“One thing I know, that once I was blind, now I see.”  John 9:25

The following testimony was submitted by Jerry Brooks

In December of 2015, I went to my usual 6-month eye doctor appointment. When looking at the eye chart with my left eye, I read the letters with no difficulty. When they covered my left eye to read the chart with my right eye, I thought they had moved the chart and turned out the light. It was all dark! I said “there is nothing there!” She said “you don’t see any letters?” I said “no, nothing at all!” After the doctor examined my eye, they said that I needed to see a specialist.

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Jerry Brooks hole in eye

The very next morning, the specialist found a hole in my eye. They didn’t know what could have caused the issue, but I was not worried. I just had peace! I told them that Jesus could heal my eye. Meanwhile, I began praying for myself and others to be healed.

My next appointment with the specialist was in March of 2016. They took a picture to see if there were any changes and the hole was shrinking! I told them that Jesus was healing me!

They scheduled me to come back three months later. Weeks before the appointment, as I was praying, I told the Lord that even if He didn’t heal my eye, I would be faithful to Him only. I prayed, “Lord, please have compassion on the others!” Their healing was way more important than my eye. Then I felt the Lord heal my eye! I couldn’t wait to go to my next appointment to hear the good news! I was so excited!!

On June 29, 2016, I went to my next appointment and they took another picture of my right eye.

“The hole was no longer there! Jesus healed my eye! I could see!”

Mark 5:19 — Jesus said “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” I am so excited to tell others about what the Lord has done for me!!

 

If you’ve been blessed reading the testimony of what our Lord has done, check out the other posts on my homepage.

About Calvary Temple

Calvary Temple is an independent church which holds to all Assemblies of God tenets of faith. Calvary Temple ministries include Discipleship Training, adult Bible college, media ministry, and an aggressive missions program.

Pastor Star R. Scott is Senior Pastor of Calvary Temple in Sterling, Virginia, where he has ministered since 1973. In addition to the pastoral gift, Pastor Scott functions in the five-fold offices of apostle and prophet. He has planted churches, and currently oversees the pastors and ministries of numerous satellite churches.

Visit Calvary Temple online on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,Flickr,Instagram

 

I had the opportunity to help coach during both the basketball and soccer camps. I had a great time. I was so excited when I heard that I was able to be a head coach again for the middle age boys during basketball and the youngest age boys during soccer. During the camps we learned all the fundamentals and team strategies of the game, but most importantly we talked about the Bible and the message of salvation. I shared my testimony on how I was saved in the 4th grade while attending Calvary Temple School. My players thought it was so cool that I accepted Jesus as my Savior at such a young age. During basketball camp I had two players on my team give their hearts to the Lord. I shared with the players that they can give their hearts to the Lord with the coaches or if they wanted, could go home and pray if they felt like they wanted to. One of the players stated that he would go home and give his heart to the Lord. He came in the next morning with a beaming smile and I asked him if he accepted the Jesus as his Savior and he said yes, I was so excited. The second player who gave his heart to the Lord said he wanted to wait a bit and do it later. The week came to an end and he still hadn’t given his heart to the Lord but said he would do it over the weekend. Thankfully he attended soccer camp and I had the opportunity to talk to him on the first day, Monday. He said that over the weekend he too accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior!
During the Soccer camp I had about 15 players on my team and about half of them wanted to give their heart to the Lord by the last day. All through the week I and the other coaches coaching with me shared our testimonies, talked about our daily verses, and the basic Gospel message. By Friday about 7 of the players on my team gave their hearts to the Lord! They said that they wanted to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and wanted to live for Him. It was a great day and all of heaven rejoiced when they gave their lives over to the Lord Jesus! I was so excited to be used of the Lord in such an exciting way, now the real work comes to pray and intercede that they would make it and continue to live for Him.

Tony Perozich

I reflect on my heritage A LOT! I have no other word but “thankful” for the life that God has enriched me with. I am blessed beyond anything I deserve!

When I was asked to share about growing up/being reared in the House of the Lord, my first thought was, “Oh my! How in the world do I even put into words what 34 years of knowing and serving Jesus at Calvary Temple has meant to me? It’s impossible!!” But, I will give it my best shot.

I came to Calvary Temple in the summer of 1981 with my Dad and two sisters. The Lord brought us there through my Uncle and Aunt at a very vulnerable time in my Dad’s life. I don’t remember much about those days, but I do remember giving my heart to Jesus in Children’s Church shortly after we started attending when I was 4 years old.

I started preschool at Calvary Temple that fall and continued through the 5th grade. I loved it! I loved going to Sunday School. I loved going to Children’s Church. I loved going to school. I was devastated when we were taken out of school after my 5th grade year and put in public school. We were still attending church at Calvary Temple, for which I was always thankful, but my heart ached to go back to school there! I KNEW what I was missing.

From the 6th grade through 9th grade I attended public school. And even though I hated it, looking back, I can see so many areas where God was at work in my life. Those four years of life, I believe were used by God to show me so much. The Lord used those four years to show me that there is NOTHING in the world that satisfies but Him – not popularity or acceptance; not drinking, drugs or partying; not sex; not having a boyfriend, etc. I saw all these things taking place in the lives of so many and how empty it left them. I began to be labeled as a “goodie-goodie” and a “snob” because I wouldn’t go to parties or have a boyfriend or cuss…you get the picture. There were very few people who accepted me for who I was and what I believed. I lived for the re-charge I would get on Sunday and Wednesday services during those four years!

The summer after my eighth grade year was life-changing for me. It was a Wednesday night service, which back then we had Youth Group on Wednesday nights. This particular Wednesday night we stayed in the service to watch a Fire by Nite video that Pastor Forbe had on his heart to share with everyone. I don’t remember the name of the video or everything that was in it, but the message is what brought conviction to my heart. It talked about why good people go to hell. I recognized that night that my life had become about just being a “good” girl – trying to keep up an image rather than living all out for Jesus – no matter the environment! I had kept myself pure from the world on the outside (only by the grace of God), but my heart was being vexed and I didn’t even realize it. It scared me!! I made a once-for-all decision that night that I was going to live my life all out for Jesus. I re-dedicated my heart to Him that night. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but something new was birthed in my heart.

I spent a whole year after that still in public school. I still longed to be back in school at Calvary Temple, but instead of focusing on why it wasn’t happening, I began to commit it to prayer. In that year, the Lord worked such a thankfulness and appreciation in my heart for Calvary temple. I truly became real to me that the Lord knew the desires of my heart and that I needed to trust Him with those desires.

It was the summer after 9th grade where I remember Pastor Scott saying, and I don’t recall verbatim, but it was on his heart that all the kids that were faithfully coming to services be part of the school as well. My heart leaped!! I expressed my desire to my Dad and that fall I started my 10th grade year back to school at CalvaryTemple. It was a privilege to come back to school and be able to graduate there!

It was at Calvary Temple where the Lord ordered the steps of my husband in November of 1995, who at the time was headed down a devastating path in life. He walked into a Wednesday night service and encountered the presence of God and heard God’s Word taught with such beauty, purpose and clarity that he was never the same. We were married almost 4 years later.

It was at Calvary Temple where the Lord reunited my parents in marriage in 1997 after being divorced for 16 years. I stand in awe at the great work of Jesus that has been done in my Mom’s life and in their marriage.

It was at Calvary Temple where my children were born, dedicated to the Lord and are now being reared by the same people who dedicated their lives to minister and sow into my life. There is no greater joy in my heart to know that they will have the same Godly heritage that I have, should the  tarry and they continue to serve Jesus. To know nothing else but Jesus!!

I have shared all these details (which was REALLY hard to condense!!) to boast on Jesus. I am thankful for Calvary Temple and the family of believers that I have their. It’s my home! In the 34 years that I’ve been attending, so much of the Word of God has been poured into me in and through so many avenues. I’m thankful for Pastor Scott, who truly cares about  the flock that he’s been entrusted with and who continues to stand in obedience to God and His Word! I’m thankful for the other men of God (pastors and deacons) who have answered the call of God on their lives and given themselves in service to the Lord and the Body of Christ. I’m thankful for friends (ones that I’ve had for 34 years and ones that I’ve known a short time) that are faithful to speak the Word of God into my life – whether I need encouragement or a swift kick in the butt! I’m thankful for the Body of believers there who have ALWAYS been there for me – to offer a word of encouragement, prayers, fellowship, etc. It’s humbling to see men and women of God lay down their lives to serve each other on a daily basis. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35. I’m thankful for the Spirit of God that dwells there and is doing great and mighty things in our midst!

Because of all that I’ve been given so freely, I just want to be able, with my life, give back in a small way. Whether it is being able to serve in the Children’s Ministry, which I’ve been involved in since I graduated in 1995 or ministering once a month at a local Women’s Detention Center or volunteering at our annual Cheer and Soccer camps or as of this year, one that I immensely enjoy, volunteering twice a week to assist with the 1st and 2nd grade class at school. Wherever I have the privilege of ministering, my hearts desire is for others to see and come to know Jesus just as I have known Him my whole life.

Growing up in the house of the Lord didn’t mean that life was easy for me. Serving Jesus is a DAILY decision (Luke 9:23). It requires obedience to God and His Word (James 1:22). I haven’t always gotten it right and there have been times where things were so hard, it would have been easier to just give up. Regardless of what I’ve ever been through, God has always, always, always been faithful to see me through, help me make tough choices and by His grace continue to faithfully serve Him – His Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11) and He will finish the work He started in me (Phil. 1:6)!

I could go on and on and on…but I’ll stop here. I pray that everything I wrote makes sense and conveys what’s in my heart that is SO difficult to put into words. 34 years of knowing and faithfully serving Jesus – Lord Jesus, thank You! Help me Lord to never lose sight of all that You’ve done and continue to do in my life as a result of being a part of such an amazing ministry!!

So, so thankful… Erin

About Calvary Temple 

Calvary Temple is an independent church which holds to all Assemblies of God tenets of faith. Calvary Temple ministries include Discipleship Training, adult Bible college, media ministry, and an aggressive missions program.

Pastor Star R. Scott is Senior Pastor of Calvary Temple in Sterling, Virginia, where he has ministered since 1973. In addition to the pastoral gift, Pastor Scott functions in the five-fold offices of apostle and prophet. He has planted churches, and currently oversees the pastors and ministries of numerous satellite churches.

Visit Calvary Temple online on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram