God knows how to reach even avowed atheists.
In 1985, at the relatively young age of 38, Professor Howard Storm and his wife were visiting Paris on a college field trip when a life-changing incident happened to him that brought him to Jesus.
This incident was a powerful near-death experience, which worked to convert an avowed and proud atheist into a Bible-believing Christian.
Howard is now 76 years old and an ordained minister; he spends a lot of his time speaking about his experience and spreading the good news of Jesus.
Howard wrote a book about his experience called My Descent Into Death, A Second Chance at Life. In this book, he details the harrowing experience he had that fateful day in Paris France and in the spiritual world he visited.
Essentially, Howard had a perforation in one of his internal organs which happened suddenly and required immediate surgery to save his life. Not getting prompt medical care at the hospital in Paris because of administrative failures, he passed away in the hospital room with his wife crying next to him.
The spiritual side of the story begins after this death; the descent into death and the subsequent rescue from hell by Jesus Christ himself. After this rescue, Howard was able to talk with Jesus and ask him questions, but he was told he must come back.
He did come back from the dead; he was still in the hospital room where inexplicably a doctor was available at long last and the surgery was accomplished nearly a day after his ruptured organ burst.
He was alive again, yet still had a long road to recovery. His newfound faith from the experience would change his life forever. Unfortunately, this would mean his marriage wouldn't work out, as his wife then was an intellectual atheist like he was before, yet he would marry again, this time to a Christian wife.
No one tells the story better than Howard does, either in his book or in one of the dozens of podcasts and shows (large and small) he’s been on in the last 4 decades. His joy, love, humor, and faith are infectious to the hearer. Here is the latest I’ve found:
I realize some of my Christian brothers and sisters may not believe in NDEs, yet I find some of them to be very edifying for my faith. This one in particular has been very helpful to me since the winter of 2019 when I had a frightening experience where it seemed like I was dying.
Being 40 at the time, I started getting lightheaded one morning and my body went into an immediate fever. My arms started tingling, my breath got shorter, and my heart started beating really fast. While I can’t explain it very well, it led me to go to the emergency room.
Thankfully, I stabilized and began to feel better. I wasn’t sure if I was having a stroke or what was happening (they said it might have been a certain nerve in my spine that was damaged earlier in life), but it frightened me to start thinking about death more.
This is when I found Howard Storm’s testimony on YouTube among many other NDEs from Christians. His story stood out to me, as I believe him— it built my faith and hope in Jesus and the afterlife.
In a world where everyone is seemingly trying to be the top dog, the message of Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last…, really resonates in my soul. Jesus does make a way for us to truly get victory over this world, and he shows this so well through the testimony of Howard Storm.
When you have some time in this busy world, listening to his testimony will bless your soul and build your faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Originally published at Medium on Dec. 21, 2022
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