💥 When we are born again, we are God's workmanship.

2 Corinthians 1:24  Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

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After I was born again in 1975, my Church of Christ cousin tried to take over the self-imposed job of being my "spiritual supervisor."

She had recognized that I was now a Christian, and she said:  "I just don't see HOW you can be."

(She didn't understand being born again.  She didn't understand that it is God who does the work in us and she didn't understand the working of the Holy Spirit.)

I was 38 years old when I was born again.

God caused me to be born again.  God said to me:  "Joan ... you know those mistakes you've been making all these years?  Those weren't mistakes.  Those were sins."

Immediately God began teaching me, by the Bible, taking me from scripture to scripture as HE willed to prepare me for the work assigned by HIM.

In a local prayer group, God taught me to operate in the spiritual gifts which HE had given me.

It was this way:  One day, as the women were praying, I heard these words:  "Look up!"  I raised my head, opened my eyes, and saw on the wall an outline of a part of a human body.  I said to God, "I know that is a part of the human body but I don't know which part."  I heard, "Stomach."  

"Oh yes," I responded.  "It is a stomach."  I remembered the Pepto-Bismol  commercials I'd seen on television. 

When the women quit praying, I asked, "Does anyone have a stomach problem?"

One woman excitedly cried out, "I do!  I do!"

After that God would often give me "a word of knowledge" when I attended the prayer group or the singles' class at the church.

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A few days after I was born again, I was sleeping in the night and was transported into heaven.  I was with God and Christ and the Holy Spirit.  I saw no physical images.  It was a spiritual experience.  At that time, I was "merged into the body of Jesus", made one with the Word of God, God and the Holy Spirit witnessing.

A few nights later, the exact same thing happened again.

I didn't know what this meant.

(Later I came to believe I was ordained at that time into the two ministry offices to which I was called by God:  apostle & prophet)

Ephesians 4

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8 Wherefore HE saith, When HE ascended up on high, HE led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.  

11  And HE gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

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God took me through all the scriptures in the Bible concerning prophets, showing me the work of the prophets in the church and teaching me many things about prophets.

Also I was shown by God doctrine for the New Testament Church as presented in the Holy Bible, for those called as an apostle have a special ordination to deal with church doctrines.

God showed me "many revelations" opening my eyes to understand what the scriptures were saying.

(An example:)  

Matthew 24:3-5  And as HE (Jesus) sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto HIM privately, saying, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of THY coming, and of the end of the world?"  4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you.  5 For many shall come in MY name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."

Immediately I saw what Jesus meant.  

Many would come saying HE, Jesus, was Christ, and by saying that they would deceive many.  

This is the end-time apostasy in the churches, the "falling away" described by the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2.

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

And God said to me:

"The falling away are not people leaving the churches. The falling away are the churches leaving the scriptures."

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Another scripture which God explained to me was this:

Matthew 16:13-17

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, HE asked HIS disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that THOU art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, THOU art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but MY Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build MY church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The significant point was not Peter saying Jesus is the Christ.

The significant point was the fact that it was God who showed this to Peter.  

The Word of God that came down from heaven to the individual was that upon which Jesus would build HIS church. The gates of hell could not prevail over THAT WORD which God gives on the matter at hand.

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For the next five years God taught me the Bible and how to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church.  I went to many seminars at various church groups in the Dallas area and at those meetings God often gave me spiritual gifts to share with those church groups.  By these spiritual gifts the churches recognized that a call of God was on my life.  

During this time, I owned a small business in Dallas, American Indian Arts.  One day a prophet from our church group came into my shop and said to me:  "Joan ... you are dragging your feet.  You know you are supposed to be in the ministry."

(I had already published one book, "Taking Thoughts Captive", but I was still operating a secular business.)

I closed the business July 31, 1979, and had already set up papers with the State of Texas and the USA government in 1978 to operate a non-profit church.

I waited at my apartment in Dallas for the next 6 months for God to show me what I was to do in ministry.  I lived off the money from the sale of the business.

On January 10, 1980, in the night while I was sleeping, a very loud voice spoke three words to me:  "Hartford, Seattle, KWJS"

(I believe this was an angel of God speaking to me for the voice was trumpet-like and very strong.)

I found KWJS to be a radio station.  I asked God, "Are YOU telling me to go on radio?  I wouldn't know how to do that.  I'm a writer, not a speaker."

Immediately I heard:  "Call the radio station manager."

That same morning I called the KWJS radio station manager.  I said:  "God might be showing me to go on radio.  How would you do that?"  He replied:  "Make an audition tape 29 1/2 minutes long and send it to me and if you fit our broadcasting we will offer you a contract."

I recorded a tape that same morning and put it into the mail and within 5 days I was broadcasting exhortations to the church on radio KWJS.  Within a year, I was on radio from Hartford (NYC) to Seattle just as I heard in that word spoken in the night to me on January 10, 1980:  "Hartford, Seattle, KWJS"

We are God's workmanship!  HE does as HE wills with us when HE puts us into the body of Christ.  HE prepares us for the work when HE is going to use us as a minister.  HE teaches us and guides us according to the assignment HE gives us.  HIS way is perfect.  No man can do this.  No school can teach us these things.  God does this HIMSELF.

If you are a mother and housewife, God perfects your way in that calling.

If you are a businessman, God perfects you in that area.

Pam Padgett was given a ministry of "helps".

I Corinthians 12:27-28  Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.  And God hath set some in the church (to work in the church), first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

God prepared Pam to do work in computers.  

When God had me start a blog in 2012, Pam did all technical work for the blog, setting it up for the ministry and publishing exhortations for the church world-wide daily. Later Pam did the technical work for all books that I published on Amazon.  Then in 2020, when we broadcast Podcasts, Pam set this up and chose a host for us so our exhortations could be presented.

God has the way set up for us in all that HE wants us to do.

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Ephesians 2:20  For we are HIS workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

So after you are born again, follow the Holy Spirit and do the scriptures as HE shows you and you will end up where God wants you as you are left on this earth.

Follow God.

No human can do for you that which God will do.

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