The Blind Receive Sight

Stephanie Stocks

December 1, 2018

Calvary temple, Calvary temple pastor Scott, Healing, Pastor Scott, Prayers, Uncategorized

The following testimony was submitted by Donna Martindale

And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. Luke 18:42 (KJV)

My sight was declining.

Last year, I visited my regular optometrist because my vision was no longer correctable with a new prescription. I was referred to an ophthalmologist for some detailed exams. My left eye was diagnosed with a disease called macular pucker.

Macular Pucker is a condition where scar tissue forms on the macula, located in the retina, causing blurred and distorted vision.

The only cure is a delicate surgery which is not always successful, and the post op is very grueling. The ophthalmologist referred me to a retina specialist. After a week, I wrote a letter to my doctor telling her that I appreciated her expert advice, however, I would not be seeing a specialist at this time.

I was going to make it a matter of prayer, and believe that the Lord would heal me, and that I would see her in a year for another check-up.

Last week I went in to see her again, trusting that the Great Physician had done a good work. As the doctor checked the new images taken of my retina, she turned and looked at me and said, “Donna, a healing has definitely taken place!” I was so excited, I cried out. “Oh, praise you Jesus!” and she replied, “And I am praising Him right along with you!”

I am so very grateful, humbled, and excited because of the goodness and faithfulness of our God! I want to shout it from the house top with my hands lifted up, “Thank you Father, thank you Jesus, thank you Holy Spirit!” Lamentations 3:25&26 says, The Lord is good to those who wait for Him; to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. To God be all the glory for the things he has done! I love you Lord!

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

Drug Addiction, Depression and Suicide

Stephanie Stocks

June 4, 2018

Calvary temple, Deliverance, Healing, Prayers, Salvation

“Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ…having no hope and without God in the world.” Ephesians 2:12

The following is a testimony of deliverance and hope after multiple attempts to commit suicide

I first heard about Jesus in Sunday School at 5 years old.

The teacher stood at a felt board with a cross and a heart. She shared the simple story of how God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. If we asked him into our heart, he would come in and he would save us and forgive us, and we could be in heaven with him when we died. I remember feeling like I was different from the other children. I felt like I was dirty, and they all seemed so wholesome. It became real to me that morning that Jesus loved me. That was the first of many times I would ask Jesus to come into my heart and save me.

I was not a happy care free child, always sad and anxious. I spent many sleepless nights crying and full of anxiety, praying to the Jesus I’d heard about at my grandparents’ church. Please keep my mom safe, and send me to live with her one day. And I would ask him to come into my heart and save me over and over.

By the time I was nineteen I would have tried to commit suicide three times.

As a teenager, I started drinking and smoking pot very heavily. There was not a day that went by that I didn’t get high. I got high when I woke up, I got high on the way to school. I would walk out of school during the day to get high, I got high after school, and I got high into the evening. My friends started calling me Cannabis. Most of them partied on the weekend just for fun, but I got high to survive the sadness and anger over my childhood. Getting high was an escape from all the bad feelings inside of me.

My life was going downhill and becoming more reckless.

I was constantly in trouble at school, being called to the Vice Principal’s office several times a week. Punished with detention for not doing assignments, for being late, for disrupting class and for being a clown. Getting suspended for being a loud mouth and disrespecting authority. I said and did whatever I wanted. If my teachers crossed me, I would verbally assault them in front of the class. I absolutely hated authority and I loved creating conflict with them. I knew I wasn’t going to suffer any consequences or discipline at home. It was empowering. No one could control me, and I could do whatever I wanted. I thought I had nothing to lose, but I was failing school, I was caught smoking and kicked out of cheer leading, and I was deeply unhappy.

The only time I knew any of peace or walked in any kind of sanity was when I would go to visit my Aunt and Uncle who were Christians.

From the time I was 12 until I was 16, I would stay with them for 2 weeks every summer. There would be no smoking, drinking or getting high. I would go to church, read my Bible, read my devotional, and loved to listen to Christian music. There was such a peace during those weeks. I didn’t have inner peace, but I was surrounded by the peace that radiated from their home and their lives. I purposed that when I got home, I was going to be good. No drugs, alcohol, or partying. I was not going to have relations with my boyfriend, I was going to go to church and do my devotions every day. But every single time, within hours of getting home, I was back to my old lifestyle, and worse than I was before, powerless to do what I knew was right.

The first time I tried to commit suicide I was 14.

I spent a week in Intensive Care. It was there that I had my second encounter with Jesus. A girl from my grandparent’s church had come to see me. She had been praying for me at their request when they became concerned about my lascivious lifestyle. I remember when I opened my eyes and saw her face. She looked so peaceful. With love in her eyes and compassion in her voice, she took my hand and said “Candace, Jesus loves you.” I knew it was Jesus talking to me and reaching out to me through her.

I didn’t receive the Lord then. I continued partying and got involved with an older man. At 15 I became pregnant. He told me it was him or the baby. I didn’t want to abort my baby, I wanted to at least give it up for adoption, but he did not. I was young, and I didn’t want to lose the only person who had ever made me feel loved, he was my whole world. By the time I made the choice to abort my baby, I had convinced myself I was making the best choice for everyone including the baby, so I went through with it. Immediately after the abortion, I felt an incredible emptiness inside. I hated myself even more intensely than before. Anytime regret or grief came up I justified my choice with all the reasons why I did the right thing.

I also began to get high more and more to drown out my guilt and shame. I had dabbled with cocaine, mushrooms and LSD from time to time in the past, but I mostly smoked pot because that was the drug always available in my home town. Living in the city meant more types of drugs were available to me and I could get them in greater volume. My whole life was one big party. During this time my relationship with my mom was at its worst. I had so much anger and bitterness toward her. She started trying to do what was best for me and saying a word I was not used to, “No!” Well, I was not having that. I had gone my whole life doing what I wanted, and I wasn’t about to change. But I was 16 and living the fast life was getting old.

I was deeply depressed, and when my boyfriend broke up with me, I tried to commit suicide by overdosing for the second time.

Again, I ended up in the hospital and it was one of the lowest points of my life. When I was released, I was sent to a juvenile psychiatric ward. I begged my mom to let me come home, but she did what she knew would be best for me. She left me there to be evaluated, and to ensure I wouldn’t be able to harm myself again.

I hated every minute of that place. It was very depressing. I had no way to do drugs or distract myself from my inner turmoil. It was also very disturbing. I shared a room with a girl who would wake up screaming and hallucinating.

I knew that unlike her, my depression was not a mental condition but a heart condition.

After a few weeks I was finally able to go home, but with some stipulations. I had to continue seeing a psychiatrist and stay on antidepressants, and I had to go back to school. I despised all the stipulations, but anything was better that being a prisoner in the psych ward. Emotionally fragile, and afraid of returning to public school, the psychiatrist recommended I attend a small tutoring center for teens who didn’t do well in social situations, or who had “emotional disabilities.”

I worked hard, and eventually applied and received acceptance to the Rochester School of the Arts alternative program. My Junior year of high school began with a new hope. But I still did not give up drugs altogether. Every day, as soon as I finished my homework I would get high. On the weekends I would party hard and try to recover on Sunday to get ready to go back to school on Monday. As time went on, it became harder and harder to not get high and party as much as I use to.

The emptiness in my heart was glaring and consuming.

The antidepressants were making me feel like a zombie, so I stopped taking them. My grades started slipping and I couldn’t wait for summer break to be free from the responsibility and discipline I had put myself under to do well at school. I returned to my home town to party with my old friends.

By Christmas, I moved out of my dad’s house and moved in with my friend and her boyfriend. I started using a lot of cocaine and dropped out of the School of the Arts. My friend’s boyfriend kicked me out because I couldn’t keep a job and wasn’t contributing in any way. It was the dead of winter in western New York and I spent a few miserable nights sleeping in my car. My dad had pity, and rented a small apartment for me above a store on Main Street. I didn’t have a job, but in exchange for doing dishes at a friend’s place of employment I would get a meal.

I was beat up by life and felt very alone, hard, and numb. No matter how much alcohol I would drink or pot I would smoke, I couldn’t get the high I was looking for. I was paranoid and anxious; an empty shell at 19. I had no tears, no passion, no vibrancy. I didn’t care about anything. I was without hope.

But this is only the middle of my story. With Jesus, there is always HOPE.

Read Part 2 of Candace’s testimony: From Suicide to Salvation: The Path of Hope

If you are struggling with thoughts about committing suicide, or feel hopeless with nowhere to turn, Jesus is the answer! He loves you more than you can even imagine. Reach out to him today and he will radically change your life and fill you with peace and joy. You are not alone. Read more about God’s love for you and the Hope you can have in Jesus here.

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

God Heals Autoimmune Disease Pt.2

Stephanie Stocks

November 22, 2017

Calvary temple, Calvary temple pastor Scott, Healing, Pastor Scott, Prayers

Sarah was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis. The doctors stressed that there was no cure. But our God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to his power that works in us.

Go here to read God Heals Autoimmune Disease PT 1

It was February of 2016. I was in the hospital reeling from the news that i had an autoimmune disease that had no cure. We started the conventional treatment of Prednisone and discharged from the hospital. I had a terrible reaction to the steroids and had to stop taking them immediately. My doctor then wanted me to try some other medications, but I declined.

I believed that the Lord had put in my heart not to take them. I continued to have weekly blood work taken and my liver enzymes began to come down. But I was still in an extremely dangerous health crisis. The GI specialist told me I would need a complete liver transplant in the near future. I transferred to the head physician of the liver transplant center at the University of Virginia.

In April 2016, I had my initial consultation and we began preparations to get on the liver transplant waiting list.

The Transplant Center performed a liver biopsy. It confirmed that I had an active autoimmune disease that was attacking my liver cells. My cells were dying faster than they could regenerate. The head physician of the liver clinic, Dr. Northrop, straightforwardly informed us that my condition was dire. I was in end stage liver failure and needed to start steroids right away. My liver cells were dying faster than they could regenerate.

He told us that if I didn’t start the medication, I would certainly be dead within 2 years.

As Taylor and I talked and prayed about what to do, I still felt very strongly that I shouldn’t take the medication, but continue to look to the Lord. But, I told my husband that I knew God had put him over me as my God-given head and covering. I would start the medication if at any time he felt that I should.

Together we decided to trust the Lord moment by moment, and if God wanted us to change our course He would let us know.

The song, “Bless the Lord, Oh my Soul…Worship His Holy name…Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes…” strengthened my heart during this time. I hung it on my refrigerator and sang it to myself almost every day.

As time went on, I began to research alternative ways to slow the progression of the disease. I became very strict about my diet hoping that would help. Even though I wasn’t taking medication I continued to have regular blood work and follow ups at the UVA Liver Clinic.

Seven months later, in November 2016, Dr. Northrop informed me my liver enzymes were spiking again and it was imperative that I start steroids immediately or I had less than a year before a liver transplant or death.

He also recommended I go to John Hopkins and Georgetown Hospitals to get more opinions. Maybe they could “convince me of the severity of my disease to start medication.” I hung up the phone, and for the first time during the illness, I felt crippled by fear and confusion. I had tried as hard as I could in the natural with a healthy diet, exercise, rest, eliminating my exposure to toxins, but it wasn’t enough. I felt scared, alone, and in the dark.

That evening we met with our Pastor and his wife. We shared the grim report we had just received. They encouraged and prayed with us, but I was still feeling very downcast. Near the end of our conversation, Pastor Scott spoke these simple words to me. “Sarah, just make sure you’re abiding in the vine.” Those words hit my soul like a load of bricks.

At that moment, I realized I just needed to get back into God’s presence. Without even realizing it, I had allowed the cares of this life to crowd out the presence and Spirit of God, and now I found myself feeling lost, alone, and in the dark.

I began to fast and pray. I needed to hear the voice of the Lord again.

On the third day, while my kids were napping and I was painting, the Lord spoke one word to my heart – REPENT. I instantly fell to my knees, broken before the Lord as He began to show me that there was still so much in my life that was displeasing to Him. My pride, my independent spirit, my vanity, how easily I steal God’s glory when I do something “good”, how I say I’m trusting Jesus with my illness, but at the same time I was putting more trust in perfecting a healthy diet and lifestyle than I was in Him for the healing of my body. As I began repenting, the Lord brought true remorse and change over the sins and weights in my life.

In January, Taylor and I began seeking the Lord specifically as to whether I should start the steroids and go to John Hopkins or Georgetown to see more specialists. After a few weeks of seeking the Lord and wisdom from other counselors in our lives, we still hadn’t felt the Lord leading us in a specific direction.

My husband decided that if we didn’t sense a specific direction by the end of that week, then I should start the medication.

A few days later while I was folding laundry and praying in the Holy Spirit, I felt a prodding in my spirit to call my primary care doctor and schedule an appointment to have all my blood work checked again. It was also during this time that I began to experience a worsening of the liver disease symptoms again. Feeling hopeless and discouraged, I decided to step out in my own wisdom and reach out to holistic liver practitioner to start 6 months of holistic therapy and supplements. I was scheduled to start the alternative therapy on the exact day my blood work results came back.

The blood work showed that my autoimmune disease was completely gone, and my liver enzymes were normal.

My kids were in the car with me when I read the results and we began shouting out PRAISES TO GOD! I then called my husband and drove to my Pastor’s house to share the news. I called the liver clinic at UVA and told them about the incredible bloodwork results – the nurse was shocked, speechless. She passed the message on to the doctor and he called me 5 times that day with different questions. The doctor said that, “I had proved him wrong every step of the way. He had never seen someone come back from end stage liver failure to perfect health. Especially with having taken no medications.” However, because he is a man of science; I must still have the disease since it doesn’t just “disappear” and there is no cure. He wanted me to get routine blood work done and come back to see him if I get worse again.

He discharged me from the liver clinic because I definitely did not need a liver transplant anymore.

There was indisputable proof that a supernatural healing had taken place in my body. And it had nothing to do with medication or human ability. “..for I AM the Lord that heals thee.” Exodus 15:26

In the following months, I continued to have routine blood work done as my doctor requested. The liver tests improved even more, confirming that my liver was functioning and healing from all the damage. My increased energy and vitality alone is undeniable proof of the miracle God has done.

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

God Heals Autoimmune Disease Pt. 1

Stephanie Stocks

October 31, 2017

Calvary temple, Calvary temple pastor Scott, Healing, Pastor Scott, Prayers

Sarah Kain began having unusual symptoms in the fall of 2015. Her health deteriorated quickly and launched her family down a road of medical tests, discovery and faith. This is the harrowing story of her mystery illness and near death. But God’s hand was always there to heal, and set her free.

The following testimony was submitted by Sarah Kain

Having always been a healthy, strong, energetic young woman, I knew I hadn’t felt like myself in a while. I kept blaming it on the fact that I was now a mom of 2 young kids. This constant state of exhaustion was my new normal. Everything I ate or drank gave me pain, reflux or nausea. My body ached, I had zero energy and I was covered in bruises. I experienced intense itching all over my torso. My abdomen was extremely bloated even though I’d unintentionally lost 10 lbs. I had swelling and pitting in my legs from fluid. My skin and eyes had a yellow hue, and some other disturbing symptoms I’ll spare you the details of.

I told my husband one Sunday as we were leaving church, “I feel like my body is shutting down.” It wasn’t until January 2016, after I’d experienced a miscarriage that I couldn’t seem to recuperate from, that I finally had to see a doctor.

One morning I was feeling very discouraged about the mysterious condition I was in. I began pouring my heart out to the Lord. I opened my Bible and began reading about the life of King Asa. Immediately the words on the pages came alive and spoke to my spirit.

2 Chronicles 15:12-13 Asa in the thirty-ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceedingly great: yet in his disease he sought not LORD, but looked to the physicians.”

It was in this moment that the Lord impressed so clearly upon my heart that I was to seek GOD and not solutions from the doctors for whatever illness was going on in my body.

I shared this with my husband and although we didn’t fully understand all that would entail at the time; I was fully persuaded that this was the direction God had for me. All I knew was if I kept my eyes on the LORD, no matter what was going on in my body, everything was going to be OK regardless of whether or not I was healed.

On February 15, 2016, my primary care doctor told me that something was terribly wrong with my liver and I needed to go to the Emergency Room right away. When we arrived at the ER, they informed us that I was in liver failure and they didn’t know why. I was an otherwise healthy 28-year-old female that had never smoked, drank alcohol, or done drugs.

Normal liver enzymes are between 0 and 55. My liver enzymes at the time were 961. Normal bilirubin levels which causes jaundice are between 0.2 and 1.2. Mine was 10.6. The doctors were very concerned and began running every test checking for hepatitis, liver diseases, genetic diseases, parasites, cancers etc. I was immediately hooked up to heart monitors because when your liver doesn’t function, your blood becomes very toxic and can lead to heart and brain failure as well.

My husband sent a message asking our church family for prayer. Soon after the message went out for prayer many of the terrible symptoms, discomfort, and exhaustion I had experienced for months began to subside.

So much so, that I wanted to go home, but the doctors objected. They kept me in the hospital for a week as they closely monitored me, ran tests, and consulted with many physicians and specialists from other hospitals and liver clinics. During this seemingly turbulent time, my husband and I were in complete peace. I hated being stuck in the hospital, but there was no fear, no crying, no asking why.

I felt like the Lord had me cradled in His hands above the storm.

During my hospital stay, the Lord gave me multiple opportunities to minister to others with severe illnesses, as well as, many of my doctors and nurses. My Pastors, family, and friends visited me daily in the hospital, cared for my husband and babies while I was unable too, and offered up many prayers on our behalf. I am so thankful for my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, and likely had battled it longer than we realized.

There appeared to be extensive damage already done to my liver. Autoimmune hepatitis is not contagious. It’s a rare, but serious condition where your immune system attacks healthy liver cells which ultimately leads to cirrhosis and liver failure as I was experiencing. The MRI showed that my liver was extremely swollen and had hardened masses in it, which meant this disease had raged in my body for some time. The specialist explained to us that the only treatment option was to try to slow the progression by suppressing the immune system and reducing inflammation in the liver. There was no cure.

^“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:23

Read Part 2 of Sarah’s amazing testimony next time on Calvary Temple Miracles

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

A Perfectly Straight Spine

Stephanie Stocks

January 8, 2017

Growing up Calvary, Healing

“Let the little children come to me” Matthew 19:14

The Following Testimony was submitted by Hannah Heglund

When Braden was 6 years old he began complaining of lower back pain. We noticed a muscle mass on the right side of his lower back. His doctor referred us to a Pediatric Orthopedist at Children’s Hospital. We were able to get an appointment with the head of the department in November of 2014.

At that appointment, Braden was diagnosed with scoliosis. He had a 17 degree curve in his spinal column. The specialist said the curvature would undoubtedly increase drastically as Braden continued to grow. We would likely be looking at a full time brace for his back in the near future. He also prepared us for the likelihood that Braden would need surgery as time went on.

We were all upset at this diagnosis and immediately made it a matter of prayer.

Braden was especially upset about the diagnosis. He began to be fearful about what his future might look like and what he may have to endure. As a family we began to speak wholeness over his body and we reached out to our friends and church family for prayer for him. He began Physical Therapy weekly, and had daily exercises to do at home to combat the scoliosis.

Six months later, a new x-ray revealed he now had an 18 – 19 degree curvature. On one hand, this was a praise because for having grown several inches, the specialist expected the curvature to be worse than it was. On the other hand, this was discouraging, especially to Braden, because he had fervently been asking Father to touch his body and heal him.

A few months later, Braden began to have a flair ups of the pain in his lower back, despite the therapy. We took him to a chiropractor for muscle testing and adjustments to provide him with some relief from the muscle spasms.

The chiropractor discussed Braden’s case with the doctor who owned the practice. The said that Braden’s treatment would be about 2 – 2 1/2 years. We decided to begin with treatment, and again enlisted our prayer warriors to battle for Braden’s back. At this point, our main concern was for the daily discomfort he had to live with.

We were hoping the adjustments from the chiropractor would help with some relief.

Throughout these months, Braden had been faithfully praying for the Lord to touch his back, as I know many of our family and friends were also praying. We got to know the chiropractor really well and we were able to share with him our faith and trust in Jesus. The kids constantly invited him to our church outreaches and I had many conversations with him about Jesus and who He is to us as well as several opportunities to pray for him for various trials.

After just a few months of treatment I remember the chiropractor continually commenting on how well Braden was looking and that he would like to take another x-ray ahead of the scheduled one in the Fall. On April 14, 2016 he examined Braden before adjusting him and asked if he could take a quick x-ray prior to the adjustment. I remember vividly standing behind the little protection wall as he snapped the x-ray and watching the film immediately pop up onto the screen.

There it was, a perfectly straight spine.

Braden had NO scoliosis. It wasn’t “improved”, it wasn’t “resolving”, it was healed.

Braden and I had a little praise session right there in the x-ray room! We went back out into the exam room to have an adjustment. We watched as several doctors streamed in and out of the x-ray room. Our regular chiropractor joined us a few minutes later and told us that he and the rest of the staff had been comparing Braden’s previous films with today’s films. They all were in disbelief at how quickly Braden’s back had straightened.

He was, of course, basking in the glory of his patient who was doing so well under his treatment. I smiled at him and gave him a big hug and said, “I am so so thankful for you and how well you have taken care of my little boy. You are amazing with him. However, I think you know that I have to tell you why Braden’s back is so straight!” He laughed and said ” I am pretty sure I know what you are about to say!”

He was right. I was able to share with him again how many people had been praying for Braden’s back and how, while we were extremely grateful to him for his expertise and his gentleness with Braden, that the true reason for his straight spine was answered prayer from a God who hears. He didn’t miss a beat and was still grinning from ear to ear and said ” I believe that to be true.”

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

The Prayer of Faith Shall Save the Sick

Stephanie Stocks

December 8, 2016

Growing up Calvary, Healing, Pastor Scott, Prayers

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 4:7

The following testimony was submitted by Gwen Wotring

What started as a routine physical turned into a nightmare! But it was miracle that we will never forget!

I took Sydney for a routine physical. Her Pediatrician felt that her spine was curved a bit so she wanted to check for h. The x-ray process went smoothly. The Radiology office automatically sends the pediatric films over to Children’s Hospital for them to review.

When Children’s reviewed the films, they noticed something that concerned them. They saw a shadow on the left side of Sydney’s lower back that they were very concerned about. She used the words, “Possible mass that is pressing against her spine and she definitely has scoliosis.”

They were so concerned that they wanted Sydney to get an MRI as soon as possible.

The Pediatrician was going to schedule the MRI at Children’s Hospital, and we would be hearing from them soon. I was scared. I called my husband, Matt, to tell him what the doctor said but I couldn’t get through it without crying.

When we told Sidney what the doctor’s were concerned about, and that we were believing for God to do a miracle in her body. Her attitude the entire time was one of, “God’s got this! I’m not at all worried!”

I’ve never seen a child so calm about anything.

We got the call that the MRI was scheduled for Thursday morning. Matt really felt strongly that we should have Pastor Scott lay hands on Sydney Wednesday night in church, and pray for her to be healed. We wanted everyone in our church to be believing with us.

So that night, Pastor Scott anointed Sydney with oil and prayed over her in the name of Jesus. Again, the peace of God was on her and us. It was an amazing feeling!

During the check in process at Children’s Hospital, Sydney was so calm that even the workers were amazed.

I was able to share with them that we had prayed, and a lot of people were praying for her. We believed that we wouldn’t be back, Jesus had healed her! When they took her back for the MRI, I sat in the waiting area praying that whatever was ahead for us as a family, that God would give us the grace to stand through it. Father gave us all such a peace that we will never forget. They called us 90 minutes later and said that the MRI was finished. Then they informed us that it would be a few days before we heard any results.

We really didn’t want to have to wait over the weekend to find out if our child may have cancer, but Father again gave us peace about it. Sydney’s pediatrician, however, woke up Friday morning thinking about Sydney and wanted to know what the results were, now! She called them first thing to put a rush on the results. I received a call from her about 1 o’clock that afternoon. She said, “I heard back from the hospital, and I wanted to give you the news. There’s no mass and the scoliosis is only showing as a mild case!”

What showed on the original x-ray as being a severe case of scoliosis showed on the MRI as a mild case. What showed on the original x-ray as being a large mass pressing against her spine was completely gone!

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

Healing Testimony

Stephanie Stocks

February 10, 2015

Healing, Salvation

My healing testimony starts a year after the birth of our daughter, Grace. I started experiencing moderate back pain, it wasn’t the usual back pain symptoms it was a radiating deep pain that would start as soon as my feet hit the floor and get worse as the day went on. I went to doctors and physical therapists, no one knew what was causing the pain. Nothing they did would make the pain go away, but would give temporary comfort. After about a year with this pain and also not being able to conceive a child again, my gynecologist suggested that I have exploratory surgery to see if I had developed endrometriosis. So in early December of 2002 I had that surgery, Dr.Stokes said he cleaned things up a little but saw nothing that would be causing me so much pain, no sign of endrometriosis. I was then recommended to long term pain management. This was very upsetting for me, I did not want to live on pain medicine to function without pain. All along I had been praying for healing but thinking I needed to know what was causing this pain. I decided I did not need to know what was causing the pain. I was going to believe that God knows and he would heal me. Our Pastor Star Scott at Calvary temple church had taught on making our God big, and so I was going to do that. I was not going to do it to get healed but just was commited to allowing God to be Great in every area of my life. A few months later we had a very powerful service at Calvary Temple. The presence of God was definitely there and I had been strengthened in my faith over the past months despite the pain I was living with. That night the service from Calvary Temple with Pastor Star Scott teaching ended with people standing praising God. As I left that night I noticed I wasn’t in pain, all night I thought I think I may have been healed. It wasn’t a healing service but God was there. I wasn’t seeking to be healed during that service but God had definitely visited. The next morning I jumped out of bed, and was so excited to not experience any of that deep setting radiating pain. I usually would feel it first thing in the morning sometimes as soon as getting in the shower. I was so thankful and still wanted to make sure I really was healed. I got Grace dressed and put her in the stroller and walked 2.5 miles to our church Calvary Temple, I experienced no pain along the way it was gone. I gave praise to Jesus the whole way, when I got there I first saw my husband and told him that I got healed in last nights service, we rejoiced in that together. Then I remember telling others that had been praying for me. To complete the miracle God had done in me, in March of 2003 I found out that I was pregnant. Jesus healed me of the back pain and allowed me to get pregnant. I saw this as such a gift from God, a true blessing. God is always wanting to bless us more abundantly than we can ever imagine. Throughout my pregnancy and to this day 11 years later I have never ever once experienced that radiating back pain ever again. Praise the Lord.

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.

Healing Comes Through Repentance

Stephanie Stocks

December 4, 2014

Healing, Salvation

The following is a member testimony from Calvary Temple, a Bible believing church located in Sterling, VA, that teaches and lives sound doctrine.

As I sit here and think over these last few years my mind cannot help but going back to December of 2011. It was a monumental time for me and looking back at that crossroad, that the Lord allowed me to come to, and a true life changing decision that I was faced with at that time. See, earlier that year, I went on a short term mission trip to Kenya with the mission team that was sent out from our church and had an incredible time. The goal of the mission team that year was to go thru and strengthen the main core of our churches in relating to one another (building true relationships built upon God’s word). I was assigned with two others (Corey E. and Tony S.) to prepare share our lives (to be open and vulnerable) with other married couples in each of the core churches there. In order to do this, we created a marriage booklet, with different sections (each dealing with common areas from scripture in relating to our spouses) to facilitate the ministry while we were there. A daunting task that I know none of us felt adequate for. Well the team went and the ministry we were a part of that year was powerful (probably because we felt so inadequate for the task at hand) and effective, However I could not help coming home from that missions trip being bothered by a lot of the topics (relating to your spouse) we had discussed while we were there. I could not stop thinking of how many areas that I was having problems with and trouble in relating to my spouse.

When we arrived back home from our mission trip, I picked up the normal routine of life, and I never took time to deal with these issues in my life or to even look at why or what was the root of these issues in my life. Well life continued as normal all the way into late November of that year until, when Pastor began to teach on marriage and challenging each one of us in how we were relating to our spouses. The funny thing was that pastor pulled out the marriage booklets that we had made earlier that year and we began to go through them as a fellowship. The Lord used the topics in this book (communication, money, physical relations, etc…) and really began to challenge the lives in our fellowship. I was one of those lives, Praise God! I remember submitting a question in writing with no name attached, to a panel of our pastors (that we were having in the middle of these teachings) asking a question in regards to “the struggle my wife was having when it came to our physically relating to each other. That she seemed uninterested and never really interested in this area of our life and what could be done on my part (real noble) to help her change. Well when it came time for our question to be read and answered, that the answer that came forth caught me totally off guard. I remember Pastor sharing that the problems that we were having in our marriage was because I (he kept it general saying we -even though it was me he was talking to) was wearing out my wife spiritually and physically having her doing things that were unnecessary. That I needed to look at what I was having her to do at this time in her life and ask was it God’s will? At the time, I was asking my wife, a mother of four children to work forty-eight to fifty hours a week, at a strenuous job thirty miles from the house (one-way) and come home and minister to her husband, children and the Body of Christ with minimal to nothing left in the tank. Looking back now with shame even to think that I asking why she was having trouble relating to me? Was it ever God’s intended will for my wife, actually she’s not mine but God’s daughter and I had better be absolutely sure that I was helping her to fulfill God’s plan for her life and not my own plan. To make sure that I was giving her the best opportunity, to fulfill that role, unto God’s family. Sister, let me tell you that was the opposite of what was happening.

The decisions that I had made in the previous years (poor financial decisions caused by my own lust) had caused now a need my mind for my wife to leave the household that she was looking so well too, to help me hang on to everything I had obtained. What was so important? A house? A Car? A Better Quality of life? Entertainment? Vacation? To have enough money in your account so that you do not have to live by faith check to check? “What profits a man if he gaineth the whole world and lose his soul?” (Luke) I remember being very smitten in my heart during these last weeks of 2011. I remember very clearly Pastor challenging us as a fellowship that it would be madness to continue to do the same things over and over and yet expect different results. In my mind I had only one choice, I needed to repent from the things that the Lord’s spirit had convicted me of and to do so would require a complete change in my life. I knew in my heart that my wife must return fully to the work that God had created and intended her to do. My wife is not my own but the Lord’s, and what does God’s word require of her? That’s the priority that we needed to return to. In order to do so, that she must quit her job and come home, that her focus needed to be towards her children (they need to see God’s word being fulfilled). This did not come easy, I remember many sleepless nights of wrestling with God, of confessing my faults, my fears, my doubts before the Lord crying out to him for grace to obey. I have to admit, I was very fearful (knowing that we no longer made enough to live off of on my salary alone) and I was very afraid at the time of losing our everything. I remember bringing these things to the light with my wife, Deacon and Pastor in order to do whatever it took to be freed from this snare in my life. Then one night after a wrestling with God in prayer, I broke. I woke up the next day and told Shelly to resign, that she was coming home (oh the joy it brought her!) and that we were going back to Bethel. I repented before her, my children and shared the things God had been working in my life and the changes that were coming.

That was the last days of December 2011 and began a walk with the Lord that was renewed and began a walk down a path greater trust and dependence that God would bring out in the days ahead. See this decision was just the beginning of trusting in God’s word for every need in my life and not looking to another source (and God knows I have tried). See, the trials did not cease, the dark clouds that I was wrestling with in the prayer closet did not disperse, in fact since have gotten darker at times but the three years since those days in December we are still standing by God’s grace, we are still learning to trust God through all of Life’s trials, that we still have a savior in Jesus, who has promised to never leave us or forsake us. That He is working something far greater in us than we can ever imagine (most definitely for His eternal Glory) and to think, I almost forfeited it all for temporal things. Thank God for Men and Women who will tell you the truth, when your life does not line up with that truth, who will not let you press on while you are sick. I am sorry this has been so long, but this is what came to my mind when you asked for a testimony of being healed. God will not allow us to rest, when we are living below what he called us to be.

Romans 8:28-30: “And we know that ^[^k^]God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.²⁹For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;³⁰and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

Your Brother In Christ,

Mark

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

The Miracle of Salvation

Stephanie Stocks

November 10, 2014

Salvation

Hi Everyone, Today on Calvary Temple Miracles at Calvary Temple Church with Pastor Star R. Scott, I wanted to share a testimony of Salvation. To always remember the Scripture in John 3:3- “Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be Born Again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

My name is Bill Snow. I am 42 years old and I am a member of Calvary Temple church in Sterling, VA. My story starts out like many others, as I grew up going to church on a regular basis, I would go with my parents every Sunday. I grew up hearing about God as a teenager unfortunately for me at this time in my life I was too caught up with wanting to “experience” the world and all I thought it had to offer. I would later discover through my bad choices and the consequences of those choices that I wasn’t in as much control of my life or the things that affected my life as I thought I was. It was obvious that I not only needed a character change, a lifestyle change but I needed a new heart.
During this time in my life I would visit a local church every once in a while. During one of those visits a guest speaker was teaching about how there was this woman in the bible named Rahab who was a prostitute and also in the lineage of Jesus Christ. This blew my mind as I had never heard that before. One of the lies of the devil that I had believed at that time was that I had done too many bad things for God to save me or use me, I thought I had to fix my life first, yet here I was hearing this truth that God not only had forgiven and accepted this woman (Rahab) but chose to use her in a significant way. At that point I had no excuse for why I couldn’t give my life to Christ. The guest speaker gave an altar call at the end of her message but I chose not to go down at the time. But then as she closed she prayed something I had never heard before, she prayed that anyone who didn’t know Christ would not be able to rest that night. At the time I thought that was pretty strange but me being who I was, tried not to let it bother me too much. But sure enough that night I didn’t get much sleep and I actually had a dream that would dramatically change my life, a dream in which I would encountered the Lord and come face to face with the reality that I wasn’t right with God and if unrepentant I wasn’t going to heaven but to hell. In the dream it was made crystal clear to me that in God’s view my life was not acceptable to Him, not just because I had not done any good things up to that point but rather because I didn’t know Jesus Christ personally, it became evident to me through this dream that Jesus had been trying to get my attention all along but I had rejected Him over and over in order to have my fun and experience life on my own terms. When I woke up from the dream I got down on my knees and cried out intensely to the Lord to save me! I suppose it had quite the affect on my then girlfriend, Donita, as she got down on her knees and asked the Lord into her life as well. Jesus answered my prayer in a mighty way, He gave me a new heart right then and there and the weight of all my sin I had been carrying around for years was supernaturally gone, Praise God for His mercy! My life transformation took place in August of 1997. I was filled with the Holy Spirit a few months later and have been walking with the Lord ever since. To be clear I am not perfect but now when I fall short and commit a sin I repent by God’s grace as becoming more like Jesus is my life’s goal. I can testify that the Lord is a very faithful God, He has never failed me though I have failed Him many times over the years. His mercy endures forever!
Shortly after being born again I got married to Donita, my wife of 16 years now and we moved to Sterling Virginia through much prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit primarily to be closer and more involved in our church.
God has blessed us in many ways, my wife, my son Jamal and I are now very involved in various ministries at our local fellowship from helping out with boy’s basketball program to ushering, being a door greeter (in the house of the Lord) and also often help out with various evangelistic outreaches.
Some of the disciplines that I practice in my life are regular bible study, prayer, consistent church attendance and sharing the gospel when I’m out and about. By God’s grace I purpose to know Christ more and more and to follow the Holy scriptures as I prepare for Jesus’ soon return. Although having these disciplines and performing good works don’t necessarily prove that I’m born again or right with God, they do provide some insight to what my life is like today and how God has dramatically changed me from who I used to be to who He is making me into, for this I am grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ for His mercy, forgiveness and a true dynamic relationship with the great God of heaven is available to anyone and all who call on and believes in the name of the Lord!
Romans 10:13 says it this way. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Please visit Calvary Temple Ministries Pastor Star R. Scott.

God Cares about Stinky Feet

Stephanie Stocks

October 30, 2014

Healing

Hi everyone! I Just wanted to share this awesome testimony of Gods healing at Calvary Temple. This is a healing testimony from Sarah Kain.

Foot pain has been a way of life for me since I was 14 years old. Bunions run in my genetics, my mom had them and passed on the unfortunate genetic trait to me. Some of you may be asking, “What in the world is a bunion??” – basically it’s when the joint of the big toe is enlarged and swollen and the big toe leans in toward the second toe. Bunions are progressive and continue to worsen the longer they are left untreated. Some bunions don’t cause discomfort until later in life, but mine have always caused me some degree of pain since I was a young teenager.

My parents offered to give me bunion corrective surgery when I was in high school. The surgery is done on one foot at a time and requires a recovery period of 6 months! Like most teenagers, I was shortsighted and turned down surgery because running and playing sports was more important to me at the moment than living pain-free and avoiding foot surgery in the future. I learned to deal with the pain and swelling of the big toe joints by limiting the amount of time I spent walking or running, learning to walk on the outside of my foot as to alleviate the movement of the big toe joint, going barefoot, or wearing flip flops as often as possible.

Once I reached my 20’s, the bunion pain seemed to get exacerbated more easily. I often thought about bunion surgery, but there always seemed to be too much going on for me to be “laid up” for a year. In the year following the delivery of my first child in April 2012, my bunions got worse than they had ever been before. The slightest amount of pressure on my bunions caused severe throbbing, and aching. Wearing socks, let alone shoes, was so painful that I opted for flip-flips as often as possible. Walking or jogging for more than one or two miles caused excruciating throbbing in my feet for hours and sometimes days following. Lying down to sleep at night was often when I noticed the pain and throbbing the most because there was nothing to take my mind off it. Even the touch of a bed sheet lying across my bunions felt like someone was Hulk-smashing them with Thor’s hammer. Many nights, I had to take anti-inflammatory medications just so I could sleep.

Searching for relief, I purchased foot splints and toe spacers that were designed to alleviate pressure and pain from the big toe joint. The splints and spacers helped to a small degree, but I knew that if God didn’t heal my bunions soon, bunion surgery would be inevitable. Every activity I involved myself in was now based on how long I would have to be on my feet, how much walking was involved, what kind of shoes I had to wear for it and taking into consideration the increased pain I would be in for days following the activity. I now had a home and young family to care for and a year recovery from surgery seemed more impossible now than ever.

After months of dealing with the ever-increasing pain, my husband decided it would be best for me to schedule a consultation with a podiatrist and have the surgery now rather than put it off any longer. At the surgical consultation, Dr. Popal informed me that there are 3 degrees of bunions: mild, moderate and severe – and the prospective degree determine the type of surgery needed. Upon examination of my bunions and feet x-rays, Dr. Popal told me I had severe bunions; which is rare for someone only 25 years old. The surgery to fix my bunions would involve removing the enlarged portion of the bone, cutting and realigning the bone with screws, and cutting and correcting the position of the tendons and ligaments. It would undoubtedly be at least a six-month recovery for each foot, but I planned on calling back to schedule the surgery within the next month.

As I drove home from the consultation, I was deeply convicted in my spirit that I should believe God to heal my bunions. Sure, we had prayed for them before, but the Lord truly convicted me to solely put my faith and trust in Him rather than leaning on modern medicine for answers. So without hesitation, I called Taylor and told him about what the doctor had said and also told him I was not going to do the surgery. I explained to Taylor how the Lord spoke to me and told me to trust Him for the healing of my bunions. A few weeks later while we were at church on a Sunday night, God’s presence was in the sanctuary in a very tangible way. Pastor Scott announced that the altar was available for anyone who was seeking God for healing in their body. Excited to see what God was going to do, I stepped forward in faith and began praying for the healing in my feet. Pastor Scott then came over and laid hands me, asking God for healing in my body.

I don’t remember the exact day, but it was sometime in the weeks following that Sunday night, that I realized I hadn’t even thought about my feet in a while, because they weren’t in any pain. I remember being so excited, that I immediately laced up my sneakers and went for a jog. I was in utter disbelief that I had no pain! For the next few months, I jogged 3-6 miles multiple times a week and did things that would’ve exacerbated my bunions in the past to see if the pain would return. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe God couldn’t heal my bunions, but after living with daily foot pain for 11 years – it was a miracle to be pain free and I wanted to be sure it wasn’t coming back! It has now been two years since God healed my bunions and I am still in awe of the miracle He has done!

Gratitude and unworthiness swells in my heart when I recollect how many times God has brought physical, mental, and spiritual healing into my life. There was certainly nothing I did to deserve the healing of my bunions. “Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion” (Psalms 103:2-4). He healed me because of His great love and compassion. He healed me because that’s who He is and what He has promised us. God has made healing available for our bodies, soul and mind through Jesus’ death on the cross. I love how Isaiah 53:4-5 explains what Jesus’ death on the cross means for us,

“Surely He has born our sicknesses, weaknesses and distresses, and carried our sorrows and pains; yet, we considered Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted by God. But he was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities…and with the stripes that wounded Him we are healed and made whole.”

Calvary Temple Church. Pastor Star R. Scott