My Spritual Journey

by Gloria Esther Holder
(Georgetown, Guyana)

I was raised a Seventh Day Adventist as both my grandmothers (widowed at an early age) were staunch SDAs as also was my mother, and though my father was not a practicing SDA he read the Bible every morning. As a child I went to church every Sabbath morning, but as a young woman (having gotten a job in the city) I attended church off and on. It was during this time that I, or rather Satan, began to put doubts in my mind about the existence of Jesus and then about God, but something within me said: No, God exists.

A few nights later Jesus appeared to me in a dream, he just stood looking at me as if to say, "I am real; believe in me." At the time I thought it was only a dream and went on with life as usual. Then one day as my 92 yrs. old paternal grandmother lay dying in a coma, I decided to visit grandma before she passed on. As soon as I entered the room grandma, still in a coma, blurted out “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son”. Her daughter, my aunt, quite taken aback said: Oh!, Gloria that was for you as mother has not said a word since falling into a coma. No one knew at the time I was having doubts about the existence of Jesus. Grandma died later that day without regaining consciousness or saying another word.

I am a firm believer in the seventh day Sabbath. As Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily (truly) I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven (the millennium kingdom): but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:17-19

Even though I firmly believe in the seventh day Sabbath I was not convinced that SDA has all the truth. This led me to research other denominations and religions but none satisfied my hunger for the truth according to the word of God and eventually I returned to my religious roots.

When I finally gave my heart to Jesus, I asked the LORD to cleanse from all unrighteousness, mold and make me to his will that I may love and serve HIM with all my heart. My daily prayer would include: "Dear LORD, help me to see the truth of thy word, not as some see, but the truth of what is written as you would have us know. Make me an instrument of thy word, thy word, O God, is truth." I prayed this prayer daily from the bottom of my heart. I also prayed never to make me rich lest I forget him.

As I began to study (not merely read) the Bible, God who is pleased with every good prayer, has blessed me to discern the true meaning of HIS WORD and with wisdom to understand the sure word of prophecy found in the Bible. The Trinity introduced into Christianity in the late 4th century is a false doctrine by the Church of Rome. So, when the SDA church took "a firm stand" on the Trinity in 2012, I was seriously thinking of keeping the Sabbath at home and fellowshipping with JW on Sunday as they do not believe in the Trinity. But the Lord, who has always guided me, oft times by dreams, gave me a dream. In the dream I was walking with about 6-7 people on our way to church. Upon reaching the church, the first thing I noticed was, it had a basement and it was very huge, airy and bright. I then saw a set of small lights in the ceiling right over the rostrum but behind the pulpit where a choir would normally sit; (which later the LORD revealed these are those who spread light to the world). Then my attention was drawn to a bright cylindrical light right over the pulpit while the little lights faded away. I then noticed there were few people here and there but did not see the ones I had accompanied to the church and thought they may be outside as the program had not yet begun. I went outside in search of them, but did not see them anywhere, so I decided to walk home which was only a few blocks away. As I walked, I began to realize the buildings in the area seemed unfamiliar but continued to walk until I was totally lost and scared. I then noticed a guy at a gas station with a cell phone in his hand and went over to asked him if he would call my daughter's number which he willingly did. Within two seconds my daughter came and got me. I then awoke and thought what a strange dream - looking at the clock it was 7:50 in the morning. Later that day as I was once again thinking of fellowshipping with JW, the Holy Spirit said to me even though the lights you saw represent truth, I will be lost because of the Sabbath.

How do I know it was the Holy Spirit and not my thoughts? Here’s one reason how I know: A young woman who had spread malicious lies about me after I had financially helped her, was in need of help again. I was very conflicted about helping her because of what she had done and for a while couldn’t decide one way or the other. Suddenly, I distinctly heard a voice behind me say "FORGIVE” - the voice was so close it startled me that my first impulsive reaction was to turn my head to see who was behind me, but there was no one there, neither in the room nor in the entire house but me. Not only did I forgive her, I also learned to forgive that I may be forgiven.

Recently as I was reading the book of Isaiah, I came across this verse in chapter 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a voice behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left (when you are undecided about something).

Thank you Bob for letting others know about the greatness of God.

Reply from Watchman Bob: Interesting testimony, Gloria. Indeed, as Yahushua ("Jesus") said, the "Law" (Torah), including keeping the 4th Commandment, has not been done away with. What has been done away with is keeping it in a legalistic way rather from our hearts.

Your spiritual experiences are interesting and I can see how Yahuah ("the LORD") has apparently used them to keep you on track. I would just caution you to make sure you confirm the truth of all such experiences by the Word (1 Thessalonians 5:21). The Word is our final authority, not the voices we hear, the visions we see, or dreams we dream. Satan is very deceptive and will use subjective impressions to mislead us. And his favorite technique for misleading us is by distorting the Word (false doctrines). For example, there is nothing wrong with the doctrine of the Trinity. It is just the recognition that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one in essence and in purpose, which is easily provable by Scripture. If you would like to discuss this or any other doctrine with me, please contact me through the "Contact Watchman Bob" page.

Meanwhile, may the Holy Spirit continue to lead you into all truth (John 16:13).

P.S. If anything I have written is helpful to you, please don't thank me, thank the Source. I am just His vessel, unworthy apart from my Savior and God.