Being born again

Renee Bonfield ... evangelist

I was born again in the winter of 1979. I didn't know what to do, so I got down on my knees praying and asking God how I can learn more about his Son Jesus. I was praying out loud, and then out of my mouth came "For all the words in the world can only come from the Lord." After that I kept asking "where would I find all the words in the world?" Then it hit me. In the Bible. 

At that time we had one Bible in the house, a 1901 American Standard version which Wheeler (husband) used when he studied the Bible at College. I tried many times to read it but didn't understand what I was reading, so I prayed asking God what to do about this. 

Then in 1980 I had taken James (autistic son) to a hospital in our neighborhood for extra speech therapy and occupational therapy as I felt he wasn't getting enough at school. On one of the days, James' speech therapist came out of her office holding a

Gideon Bible and asked me if I knew anyone who would like to have one as many were given to her. I immediately said "Yes, I would." The minute I began to read it, it felt like this was the Bible for me. I felt that this was a gift from God, and I used it for several years, underlining and highlighting scriptures. I since purchased other KJV Bibles, and put my Gideon Bible on a shelf.

On October 16, 1989 I had the following dream about Wheeler's sister Sylvia: In this dream Sylvia phoned me and said that she became born again. I was thinking of a way I could go to her house and baptize her.

Sylvia is now 85 years old. Her first husband died of stomach cancer, and she's been married to her second

husband, Ben for several years. Both Sylvia and Ben observe Jewish doctrine. They went to Bible study for a while (Old Testament only) and currently go for Torah study every Saturday. The Torah is a parchment scroll containing the Pentateuch which is the first five books of the O.T. also known as the first five books of Moses.

Last week Sylvia had surgery on one of her legs. Last Sunday I went to visit her. I asked God what I could

bring Sylvia. Every time I prayed I kept getting the same answer "The Gideon Bible." So this is what I brought her. I began to worry about her family coming to visit her and that I might not have the opportunity to give it to her. I didn't want to give it to her in front of other people. I asked God to please make a way for me to give her this Bible without anyone else there. Would you believe that no one else showed up for all the time I spent with her. First she said, no this is your Bible. Then I said, "I want you to have it." I didn't think she would ever read it, but the next evening I spoke with her on the phone and she said she started to read the Bible and found it very interesting. I've been rejoicing ever since, and thanking God for showing me to give her this Bible.

The following scripture kept coming to me: I Cor 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God that giveth the increase. 7: So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.

Reply to Renee by Joan Boney ...

Renee:  I think you may have "baptized" your sister-in-law by giving her the word of God.

Sounds strange but as I read your dream where she said she had been born again and you baptized her, I thought, "She will baptize her by giving her the Word of God."
One time I had a dream that I baptized my dad.  He had recently been born again but not baptized.  I got call shortly after that dream saying he had fallen on floor and my mother said I needed to come immediately it was very bad.  My dad's 1/2 brother picked me up at airport and took me to Clovis.  I didn't think for a second he would have died because of my dream where I baptized him.  But when we reached the house, he had died.

Later I learned that my dad just listened over and over to the taped messages I was sending to the church at that time.  I knew he was baptized by the word spoken on those messages.  And I realized I had baptized him, but by the word.