Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
I was born again, August 5, 1975, while reading a book. I heard from Holy Spirit. "Joan ... you know all those mistakes you've been making all these years? Those weren't mistakes. Those were sins."
I was shocked.
I was staying in the home of my best friend and her husband when this happened. The morning after it happened, I was leaving Donna's house and I said as I walked past her ... "Oh ... by the way ... I don't think I've been a Christian until now."
She shouted with great excitement ... "Joanie, wait ... come back here ... what did you say?"
I thought I was a Christian. I had been baptized in water when I was 15. I went forward at the church my aunt attended. I didn't want to go to hell and I thought what you did to keep from going to hell was to be baptized in water so I went forward and was baptized in water. (Church of Christ) But I wasn't changed at all.
After the Holy Spirit spoke to me in 1975, I was changed...
At that time, a woman who was a Christian came by my business. I told her what happened to me. When she left my store she said, "I think what we have here is a genuine conversion."
I was so changed that when I spoke to my customers, often I didn't even realize I was saying those words to them because I was so different from before.
Shortly after that, I flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA), on a buying trip for my shop. I had many Church of Christ relatives living there and one of my cousins picked me up at airport.
Just as my plane landed, I heard (in form of thought), "Be baptized."
I told my cousin that if she could set it up at her church, I would be baptized that afternoon.
She replied, "But you've already been baptized."
I replied, "But I wasn't born again until now."
This cousin was driving me to the place where I was buying jewelry for my business. I shared with her many of the wonderful things God had shown me as we drove along. Upon hearing me, my cousin said, "Well ... I don't know how you can be but I think you are a Christian."
The Church of Christ group loves to baptize in water. That's actually one of their favorite doctrines. So my cousin set it up that afternoon for me to be baptized. There must have been about 30 of my relatives in the church building. Before I was baptized the Church of Christ preacher said to me, "Would you like to say anything?"
(This is really amazing since Church of Christ will not allow women to speak in the church.)
I responded by saying something to the group. I don't know what I said but my uncle began crying and one of my cousins began shaking her head up and down in agreement.
Then as the minister lowered me into the water, I heard from the Holy Spirit ... "This is like being buried with Christ" ...
As I was raised from the water, I heard from the Holy Spirit ... "This is like being raised with Christ" ...
(I didn't know Romans 6 at that time.)
After the service, my uncle who had been crying came to me. He said, "I've never heard anything like that before. Could you write that down for me?"
I replied that I thought I could. I did write it and sent it to him although today I really don't remember what I said. I think it was the Holy Spirit preaching the gospel to that group of people that day through me at the Church of Christ. I believe my uncle was born again as I spoke that day.
I returned to Dallas that same afternoon. I told my best friend that I had been baptized while in Albuquerque and at first she was angry. She thought I thought it was more "holy" somehow to be baptized in Church of Christ denomination since baptizing in water is their big thing. But when I told her the whole story she rejoiced with me because she knew it was authored by God through the Holy Spirit.
In reading through the Bible, I came across Romans 6 and remembered how the Holy Spirit preached that to me when I was lowered into the water and raised from the water. (Though I didn't know Romans 6 at that time.)
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6