Again, I am thankful that I could call upon another respected pastor and friend to write the column for this week. God has blessed my own life through the ministry of Rev. Ed Dickerson, Pastor of the Decatur Church of God, and his wife Stella. His writing follows:
I was born as a fourth-generation Pentecostal. My great-grandparents, as well as my grandparents, helped to start the Hudson Chapel Church of God near Union, Mississippi. I have so many memories of the power and presence of God that shaped my life even when I was very young. When I was about four years of age, I had a miracle happen to me that I can still recall vividly. I had stepped on a nail and was confined to bed with a swollen, throbbing foot with unbelievable pain. I was crying with such pain and asked my dad what could I do to stop the hurting. His reply was, “Ask Jesus to heal you.” I asked him what to say, and he said, “Just say, ‘Jesus, heal my foot.” Just as soon as I prayed, the bed shook (I really believe that it came off the floor) and the swelling and pain left immediately. I jumped up from the bed and ran across the house completely well. This, along with other things, helped me to learn to trust God and to believe in the unlimited power of God. I remember as a young child sleeping on a pallet that was placed under the pews. Many of our services would last past midnight but I learned by watching the people worship what the real power of God was like
On January 21, 1962, I gave my heart to the Lord. I had never felt anything like what I felt that night. I felt such peace, joy, happiness and contentment that I had never felt before. While being saved from sin is the greatest miracle ever, I just wanted everything that God would let me have. On January 23, 1962, I was baptized in the Holy Ghost. While raised in a Pentecostal church, I was familiar with the Holy Ghost as He worked in other people’s lives, but now He was in my life.
I started preaching on January 25, 1965. I have now been preaching God’s Word for over fifty years, and I still am so amazed at the power of God. For the past fifty years, my wife, Stella, and I have lived on the promises of God. Our life together has been filled with so many miracles. Yes, miracles can and do still happen. We had the Lord raise our oldest son from the dead after a drowning accident. He was almost two years old and fell into a hole of water six feet wide and six feet deep. When he was found, he was floating face down and not breathing. There was no life. The child was in a coma for seventeen hours but God heard our prayers. God raised him up and healed him completely. There have never been any repercussions from this accident. God is so good!
My mind recalls so many things God has done for us in the ministry, but none more defined than our work at Decatur Church of God. God had put it in my heart to start a church in Decatur over thirty years ago. While I thought He meant back then, it was not yet time. The Lord has performed so many miracles for us at the church. He did a miracle for us by allowing us to buy twenty-seven acres of the most beautiful land around Decatur. When we needed a place to hold services, someone let us borrow a modular classroom without charge. God has been so good to us.
We have had so many lives changed and turned over to God. .I believe that there is nothing that can limit God except for us. Oh, if we would only trust Him totally with our lives, there is no telling what God would do. God is still in control. Nothing is without His knowledge. He still has His hands upon the controls, and yet He allows us to be used of the Holy Ghost. I pray that our churches would again let the Holy Ghost lead us into a revival, as we see the end approaching. I still believe there are some great things ahead for the church if we will only allow the Holy Ghost to have His way in our lives. God has not changed nor has His power weakened. God is so good!
Live for Jesus! He’s coming soon!
You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com or 601-635-3282.
