just how important those invitations to our home fellowships are. Those fellowships, where God’s Word and God’s love live, can change lives! I’m thankful every day for the life-changing invitation I received to a house where God’s Word and God’s love lived. It led me to our Biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry where I have learned the keys to understanding God’s Word and heart for my life.

God is what I waited my whole life for, yet from before the foundation of the world, God waited for me to be a part of His family. When I sit down and take it all in, it’s the most humbling reality of my life—I was called of God, and it was always His plan to have me be His child, living a life that’s worthwhile by living His Word.

Now I Understand and View Life through God’s Word

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.

God Has Done Great Things in My Life

I would like to share my testimony and experience on how God has called me and how He is with me and protects me every day.

I was raised in a Roman Catholic family, and I always attended the Catholic Church up until certain events happened in my life. After the separation from my husband, condemnation began setting in, and because of wrong teaching I began feeling that I was not “good enough” and neither just nor acceptable before God.

I had the wonderful opportunity to know about The Way Ministry through a friend at work who at times I confided in and opened my heart to. While we were speaking about a friend of mine with a health issue, the believer invited me to a home fellowship. This was not the first time that this person invited me, but I always made up excuses, saying, “I already go to a church.” This time I accepted. I needed to help myself and my friend, and I knew that I didn’t have the answers or the knowledge I needed to win in this competition.

At the fellowship I met the Branch and household fellowship coordinator; I remember this first fellowship with great emotion. It was an unforgettable experience. The believers greeted me with a simple “God bless you,” through which I had the feeling that God was speaking directly to me and greeting me into His family. Tears of joy flowed. With their greetings and warm embraces, I felt the love of God towards me, as if He were saying, “It has been awhile. I have been waiting for you.”

From that Sunday on, I haven’t missed a fellowship or the special events throughout the year that are organized in my country. Today I also coordinate a fellowship in my home.

Yes, God has done great things in my life. And regardless of my separation from my husband and some financial difficulties, I have been able to put my two daughters through college. One daughter already has her degree and has recently married. My other daughter is still studying. I thank God for His help and assistance in these important matters.

The friend who had a “health issue,” due also to her enslavement to alcohol, is being cared for by our believing with her and by her response to come with her husband to our fellowships, thereby gaining an accurate knowledge of God’s liberating Word. My sister, with whom in the past my relationship was “weakened,” has now been reinforced by my stand and by her willingness to also come to fellowship. By the way, today she is also my assistant fellowship coordinator. My mom, who is eighty-four years of age, has brilliantly overcome a health issue and actively participates in our home fellowships as we strengthen ourselves in God’s Word, praying with believing.

In being thankful for God’s immense love, I have been able to abolish in my mind any sense of inferiority, fear, or insecurity which has in the past obstructed me from receiving the many blessings that God had in store for me. God doesn’t want us to accept any less than what He has promised to give us. Today I am righteous before Him, ready to claim His promises and the liberation available from whatever mental, physical, or spiritual bondage I may face.

God’s Gift to Me

The thing that I am most thankful for in my life is my gift of holy spirit from Father. I know it is there every time I speak in tongues. I have a personal connection to the Father Who is always willing and able to communicate with me when needed because He created my gift especially for me. God in Christ in me is incorruptible seed and can’t be taken or given away, and that makes me God’s son. I am thankful to have such a loving Father and to be a part of His family. I am thankful for the life of Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille and for the ministry he started and for how those who followed have continued to build on the foundation he started. My life would be worthless to me without God’s gift to me and the ministry that taught me what it means to have that gift.

Free from the Prison of Religious Bondage

One evening I was standing in my college dorm room, having made the decision not to attend the church service of the denomination I’d been raised in; yet, I was still nervous and afraid. I’d been taught for many years that not going to church was a sin and that should I die before confessing my sin, I could end up spending eternity in a place I had no desire to be. I was taking a huge risk, but I had begun attending a fellowship where I was learning about the Bible and that the Word of God is the will of God. This was the truth I’d been longing to know.

I was the kid in religion class who always raised my hand to ask questions about God and about life. The answer I heard most often was, “You’ll just have to take it on faith.” When I left home, I was faithful to attend church—not because I found answers there, but because I feared what would happen if I didn’t. That evening in that room, I was not sure what would happen to me. Perhaps I would be struck by lightning or end up with some malady as a result of not attending church. Talk about religious bondage! I was in it—deep. But the time came when I should have been in church, and I was OK. I did not die or become ill. In fact, I felt as if a great weight had been lifted from my life.

Since that night that took place several decades ago, I have never stopped fellowshipping with The Way Ministry because it teaches truth. Because of the Word of God I have learned in The Way Ministry, I am free from the prison of religious bondage, I am free to live with joy and peace, I am free to claim the promises of God, and I am free to walk in the accomplishments of my lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Making My Own Freewill Decision to Believe

Romans 12:2:
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I have had the unique privilege of being born and raised in The Way Ministry. My parents have stood faithfully on the Word in this ministry for many years, and my siblings and I were blessed to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and to become standing disciples. I have always noticed that this ministry is set apart from the rest. The root of everything we teach and do is the Word, and we live this lifestyle too. But, even though I was raised living the lifestyle of a Christian believer of The Way, I still had to grow and make my own freewill decision to believe and live my life for God.

When I was young, I had a tough time understanding on my own how to trust God, and many of the promises I was taught, I had a hard time grasping. My most frequent prayer to God was “to understand.” Another aspect of my life that caused discouragement in my desire for understanding was that I struggled in my school classes and did not excel academically. I had talent in art and music, but in all the “important” subjects, not so much. I had a lack of self-esteem and confidence, as well as several sources outside myself that caused frustration in my heart. An “I can do” attitude and renewing my mind had not yet become strengths.

For a short period of time before I reached my twenties, I became withdrawn and disengaged in household fellowships and the ministry. I began seeking fulfillment in all the wrong places, and before long I noticed that the path I was walking down was leading me away from God. At this point in my life, I had reached a major crossroads—to stay dormant or to take believing action to blossom and grow. As I turned back around towards God, He opened up a door.

The Branch I grew up in didn’t have many young people my age, so I decided to move to a different city and got involved in a Branch full of young people who loved God and were moving the Word. These believers showered me with love, friendship, and patience. My freewill choice to surround myself with dynamic young believers changed my life dramatically, and I received incredible deliverance. And the best part is, I grew in my understanding and maturity! As I renewed my mind and continued following God’s direction for my life, God was able to show me many truths I wasn’t grasping before. The greatest truth that God revealed to me in that season of my life was that studying the Word allows us to know God, knowing God allows us to trust Him, and trusting God allows us to believe the Word greater.

Proverbs 16:9:
A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Because of the Word I have learned in The Way Ministry, my understanding of God and the meaning of life continues to increase; I have developed confidence in my identity in Christ; I have recognized my long suits, and been able to utilize them to give; and there are many other ways my life has been enriched with blessings because of the Word taught. Joshua 24:15 says, “…choose you this day whom ye will serve….” I am very thankful that I chose to serve God and be a functioning disciple in the household of The Way.

Proverbs 4:18 [The Amplified Bible]:
But the path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared].

“In the name of Jesus Christ, LIVE.”

Taking time to consider all I have enjoyed and lived because of my involvement with The Way Ministry is quite extraordinary. To bring the victories in my life to the forefront of my mind is a wonderful exercise in thankfulness! Having been raised in this ministry, and now serving in its mighty Way Corps, you can imagine that my life is full of victories, great and small, from my heavenly Father. My sweetest and most exciting times, however, all stem from opportunities when I have been able to give others examples of God’s mighty power.

Professionally, I work as a nurse. Each time I arrive at work, I thank God for my patients and for the staff that I am working with. I believe that He will help guide my decisions to keep people safe and happy. One particular day, I was supervising my unit and helping a nurse with a patient admission. This particular patient was quite elderly and had been admitted for surgery after a bad fall that had left her in poor health. She was alone at the hospital, and her family was traveling in from a far distance. Rather suddenly, this woman took a turn for the worse, and we had to call in our emergency team to work to revive her heart, which had stopped beating. Our team was excellent, but the medical care we provided was not enough, and the patient fell asleep. This is a very hard event to experience, and our team was terribly upset. As the supervisor, I remained a part of the whole process and was speaking in tongues mightily throughout the event. As people left the room, I stayed behind, praying for her family and for my team who still had hours to go in our shift. As I was praying, I recalled what Jesus Christ said in John 14:12.

John 14:12:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Well, who was I? Was I a son of God? Doesn’t He tell me in Acts 1:8 that I have His great power within me? Yes, He does! I was a disciplined follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I knew that I could do the works of Jesus Christ and greater! “Not on my watch,” I said. I stood alone in her room at the foot of her bed and prayed to God for this woman to be healed, because her family was on the way and they needed to arrive to a woman who was alive. In a barely audible whisper, I commanded, “In the name of Jesus Christ, LIVE.” And then I waited. And I waited. Nothing happened. Another nurse came in to start getting the patient cleaned up, and I left, a little disheartened, but thankful to God for His protection and His Word. Moments later, I heard a call from her room. “A PULSE! I FOUND A PULSE!” I ran back to her room, and her pulse was so strong we could see it pounding through her gown. She was alive! God brought her back from the dead. To God be the glory!

If I had not been taught with all confidence that I am able to operate my gift of holy spirit, I may have never known to listen to God and use that great power that is available to every born-again believer. The Way International has taught me that the Word is the truth and that I can do all the things I read about within its pages.

The Promises of God Are for Me

I had the privilege of growing up as part of the household of The Way. My parents were witnessed to when my brothers and I were children, around seven years of age; my parents were part of the leadership for many years, serving with all their hearts.

Knowing and understanding the Word of God from a young age has helped me face the challenges of life. Each of us has challenges; what makes a difference is how we face each one of them, and the Word of God gives us the tools to win. Philippians 4:13 is one of the promises that I have always remembered. I remind myself that the promises of God are for me, and they are for you too. God has not failed me.

For more than seventy-five years, The Way International has made available the Word of God rightly divided through its household fellowships, classes, and training, for those who want to know exactly what God’s will is for their life. This is one of the reasons why I feel so proud to be part of this household of believers.

As a child of God, I have done my best to please Him with my walk. We do not walk perfectly, but we are FAITHFUL, acting according to what we have seen and learned in the Word of God. The Word of God is the genuine answer to the meaning of my life, and this ministry has taught it to me.

Growing in the Word has allowed me to develop that love and respect for the Word of God.

Aligning My Life with the Word of God

The Word of God has given me direction in life from the time I was seventeen. This direction came from aligning my life and the choices I have made with the Word of God. The verse of scripture I credit for this is…

John 14:6:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The Word of God has freed me incrementally from fear as I put it in my mind regularly, consistently, and by deliberate decision. I remember a time in my life when I lived in so much fear it was paralyzing. However, making the choice to deliberately walk out on the truth of God’s Word has filled me with power. The scripture I credit for this is…

II Timothy 1:7:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The Word of God has helped me become selfless. I no longer see everything through the prism of myself or how I can advance my life or my career; but my question now is, “How can I bring glory to God and be of service to Him?” My desire now is to serve. The scripture I credit for this is…

Matthew 6:25:
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

The Word of God has taught me to be a leader, living by a higher example and standard. In a world and time when leadership is in peril and crisis and people wonder, “Where are the true leaders?” I now know that true leadership is about service, and this service is most essential and understood in the household of God.