Another Special Life in Christ

These testimony lives are not stories of "role models". Jesus is the role model!
These are lives wonderfully touched & changed by Jesus!

Capt. John Dale Mosgrove, C. D.:

"At the age of seventeen-and-a-half years, I enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). At that age my heroes were not sports figures, but the young men who were busy shooting down enemy aircraft that were bombing British kids out of their homes and causing them to sleep in air raid shelters. In those days our schools taught patriotism. The Military had no problem recruiting young men for any of our three Services. I chose the Air Force because I wanted to fly. I had been working at an Elementary Flying School which operated under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. So I had been close enough to military flying that nothing else would be acceptable. With a note from my mother, the Air Force accepted me at that age.

"After a year of training I graduated as a wireless-operator-air-gunner. All through training, I expected to graduate as a Sergeant, and expected nothing else. On the morning after graduation as a brand-new Sergeant, the Commanding Officer of the base called some of us in and informed us we had received the King's Commission as Pilot Officers (Second Lieutenants). Nobody could have been more surprised than I , as I was only eighteen. God was being good to me and I didn't even know it.

"After two weeks leave, I was aboard ship heading for England. (8000 of us on one ship). I spent about a year and a half in England and was discharged from the Air Force in February 1946. Then, along came the 'cold war' period, and the RCAF was looking for former Aircrew Officers to be employed in the Air Defense of North America. I was offered an arrangement that I could not refuse. I could stay for five years, and the Air Force could release me in five years with a good gratuity. Whether they kept me or not would depend on my performance. I was offered a permanent commission so remained in the Service for another nineteen years. [The CD after John's name is a military decoration: Canadian Forces Decoration] When I was released [buddies knew him as 'Jack'] from the Air Force in 1946, I married the girl [Florence Shirley Lambert] who has now been my wife for nearly sixty years.

"We met just after I left boot-camp in l943. Once again God was at work, and I didn't know it. We had two children: our daughter was born about three years after we were married, and our son was born about four years later. As all children do, they grew up into teenagers. Now God was really having an opportunity to get through to me.

"I had started a furniture repair business; and, would you believe that an Evangelist's advertisement was joined to my advertisement in an Ottawa, Canada newspaper on 20 January 1973? His ad said, 'Miracle Service, come believing in God.' Mine said, 'Furniture Repairs in the home.' As I look back, I don't suppose he needed any furniture repairs; but I sure needed the miracle service. I had said to my wife, 'There has to be something better than life like this.' That was before I saw his ad. We went on a Thursday night, and again next Thursday, and again next Thursday, and on and on it went. We just had to be there. I am not sure when I was born again, which is the biggest miracle in a life; but I do know when I was Baptized by the Holy Spirit: 9 December 1973.

"Things have never been the same since. We found a church, a full-gospel church with a Godly man as Pastor. We were fortunate enough to have him as our Pastor for four years and four months. Yes, Jesus Christ must be our Lord; but it helps if you have a Pastor who sets an example. I just KNEW how he lived, it was so very obvious. We joined the visitation program that met every Tuesday night; and before long we were making calls on people for the Pastor, and little-by-little we learned here-a-little, there-a-little. As I look back, all those calls we made were in place of Bible College. I say 'we' because my wife [Shirley] and I always went together and have always worked together. She has always been by my side. Shirley and I are both the youngest of four children, and the only ones that got the CALL, the precious CALL.

"We changed churches a couple of times. I believe the value of that was not to learn WHAT to do, but in some cases to learn what NOT to do.

"Then one day exactly 25 years and one day ago, a whole new chapter of our lives opened up. As we prayed with a person, the person was taken over by a witchcraft spirit. We were in a church, just my wife and the other person and I. I was the Sunday School Superintendent, so had a key and was free to use the church to pray with people we worked with. SO--we had to get down to some serious work. We had our first case of DELIVERANCE on our hands. We worked at delivering the person, not only on that occasion, but on subsequent occasions as well.

"God, in His mercy was giving us an opportunity to learn, and He was giving the person the opportunity to be free. Our Pastor did not disagree with our ministering, but I could not get him interested in forming a deliverance team.  He sat in on one session with us. By this time the years were moving along, as they have a way of doing. I said to my wife, 'If we are ever going to do something for the Lord we have got to get moving.' We knew the opposition that we would experience, not just from the usual source; but our phone stopped ringing, i. e., calls from people we had previously prayed with, etc. But as the Apostle Paul said, and I paraphrase it, 'Who are we going to serve, man or God?' That decision was easy to make.

"We had to keep digging in the Word of God and learning from all directions. We traveled to the United States to see how other ministries were operating. We went to Indiana and Long Island, NY; and, on three occasions, have attended summer camps at Lake Hamilton Bible Camp. We never stop learning.

"One thing that is important is to know the Word of God. I pastored a Home Church for about 20 years, and I made sure that my people were FED the Word of God. It must not be the shallow WORD; it must be the meat of the Word. Further, all the Word must be taught. Those who oppose this type of ministry are quick to say it is UNBALANCED; so we must make sure that we teach the Old Testament and the New Testament thoroughly. The world needs to know the whole of the Gospel,  including Mark 16:17.

"In summary, I must say this: 'There is no substitute for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. His presence and anointing are what make things happen.' Has it been worth attempting to serve God in the ministry to which we believe He has called us? The answer is an unqualified YES. Jesus Christ is Lord, and He will be returning to this earth. Are we all ready? Please think about this: EVERY SOUL MUST SPEND ETERNITY SOME PLACE. I want to spend eternity with Jesus Christ, where He is the Light. I submit this testimony with the love of Jesus and in the Name of Jesus and pray that it will touch the heart of each person who reads it." 

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John & Shirley Mosgrove had a deliverance ministry in Ottawa, Light of the Son. He recently pointed a contact to Hegewisch Baptist Church in Highland, Indiana. Having recently reached the "end of the season" of deliverance ministry, he retired just before Christmas 2005.

OBITUARY: John Dale Mosgrove (1926-2007), RCAF Capt. CD, Ottawa, Canada = Retired John went home to be with Jesus Christ his Saviour and Lord, suddenly on Sunday, February 18, 2007 at the age of 81. He is survived by his wife Shirley, his son Gerry, his daughter Patricia and her husband Andre. He will be remembered by four grandchildren: Greg and his wife Allison, Gayle, Phillippe and Richard, as well as four great-grandchildren and many special friends and wonderful neighbours. He was loved and will be greatly missed by all. A private service was held on February 21, 2007.

The internet search words to search for testimonies in this area are: demonic possession, demons, satanic, Satanism, exorcism, deliverance ministries. Other names are Maxwell Whyte, Dr. Rebecca Brown, Derek Prince, Don Basham, & Frank and Ida Mae Hammond. [and see this about demons]

Pleasant Valley Church (Pastor Henry W. Wright) in Georgia operates a widely known deliverance ministry which has cured many persons from demonically controlled illnesses...I know because my close friend, Diane, has been involved there, beginning as an intern in 2004 until about 2008.

If there is any possibility that your life is being messed up by demonic influences, rest assured that there is help available.

References:

I solicited this testimony from JDM following some e-mail discussion with him; received it 14 October 2005 and a few additions over the next few days...shortly before John's 80th birthday. 

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(posted 15 October 2005; latest update 5 May 2018)

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You have just read a very brief example of the powerful, supernatural transformation of a person's life which is possible through the acceptance of Jesus as your savior. Are you tired of life as it now is for you? He will accept you just as you are right this second! Consider accepting Jesus now [check it out]!