Charley Romani lay in bed one Saturday morning,flipping through the few channels he could pick up with his “rabbit ears” antenna. He was accustomed to his old atellite dish offering 150 channels, but now, living in a friend’s converted garage, he had very little from which to choose. The selections of over-the-air channels in Roseburg, Oregon, were limited, but one of them caught his attention. Suddenly he felt God speaking directly to him as he watched channel 47, a 3ABN affiliate station owned by Better Life Television. What he heard that morning made him sit up in bed, fully awake!
“Charley and I both came from traumatic childhoods,” his wife, Sarai, says. “We were so broken when we met that neither of us felt we could ever love again. But something strange happened. God impressed both of us strongly that we were to love each other, and we felt that He wanted us together.” They married, and although Sarai was
told she couldn’t have children, her prayers were answered, and they were blessed with four wonderful boys.
But the next 14 years of marriage had turned into a nightmare. Despite their love of God and their search for truth, their brokenness had led them to damage each other—and their family.
“All was not as it should have been, and I knew that in my heart,” Sarai says. “There was something very big missing; and finally, the only way I thought I could find it was to throw everything out—all my preconceived ideas and everything I thought I knew—and ask God to start over. And that meant that Charley had to go.”
“My wife and I were separated at the time, and I was really discouraged and depressed,” Charley recalls. “Sarai had really closed the door this time, and here was no hope for our marriage. We had tried everything we could. We had been involved in many denominations, from Catholic to charismatic churches. I had even moved my family across the country to join a ‘prophetic’ movement! But I saw too much hypocrisy and confusion—and they always wanted money. I saw pastors living in lavish homes, wearing expensive jewelry, and taking exotic vacations. But I didn’t see anyone getting the emotional help they needed. I kept asking myself, ‘Where is the heart of God in this?’”
In stark contrast, what Charley saw on his TV that morning amazed him. “It was the Ten commandments Weekend,” he says, “and I saw incredible humility and reverence for God’s Word when the preachers would speak. Their message was precise and clear, and they spoke with authority, like Jesus did. I remember seeing David Asscherick kneel before the Lord before he spoke,” he continues, “and I thought to myself, ‘I’ve never seen a pastor on his knees praying with that kind of reverence before the Lord!
Testimony: A Test of Faith
3ABN World July 2007 3ABN World July 2007 19
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment