|
I was born and grew up on Long Island, New York, in a middle class Catholic family. We were the typical Catholic
family— we went to Church almost every Sunday until I was about 9 or 10 years old. When my mother and father stopped
going, I continued to go on Sunday's on my own, by bicycle. I would get up at about 6:45 AM and ride my bike the
approximate three miles to the Church and get there for the 7:15 AM mass.
At that time in the late sixties and early seventies, Church attendance was thriving, so there were many Sunday morning
masses. As a matter of fact, our Church had a school with an auditorium that would run separate services on Sunday
mornings as well. If I was late for the 7:15 AM Church service, I would go to the 7:45 AM Auditorium service.
I always felt it was disrespectful to walk into a service that was already in progress, even at a young age,
so I would ride my bike around until it was time for the 7:45 AM service.
I remember for some time being the only one to go to Church in my family on Sundays, except,
of course holidays. My mom always would go to Church during the Lent season, we would be
there every morning for the 9:00 AM service. My dad, who went to Church with us from
time-to-time, was not a regular attendee. I barely remember my brother and sister going
at all. I would have to say it was my mother who set the example for me to go to Church.
But, even after she stopped going regularly, there was something in me that made me want to go.
I have to admit, I didn’t want to go at times, but I always felt good there, I always felt at home.
I remember sitting there at a young age and wondering where God was. I knew He was invisible, but
I always would look around at the empty chairs and wonder if God might have been sitting in one of them.
When I moved into my mid-teenage years, I stopped attending Church regularly, but there were
many times when I would feel the need to go. At age twenty when my father passed away and I
struggled at times with life without him. In those days, Church buildings left there doors
open until late at night for those who felt the need to pray. I remember enjoying very much,
driving there and just going in to speak with God. It was just a sense of comfort for me.
Much of this I always kept to myself, I wasn't much of a communicator, even with my family.
At about age 27, I met my future wife and after being engaged, I began to seriously consider
what my faith meant to me and the role it was going to play in my future. I went out and
bought my first Bible. I remember going to the store and seeing all the different translations
and becoming pretty confused on which to buy. I finally picked up a Catholic Bible and thought
it safe to buy it, since I was a Catholic.
After reading some of the Old Testament, I became very discouraged and questioned, what
has the Catholic Church taught me? It certainly wasn’t what I was reading. The only thing
I ever knew was that Jesus died for my sins, but didn't
understand what that really meant, and His mother Mary, was His equal, because we
were taught to pray to Her as well as Jesus. This made me look into other avenues
besides the Catholic Church to find meaning in life.
I remember clearly, one of the first religious television programs I watched was called
The World Tomorrow program, paid for by the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). This particular
program was about Revelation. I can remember sitting there watching this program and becoming
sick, because it pointed to the Catholic Church or the Pope as the coming anti-christ.
Of course they used prophecy and the re-establishment of the Roman empire as the basis
for the explanation.
Here I was all these years a Catholic and thinking I was a godly person and this narrator
was telling me it was all a lie. I became so enraged with the Catholic Church I swore I
would never attend there again. I began to do my own exhaustive study of the Catholic
Church and how it related to the Roman Empire and was astonished at what I found. As of
the date of this writing, I have not yet done so, but I intend to write a report on my
findings at that time and how it transformed my understanding today. So, please keep an
eye out for that, if it is not already on my site by time you read this.
As my understanding became transformed through Bible study, the WCG, and other ministries
through radio and television, I found myself wanting to share all this new understanding,
but I didn’t no how, nor was I well versed in my ability to do so.
I became born again and baptized on April 22, 1992. I mistakenly thought that after
being baptized many of my problems would just go away, because now I am a new creature
in Christ and I figured my life would go into auto-pilot. For the first two years
after being baptized I spent many nights studying Scripture and learning as much as I could.
In 1988, I had opened my own home improvement company, that struggled each year,
because I was living job-to-job and had very little startup money to get the business
going. I barely scraped up enough to by a used pickup truck, the tools necessary to
do the work and just enough left over to put a $200 per month classified ad in my
local newspaper. But, by 1993, things were looking up and business was getting better.
1994 was the year, The business seemed to blossom that year. I was able to pay off
$7,000 in credit card debt, buy a brand new pickup truck, and by December of that
year, my wife and I had enough down-payment to buy our first house. Things were going
so well, I began to slack off my Bible study— when we moved into our new home I was
now about an hour and a half away from my Church I was attending, so I stopped going to Church.
As fast as my dreams came true, the same dreams crashed almost overnight. In January 1995,
about a month after moving into our new home, I lost a major on-going commercial account
that was one of the biggest reasons for the businesses success. I immediately looked at
the fact that I had walked away from God. I didn’t necessarily understand it then, but
today I know it was not God punishing me at all for walking away from Him, but when we
walk away, we open the door to Satan in our lives and in a situation where he has someone
who has dedicated his life to God and walks away for only a moment, Satan relishes the
opportunity to go in for the kill to be sure you won’t turn back to God.
I’m happy to say he didn’t succeed in keeping me from God, but my struggles continued
for years to come. My walk with Christ became clouded and always seemed to be missing
something. I would listen regularly to Christian radio and television, and found some
ministries that I loved. Many times I was moved by programming only to be left holding
an empty basket with nothing but questions and no answers to those questions to fill
the basket. I wasn’t even sure what those questions were, if that makes sense.
Financially, my business just stayed afloat, there was no growth, because there was no money
to invest in the growth of the company. So, I just kept working from job-to-job until 2001
when things finally started to fall apart. My debt became so out-of-hand I had no choice but
to file for bankruptcy protection. This was the most humiliating time of my life, I tried to
do everything right, but somehow it went so wrong.
My problem was, as I would find out, that I was trying to do things my way, when God all
along had a plan for my life that I was subconsciously refusing to follow. I was trying
to force issues and say I was leaving it in God’s hands, when I really wasn't leaving
it in His hands at all.
I began to be very discouraged and again walked away from God. By late 2002, my wife came
across a program she started watching called The Gospel Truth, featuring Andrew Wommack.
She would tell me about this program and when she would talk about it, I could see something
in her eyes that seemed different. Now, my wife was always a believer in Jesus, but she had
her own way of believing and wasn’t really interested in going to Church.
I felt a pull inside me to get more involved in the Church during the 90’s, but didn’t
because I always felt the Church was separating me from my family. That added to my
struggles throughout that period. I prayed regularly that my wife would be called by
God and we could both become involved with the Church. But, to no avail. My prayer wasn’t answered.
When she would tell me about this program, I started to think maybe God is finally
answering that prayer. Here I was now off in what felt like no-mans land, and my
prayer for my wife is finally being answered. It didn’t seem to make sense to me.
Until one day my wife told me that she heard God speak to her heart that He was
calling her to save me. I didn’t know what to think, because for years since being
baptized, I had asked God to speak to my heart clearly so I can know what He wanted
me to do, but never received a response. Now here is my wife, who never read the
Bible or listened to any Christian programming and she is the one God is talking to! Go figure!
Anyway, I decided to watch a program with her while off a couple of days between jobs.
I had given up listening to Christian broadcasting, because, as I said, every time
the programs seemed to be getting close to answering my question, it would end with
those questions still unanswered, and leaving me, once again, feeling unfulfilled.
But, after watching a couple of Gospel Truth programs, I found Andrew’s teaching was
what I was missing. So, I kept on watching. The questions that I had for so many years
burning in me on the inside were all being answered. I finally was beginning to realize
that the power and authority, that I discuss through my teachings here, was the missing
ingredient to a truly successful life and one that filled that void that was with me all along.
Andrew was not leaving my basket empty as so many others did, I believe that God
provided me this revelation knowledge through Andrew, it was like the storehouses
were pouring out the blessings of God. My basket was filling up quickly. Praise God!
Miracles began to happen in our lives. This was now May 2005— prior to this in January 2005,
I had a medical scare that really humbled me. One Thursday evening early in January of that
year, it was about 7:00 PM and I was about to do my workout on my treadmill. Let me preface
this by saying, I’ve always been healthy, I’ve always been active in sports, playing basketball,
softball and working out and running regularly. I’ve always considered myself (foolishly of
course) invincible, health wise.
Anyway, this particular evening I wasn’t feeling great , but ran on the treadmill
anyway. Suddenly I felt, what I can only describe as a hot flash from my mid-section
down to my ankles. It was the strangest feeling and nearly scared the life out of me.
I immediately stopped running and sat down for a couple of minutes to try and figured
out what had just happened.
When I went inside and mentioned this to my wife, she wanted to call for the emergency,
but I said no. I went to take a shower and while I was in there I realized that my
ankles felt very stiff. So, I finished my shower and dried myself off and still didn’t
notice anything until I went to put my socks on. That’s when I realized why my feet
felt stiff— my ankles and feet were very swollen.
For the first time in my life I realized my mortality— I wasn’t invincible after-all.
This was a Thursday evening and I was off for the weekend, so I figure I will just relax
over the weekend and see what happens. Well, for the next five or so months my feet
stayed swollen. After I would lay down with my feet up for a while the swelling would
go back down somewhat, but not all the way, but when I stood up and was on my feet for
a time, they would swell right back up.
In June of 2005, I had just completed a contracted job for a Church, and that evening
when I went to bed my ankles felt very stiff, stiffer than they had been in a long while.
My wife was asleep so I didn’t turn on the light, I just got up and went into the bathroom.
When I looked at my feet, I realized that this swelling was not normal, because it seemed
to be getting worse. Physically I was feeling fine, other than feeling out of shape due
to not exercising since the event occurred.
But, I went back to bed feeling very nervous, not knowing what was wrong with me. As I laid
there I began thinking of some of the new understanding I had receive from Andrew Wommack.
I began to speak with God and feel a sense of comfort and calmed myself down. I prayed for
healing as I had learned from Andrew and after praying, I started to doze off. Suddenly I
felt a tingling sensation begin with a warm feeling in my right ankle. The feeling was a
nice comforting feeling, contrary to the hot flash I had felt in the January past.
As I laid there I became wide awake and wondered, “could this be God?” The feeling lasted
about maybe two to three minutes and started to subside. It then began in the left ankle
but not as strong or as long as it did in the right ankle. When the feeling subsided, I
decided not to get up and look at my feet and
to trust God and just go to sleep. I awoke the following morning at about 6 AM and got
up and went to the bathroom. When I looked at my feet, I saw a wonderful site— the veins
and bones that were always visible in my feet all my life, were back. For five or so months
all I saw were fat feet with no veins or bones to be seen. I praised and thanked God, I knew He had healed me!
To this day I do not know what the cause may have been, because I never saw a doctor
about it, at first it was stupidity not to see a doctor, because I wasn’t at the place
that I am now as far as spiritual understanding is concerned and how God promises
healing to those who are faithful. Did I believe God could heal back then? Sure— but
I had the Baptist way of believing that God chooses whom He heals and some He will
leave in sickness for His own reasons. I eventually found that way of believing contrary
to God’s word and that theme is inter-woven throughout all my teachings here.
Let’s go back one month now to May 2005, and my first experience at a miraculous healing. It was a
Saturday morning and my wife and I were in the kitchen getting breakfast ready. My wife had toast
in the toaster oven and as we talked she reached in her hand to take the toast out. Mistakenly,
she reach her hand in and touched the red-hot coil, right across the middle of her fingers.
I was standing right next to her as she did this and I heard the sizzle of her fingers
touching the coil, and as she pulled her hand out, I smelled the odor of burning flesh.
When I saw her hand you can see the coil mark going right across her fingers— It was a
nasty burn. I told her to go run cold water on it and I will get some butter to put on
it to help alleviate the pain. As I went to the bathroom with the butter where she had
gone, she was just coming out and I saw a look of astonishment on her face as she looked at her hand.
I asked her how it was and she said it was gone. I said, “what do you mean gone?” She
showed me her hand and there was nothing there— no redness, scare— nothing! She said
as she ran her hand under the water and pulled it out and the burn disappeared. We were
both amazed and thanked God for showing us our first experience of what He had been
teaching us these past few months about healing.
Now we move forward to August 2005. I was at a small job, repairing a shower area wall.
For the prior 16 to 17 years before this event, I’ve had what you would call a weak
lower back that would go out from time-to-time and ache most of the time because of
the nature of my work. While I was working on this shower wall, I had a bag of debris
that was pretty heavy that I wanted to take downstairs to move out of the way. I am
usually very careful with my back, since it has been a problem in the past, but I got
a little careless in this particular instance.
As I reached over for the bag, I was picking it up in an awkward position as I also
was putting some tools back into my toolbox. As I lifted up the bag, I felt that awful
feeling of the muscle in my lower back just wrenching. I immediately dropped the bag and
tried to straighten up. As I straightened up, I knew my back had gone out.
Generally when this happens, I am out of commission for at least five to seven days.
Now here I had this shower area torn apart and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able
to finish it— I was working by myself on this job. I composed my self and went downstairs
to take a break. When I got out to my truck, I decided to put into practice this still
new revelation about healing prayer. I just looked up and thanked and praised God and
spoke to my mountain, as Jesus said to do, and commanded my back to be healed in the
perfection that God created it. I again, thanked God and believed without a doubt that God healed me.
I then, reached into the back of my pickup truck to get something out, as I stood back up,
I realized I felt no pain or stiffness at all. I was totally healed, Praise God!! It is now
a years later as I am writing this and I haven’t felt so much as an ache in my back since.
Not only did God heal that occurrence of my back going out, but he has healed my back from
the constant aching.The weakness in my lower back that I had lived with for almost seventeen
years, is gone! I haven't had an ache since!
Since then, I’ve had some minor healings as well. For a few years now I’ve had this
hard lump at the base of my wedding ring finger, that would regularly get irritated
and swollen from the nature of my work. It would get to the point where I couldn’t
bend my finger all the way. Again, I had no idea what it was, I assumed it was calcium
deposits that had just built up over the years, but this was just my uneducated guess.
In March 2006 I was working on a kitchen remodel when I again, irritated it. When it
happens, it makes it difficult to use that hand while holding tools or in this case
holding up cabinets while installing them.
This particular job I had a helper with me and told him about my hand and jokingly said
I am going to heal it. I did pray over it and went back to work. This was about 2:00 in
the afternoon. I went back to work and didn’t really think about my hand. While I was
driving home at about 4:00 PM after we had finished for the day. I was holding the steering
wheel and realized the hand wasn’t bothering me. Strangely enough when this flares up, it
is very noticeable when I am driving because in holding the steering wheel my wedding ring
would press up against it and cause pain. But, I realized I felt no pain. When I touched
that area of my hand it was pain-free and I also noticed that the hard lump that had been
there for about four years, was gone!
God even healed my nine year old boxer, who started dripping blood from his male
appendage, if you will. He had a history of bladder infections, but he always
needed antibiotics from his Vet to cure it. This particular time I laid hands
on him and prayed for healing, the next day he was still dripping, but there was
no blood in it. By the second day, it had stopped altogether and he has been fine
ever since. As a matter of fact, we just celebrated his tenth birthday.
I know many are probably saying, “well, God doesn’t heal dogs,” well, I now can disagree
with you because he has. Jesus cursed a fig tree for not producing fruit didn’t He? And
then followed by telling us that we can take any mountain and cast it into the sea, if
we would only have faith and not doubt. Sure Jesus can heal your pet, if you only have faith.
God is Good! And God has been good to me throughout my whole life, I am the one who kept
messing up his plans for me. But, I will no longer do that. From here on in I will allow
God to mold me and shape me the way he wants. I will no longer move Him aside and say,
“Oh no, let me do it!” Because He’ll say, “OK,” and let me mess things up, but only because
He loves me and wants me to learn that it is only through Him that I can find true success
and happiness. That goes for you also.
I know there are the rich and famous out there, who seem to have it all. But, you can see
for yourself the divorce rate and drugs that they become involved in. And the rumors of
those who have had mental disorders due to the stress and pressures of keeping up with that
lifestyle. There have been some who have committed suicide and overdosed on drugs from the
stress. No, you’re not going to tell me that they are all happy-go-lucky as they appear on
the outside, when many of them are miserable and dieing on the inside. Many of their
relationships are broken and they are bankrupt spiritually. True happiness and contentment
can’t be found in that kind of life— it can only come through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
I hope my testimony has been an encouragement for you, because I did all I could to screw
up my life, yet God has been faithful and had brought me to the place where He wanted me
to be in the first place. I, like the Israelites, may have wandered the desert for 40 more
years than I had too, but like He was to the Israelites, he was faithful to me, and has
brought me to the promised land. This land of knowing and loving Him the way He deserves.
Praise and thank you Jesus! May God bless your journey, and my prayer is that you let him lead yours!
In Jesus faithful name,
Russ Schmidt
|