What I saw in a Trance after I became born again || by Precious C Philip

One afternoon, while I was lying on the bed, I fell into a trance. I laid on my back with my face facing the ceiling. In the trance, I saw the roof opened in a preternatural way - right after that - the heaven opened and a mighty light that made it difficult for me to look up shone from the large aperture and I saw a huge man completely covered in light, whom I identified to be Jesus Christ. He spoke to me with a booming voice and gave me instructions; three major instructions I remember vividly till date is: "Delight yourself in the Lord. Do not be corrupted by the world. Fight the good fight of faith." After He finished speaking, I woke up panting. I was so afraid because what I saw was unimaginable and too supernatural to be real. After some days, I opened up to my mum and shared the revelation with her, she assured me that it was God and that I should obey the instructions He had given me. She shared with me her own similar experience of seeing Jesus in a vision after she became born again years ago. That personal revelation and instruction from Jesus cemented my belief in the existence of God, the veracity of the Trinity and the authenticity of the Holy Bible. Jesus is so real. Heaven is so real. Life after death is so real. 

After being born again, I understood that going to church, reading the bible, fasting and praying, quoting scriptures, attending church programs, serving in church, being religious and giving money to God and the poor, is not the principal requirement to enter heaven, but being genuinely born again and doing the will of God on earth. Before I became born again, I never enjoyed reading the Bible - it was burdensome to me. I managed to read a verse or more every night before sleeping just to fulfill all righteousness (boast that I read the Bible) and to avoid having bad dreams. I didn't also understand the Bible when I read it. But after being born again, reading the Bible became a pleasure because I get to know more of God and know how to please Him better by obeying every of His commandments and instructions. Moreover, the Holy Spirit explains the Bible to me as I read and makes it practicable and relevant to my daily living. 

That one night encounter with Jesus, my Saviour, on June 9th, 2012 and the trance I had, turned my life around totally. I began living henceforth to honor and please God. I began reading and studying the Bible to know more of God. I walked into love with God. I started listening to sermons on YouTube to grow spiritually and build my relationship with God. I would spend hours studying the Bible. I would spend quality time praying. Some addictions and bad habits I had, I sought godly ways to overcome them, and God being so merciful and gracious, helped me by the Holy Spirit and His Word to overcome all and live in freedom. My desires, priorities, reason for living, motive for reading the Bible, going to church & doing almost everything changed and became centered on God and His Word. I yearned for God and did everything possible to know more of God - praying, reading the Bible, attending church programs, listening to sermons on YouTube, watching Christian movies from certain film productions. The deep love I have for God made me hate whatever does not bring pleasure to God and love only what brings Him joy. I love God so much that I only desire to please Him and do His will.

Dear Christian, why do you serve God? Why do you go to church on Sundays? Why do you read the Bible, pray, fast, serve in church and attend church programmes? Is it out of a loving, personal relationship with God born by faith in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit? Or is it just religious activities you do hoping it'll take you to heaven? If you have no real personal knowledge of God, if you've not experienced Jesus personally, if you've not encountered God personally, it's just a matter of time - when the wind of challenges blow, you'll be blown away with it. When trails come, you'll quickly abandon God. When problems and troubles of life come knocking at your door, you'll backslide and stop serving God. When temptations and tests come, you'll abandon your faith in Christ and put your faith in other gods or other things that promise you temporary escape from life challenges. You need to know God on a personal level. You need to serve God out of genuine love for Him and a deep knowledge of who He is. 

I remember one occasion in my local church then, where we were being prayed for to receive the gift of speaking in tongues, almost everyone in the gathering spoke in tongues except me. I tried forcing it, but nothing was coming out. I went home extremely sad and felt God did not love me. But after I became born again, I thirsted for the gift and earnestly asked God for it and He gave it to me - then I realised I could not receive the gift back then because I had not been born again. 

Beloved, all you need for your life to be radically transformed and to be able to approach God directly with your needs and have them met is an encounter. If you really want to know God for yourself, follow the instruction of Jeremiah 29:13.

Prior to being born again, I never loved myself. I always felt I was worthless, useless and without any special purpose. I always looked down on myself because of the inadequacies, imperfections and limitations I saw in my life - this made me to always think of suicide. Sometimes, I would isolate myself and cry and wish I could die. But after Jesus saved me, all that permanently disappeared as I saw my real identity from God's word and beheld my true capacity, potential, abilities and gifts. I found love, joy, peace, rest, and gained self-love, self-esteem, self-value and self-worth. I love You, Jesus. All that Jesus did in my life He can and is willing to do in your own life if you will invite Him into your life today and receive Him in. Jesus is sweet. He can make your life sweet. Give Him a chance. 

God bless you.