1973 Photo of Park Avenue
James 
Did God sovereignly cause someone to take a photo in 1973, the year I was born?
Open Heaven Experience
My Conversion Story:
Sometime between 1987 and 1989, I was walking down Park Avenue when I suddenly froze, drawn to look up.
It was as if the heavens opened, and I became acutely aware of my sins and that God knew me.
At that time, I knew next to nothing about Christ and certainly had never experienced that presence I felt—a presence I am ever so familiar with today.
I continued walking, unsure of what had just happened.
First Time Hearing Gospel
About a year or two later, I was turning onto Park Avenue when a stranger suddenly stopped his bike in front of me.
He introduced himself and began talking to me about Jesus. Our conversation lasted for quite a while.
I met Steve many times after that, including several visits to the church he attended.
Heart Pricked!
Steve and I often played tennis at a court just opposite the spot where I’d first experienced that extraordinary moment of heavenly revelation.
One day after a match, we took a stroll through the park. As we walked, Steve shared more about Jesus with me.
Our walk brought us to a place barely 50 yards from where I’d had my “open heaven” experience.
It was there that Steve made a striking statement: he said people’s hearts were growing dark. The moment those words left his lips, I felt a sharp prick in my own heart.
Acts 2:37 says, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart…”
I already knew my own heart was indeed turning dark, so HIS words pricked me.
Divine Arrangement
My Christian Testimony:Converted from Sikhism
To make a long story short, I was baptised in water on August 20th, 1989. April 16th 1999, I was baptised in the Spirit.
Later, Steve revealed to me that when he first spotted me, he felt a divine prompting. The Lord, he said, had instructed him, “Stop that boy…” This explains why he approached me that day as I was turning onto Park Avenue.
Now, what are the blooming odds, eh? There I was in 2023, mindlessly thumbing through the ol’ Facebook feed, when I stumbled upon a random snap taken in the very year I popped into existence!
And crikey, the mysterious photographer captured the exact spot where the Almighty first gave me that heavenly experience.
It was just a stone’s throw from where the Holy Spirit gave my heart a right old prod and a hop, skip, and a jump from where our Steve first shared the gospel with me. Talk about amazing! It’s enough to make a chap spill his tea!
It’s absolutely mind-boggling to think that God knew me even before I took my first breath in 1973. He orchestrated this intricate plan, calling me at precisely the right moment and in the exact location He had chosen.
And to think, He even arranged for someone to capture that photograph all those years ago—perhaps with the sole purpose of ensuring I would continue to share this incredible story.
Categories: : Adventures with God
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