By J. D. Quinn
As I answered the prayer line, the caller began speaking with passion, “I was just baptized and I want to be in God’s will!” Then, with a faltering voice, she continued, “But I only have a sixth-grade education and I read at a third grade level. Because of my lack of education, I don’t feel like I’m prepared!”
Her heart-rending sobs told me the enemy of souls was discouraging her, planting seeds of doubt that she could ever be of value or a true witness for Christ, now or ever.
“Raylene,” I said, “Jesus loves you! You can count on Him and be confident of His promise found in Philippians 1:6, ‘He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ Christ promised He would not leave us as orphans in this world. He sent His Holy Spirit to live in us, and the Spirit will teach you and empower you. Remember that Jesus promised never to leave you nor forsake you.”
Comforted by God’s Word, she regained her composure and began sharing her testimony. “I can hardly recall the first time I went ‘left’ in my decision making when I should have gone ‘right,’” she began. “I realized that many of my mistakes would impact my life in a bad way, and they certainly did. I was living with my boyfriend and we did lots of partying, drinking, and smoking. I knew nothing about the Lord, and had no desire to change. We were heathens, J. D., and we never gave God a second thought. I had never read anything in the Bible, and the little bit I had heard about the book of Revelation scared me terribly.
“But then, in 1980, we experienced a wonderful event together. As we entered our basement apartment one evening, we saw an extremely bright light that suddenly filled the room! We questioned if it was God, and since neither of us had experienced such a good feeling before, we assumed God’s Spirit had chased us down. My boyfriend grabbed my hand and we ran to the church two blocks away and wanted to be baptized right then! But no one was there, so we dashed home and threw out everything in our house that wasn’t Christian—our music, our books, our beer, and our cigarettes. We felt love for people like we’d never felt before, and since we wanted to make some major changes in our lives, we moved to California.”
Another “Left Turn”
Raylene and her boyfriend began attending church regularly in California, where they were married and baptized. However, within two years they returned to Idaho and things quickly disintegrated. Raylene made another of her infamous “left turns” and became involved with the wrong crowd again. Sadly, she and her husband divorced, and that began 33 long years of backsliding.
“I thought I was converted, but the change was short-lived,” she continued. “Looking back, I’m not sure I was entirely committed to anything, and I know I didn’t have that true love affair with my Savior. Sure, I believed the Bible was inspired, but so many questions haunted me, like, What is Jesus doing now? What are His children on earth supposed to be doing? Why are there so many different beliefs? Why do some people love you more than others? Who am I? What was that bright light I sensed or saw so many years ago? I had all these questions, and no one to ask. With only a sixth-grade education, I didn’t have the necessary skills to discover the answers for myself, but I knew there had to be more to life, and I wanted to experience that.”
After raising her children, Raylene was alone. She began to feel drawn by a Power that was foreign to her, and soon she asked Jesus to come into her heart. That’s when she experienced a true sense of peace.
Ready to worship God, she prayed He would lead her to a church close to home, and in 2013 she began attending a Sunday-keeping church. The members made her feel welcome and accepted, and as she raised her hands in surrender to God and praised His name, many commented that she was a “true worshiper.”
Although she didn’t understand what they meant, Raylene thought she was doing exactly what God wanted; so when some strange force seemed to be trying to prevent her from attending that church, she became convinced she must be on the right track.
“I assumed Satan was the culprit—throwing out so many roadblocks,” she says, “so I busied myself watching DVD recordings of popular televangelists. I read the whole Left Behind series and was confused, because there were so many different views of the Bible out there. But I did get the Old and New Testaments on CD, and I can personally testify that Romans 10:17 is true, ‘Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ My faith was growing, and every time I heard a word I didn’t know, I would look it up in the dictionary and write it down. Then I began noticing that I was reading and comprehending much better!”
God’s Providence
However, something strange began happening to Raylene. Every time she tried watching one of the televangelists’ DVDs, her TV would not work or—in her words—“it would blow up!” She went through the three hand-me-down TVs in her home in six months, and finally had no choice but to purchase a new set if she was going to continue learning about the Lord! Going to the local Walmart store, she purchased a 19-inch, “plain vanilla” TV set. Excited, she rushed home to set it up, attaching an old rabbit-ear antenna from her last set.
Her new television was preset to a particular channel, and when she turned it on, a perfectly clear and bright picture appeared. The man on the screen was talking about Jesus, and that caught her attention! The logo on the side of the screen said “3ABN” and had a phone number.
“I continued watching the 3ABN network, and some of my early favorite programs were Kenny Shelton’s Behold the Lamb Presents and Shelley Quinn sharing the Bible on Pressing In To His Presence. I watched, took notes, and checked my Bible to be certain it was truth. I realized that the words were becoming easier to understand, and I started reading the Bible and writing out Scriptures. Because James 1:5 promises, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God…and it will be given to him,’ I began praying for wisdom. Sometimes I prayed all day, and it wasn’t long before I started receiving God-given insight. I loved God’s Word more than ever! I know His Spirit was teaching me to read and understand His beautiful Word.
“All my condemnation was gone, and I knew I was on the right path,” she continues. “I hungered and thirsted for righteousness. I wanted more of God and His Word. As I watched a 3ABN news break, it said that viewers could call the Pastoral Ministries Department with questions regarding 3ABN programs, so I called. It was a blessing to have someone direct me to answers from the Bible, and to talk to someone who could share the biblical doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I continued to read and I continued to grow. I know that Jesus is my Shepherd, and now I’m part of His sheepfold.”
A New Home
3ABN’s Pastoral Ministries Department directed Raylene to the Pocatello Seventh-day Adventist Church, and when she called the church and told them her story, they arranged for their Bible worker, Monte Wood, to give her Bible studies. Raylene said she was so excited she could hardly contain herself. As she studied with Monte and Robert White, she began “connecting the dots” for the first time in her life.
“We strictly followed the Bible, and everything made complete sense,” she exclaims. “It was wonderful! When I began attending the Pocatello Seventh-day Adventist Church I knew I was home, so I was baptized December 20, 2014, and am so happy to be a member of this loving church. I was invited to join our local women’s prison ministry team, so I prayed earnestly about it, filed the application, and was accepted. I look forward to allowing God to use me as a tool in His hands to make a difference in other people’s lives.”
“I traveled a rough road in the past and felt alone for years as I struggled to find the truth. A major lesson I learned is that God desired me to have a teachable heart, and that I needed His teaching more than formal education. Now I belong to a church family I can trust, and I feel loved by them, and by God. I can read so much better, and I believe God has and will continue to prepare me to minister to others. Thank you for reminding me of His precious promise found in Philippians 1:6, because I do believe that He who began His good work in me will complete it until the day Jesus returns. Our God is faithful!”
Visit the Pocatello Seventh-day Adventist Church
