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Testimonials By Name
Les H. - Jesus vs The World
Ari Hamalainene - My search for the Truth
Doug Hammett - I was mad at God...
Betty Haynes - The Faithfulness of our Father God
Ken Herr - I Thought My Hard Work Would Get Me Into Heaven
Yeoh Hong Huat
Mark Hutcheon - Whatever Happened To The Good Little Boy?
Les H.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Email: lhb@sk.sympatico.caJesus vs. The World
I was brought up in a home where we went to Church and I did have a relationship with God early in my life. When I was very young I was playing hockey and was struck in the head with the puck.
The next morning when I woke up, I could not speak. I was rushed to the hospital. They didn't know what happened and I could not tell them.
I was lucky to make it thru this time in my life. Lots of prayers were said - then one morning I could speak again. My speech was bad and I stuttered real bad.
This time in my life I became very close to God and I discussed every aspect of my life with him.
Then I became a teenager and about the age of 19 I discovered that alcohol, when I drank, I did not stutter.
I became addicted to alcohol and became what is called an alcoholic. In the summer of 1985, I accepted the Son of God into my life again and have not taken a drink since that time.
I now belong to a Church, in which I am the financial treasurer as well as sit on the board.
None of the things I have acheived are because of me, but because God loved me so much that he died on the cross so I could be freed from the grasp of satan. Thank you Lord Jesus.
Ari Hamalainen
Email: arih@eastcoast.co.zaMy Search for the Truth
What follows is a summary of how I searched for meaning and purpose in life, how I found the answers in Jesus Christ the Son of God, and my subsequent experiences as a Christian.Pre-conversion...At university I became exposed to ideas and philosophies that were new tome. I became interested in Buddhism, Occult, Astral Projection, Meditation,Life After Death, Pyramids and some Greek philosophy. I joined the Ancient Astronaut Society because Daniken's theory seemed like a good answer too many questions concerning Man's origin. Looking at the stars at night I often thought "Where do we come from in this big universe and why are we here?". I thought the Ancient Astronaut theory was true. I practiced some meditation and fasting, made pyramids and tried to experience Out of Body Experiences. I wanted to cut short my university studies to go and become a Buddhist monk in Tibet (my fellow students thought I was nuts). These things brought deception and confusion into my life and my relationships.At the end of my freshman year my brother (who was also searching for Truth) shared with me what he had found in the Bible. I read the Bible and God began to minister His Truth to my heart. It made more sense than all the other philosophies and theories I had been reading. Later I came to understand that the Bible is not just a book but is the faithful and preserved record of God's revelation of Himself to mankind (the very Word of God). I was 20 when I believed the gospel of Jesus Christ with all my heart; that I was a sinner desperately in need of God's salvation. I prayed to God asking for the forgiveness and salvation which is available only in Jesus. Then I got baptized at a local church. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Truth. (John 14:6; Colossians 2:3). Apart from Christ a person is in darkness and you don't know it until the Light shines in (2 Cor 4:4). I was living in spiritual darkness and God shined the Light of His Word into my heart. Jesus was everything I was looking for. This is not surprising in retrospect: Only God can truly satisfy; man cannot. There is only one way to God. God's way is true and it brings freedom and hope, man's way is false and it brings bondage, vanity and death. First 10 years as a Christian...Because I was a born-again Christian I was, spiritually speaking, a baby and I needed spiritual milk in order to grow strong (1 Peter 2:2). I didn't yet understand this and left the fellowship of my local church in order to pursue my own career plans overseas. Boy, was this an error! I had only been in fellowship for a few weeks and hadn't yet learned about the Headship of Christ and the importance of being in a local church. I did not understand that the desires and cravings of my own will (the natural man,the flesh) don't magically disappear at conversion. The mind (which is by default fallen and corrupt) is not renewed in an instant. After a year overseas I was as low as anyone could get, depressed, sad, confused and backslidden. (John 10:10). After returning, I was encouraged by my brother and other believers and returned to the same church.Soon afterwards I attended a charismatic meeting at another church in a nearby village and came under different ministry that I had not been previously exposed to. These were charismatic believers who taught that we need to praise God with bodily motions, loud music and loud voices. I saw the preachers bobbing up and down dancing. The point was made that if you weren't lifting your hands then you weren't pleasing God. So I did it. This sounded great. At one meeting I was trying really hard to praise this way but I felt something bending me down and closing my outstretched hands and my mouth became half paralysed. This just made me confused again. Unity of denominations was also preached. This must be what Jesus wants! I was convinced by the preaching, the charisma of the preachers and the friendliness of the people. I thought that my local church was missing something good. I went back to my church and started sharing these things.In my stubbornness, and contrary to the Word of God, I left my church and joined the charismatic church. Major error number 2. My brother did the same. Unfortunately, I had not yet received the milk of the Word, and so I was a spiritual baby making my own decisions - starting out as a new Christian without a foundation. From then on I was in charismatic churches for 10 years. I joined a really wild charismatic church for 9 years. At first I thought these charismatic believers were crazy. Their meetings were characterized by much music,dancing, stage diving, noise and strange manifestations. I got used to it and accepted this as normal based on the doctrine that was taught. They often had visiting speakers from abroad. One time I went to a five-hour meeting where a British prophetess was speaking. I was involved in the church meetings, home groups and follow-up team and other activities. There were fun activities like an annual arts evening and annual ball (the dances were to secular music). I attended a Foundations course for Christians who wanted to join that church; a kind of basic gospel teaching and orientation to the church ethos and vision (terms that were new to me). The specific vision of the church is to reach nations abroad with the gospel and plant churches in those nations. This specific vision is based on prophetic words uttered during a 3-week fast. Mission trips abroad were often undertaken to plant churches. The church is an apostolic, prophetic church and falls under the apostolic mantle of a lead apostle who leads the team and provides the direction for a group of interrelating churches internationally. So being part of a church committed to impacting our nation and with such a great vision seemed exciting and proper. It was said that if a person was in that church then it was because God had brought you there. Unfortunately,vision and ethos didn't do much for my spiritual growth. I didn't know it but even after a few years I wasn't growing as a Christian. How can that be? It was partly because I was still carnal,following my own will. Strange...why was I? Hadn't I yet learned how to walk as a Christian? Was anyone teaching me? ("Feed my lambs." - John 21:15). No, I was still a baby, not having received the milk of the Word as a foundation in my life and without a foundation you can't build anything that will last. You end up starving to death.After a few years I began to feel very frustrated and confused as a Christian. Where do I fit in with the church vision? We were told we need to be ready for the blessing (the next wave of the spirit) by being involved, otherwise we'll miss out and be left behind. This was the reason to get involved - so we don't miss out. Miss out on what? Apparently God was also starting to do a New Thing.
Doug Hammett
Emmaus, PA
EMail: dhammett@xc.orgI was mad at God...
I was the oldest of five children. My father was a semi-professional ball player. As a child I would often go with him to the ball games and was allowed to sit in the dugout with the players. I grew up loving the game of baseball. Our family was Roman Catholic in religious belief. I was quite active as an altar boy and in the youth group until my world was shattered.
God or not?
When I was 13 my father was killed in an accident on the job. This was the beginning of a great deal of turmoil in my life. I found myself re-examining everything I believed. I was mad at God for my father's death. I missed him and wanted to find a way to replace the hurt in my life. I was angry and did not understand how God could do this to me. Yet at the same time I wanted to deny there even was a God. If there was a God, how could He do this?
After my father's death we moved to Salina, Kansas and I was enrolled in school. I met a friend, Tony, who began to invite me to visit his church. I refused to visit for several years until in my high school years when I finally gave in. I went partially to get him off my back and secretly because there was a desire inside of me to know more about his commitment to Christ.
Interested or not?
I was interested and yet disturbed by what I heard and saw. I had been taught that other kinds of churches were not of God. In some ways it seemed almost sacrilegious to me. The services were much more lively than I was accustomed to. The people were friendly and the preacher was forceful. The message was especially disturbing because I was told that in spite of my past religious involvement I was not acceptable to God as I was. That was certainly different than anything I had heard before!
I was torn inside, and though I wanted to return to hear more, I was afraid at the same time. I returned on several occasions to the Baptist Church and also began to read my Bible.
Finally Settled!
A concern to know God in a personal way had been growing over the last few weeks. On Wednesday, April 21, 1971, I found myself very much preoccupied with my desire to be acceptable to God. I spent the evening reading my Bible and thinking of my need for a personal relationship with Christ. I drove that night to the Catholic Church that I attended with the intention of talking to the priest about what I had been hearing and reading. When I arrived at the church it was about 11 P.M. and the lights were out. I decided not to wake the priest and instead attempted to get in the church building to pray, but it was locked. I sat in my car and continued for quite some time to think about all I had heard about my sin, Christ's death for me, and my need of Christ's forgiveness of my sin. That night I prayed and admitted to God not only my sin but my lack of worthiness of His forgiveness. It was then that I asked God's forgiveness on the basis of Christ having died to pay for my sin and yielded my life to His control. That night my life was forever altered. My sins were forgiven as the Bible had promised. Christ took control of the course of my life. A new peace and sense of acceptance with God flooded my soul. I did not understand it all, but I sure enjoyed it! I surrendered my life to God to do with it as He wished and accepted that God knew what was best in the loss of my father. My anger was gone!
Changed Life
Until that night my life had been controlled by my desires, my pleasure and my decisions. After that night a desire to please Christ was born in my heart. I found myself consumed with living for Christ. My first question in making decisions became, what does the Lord want? Little did I realize where this would lead. My habit of drinking and my cursing were two of the first matters to come under the scrutiny of the Word of God. I stopped both because I knew that the Lord would be pleased with nothing less. I began attending a Bible preaching church and reading my Bible for the purpose of learning more of God. I was concerned with knowing God's will for my life. Before this I had obeyed out of fear, now I was obeying because I loved God! I had a new motivation for serving God.
It was about a year after my salvation experience that I realized that God had a purpose for me. That purpose was to be a preacher of the Bible. I immediately sold my cattle and the few farm pieces that I had accumulated and went off to Bible College to prepare to serve the Lord. I soon found a small church that allowed me to be their pastor. They helped me greatly by letting me practice on them. It was there in Missouri that I met the daughter of a preacher and it seemed as if the Lord had made us for each other. We were married in 1974. We were involved in planting churches for many years and saw the Lord provide for us in many ways through the years. God gave us 4 children. In January of 1988 we moved to Emmaus, Pennsylvania and I became the pastor of the Lehigh Valley Baptist Church.
Betty Haynes
Roundup Mt., Montana
Email: zoe4u@midrivers.comThe Faithfulness of our Father God
On November 30/1997 my daughter Tammy Spence fell about 22 feet from a Magnolia tree while putting up Christmas decorations at their home in Florida.
She had two broken arms, two broken wrists a broken back with trauma to the spinal cord, and other internal damage that was found once the neurosurgeons opened her up to operate that evening.
Initially the doctors told her husband Mike she would never walk again, and unknown about use/range of motion of lower arms and wrists, or whether she would ever be able to go to the bathroom on her own (bowl/bladder/function) and other things we take for granted everyday.
Mike didn't want to tell Tammy because she was so positive she was going to be fine, but he knew he had to tell her what the doctors had said. When he told her she momentarily got tears in her eyes before she looked at him and said, "We won't accept defeat". She said they would work together and beat this, that God was using her as a messenger and in time everything would be better.
God did use her, The doctors couldn't believe her attitude, even while she was in pain she joked with them and the nurses all the time, she also told them she was going to walk out of the hospital.
God used her to witness to others, she and Mike, and their three girls, Tiffany 10, Melissa 8, and Casandra 5, had stories written about them in the newspaper, were interviewed on radio and a number of times on TV. She always told what she was saying as she fell, "Jesus help me, Jesus help me", and that with God's and her husbands help she would walk again.
She didn't walk out of the hospital, but about 24 days later on Christmas eve on her first visit home from the rehabilitation center where she had been taken directly from the hospital, she was laying on the couch while
Mike the three girls and I were in the kitchen.
All of a sudden she started yelling and we rushed into the room thinking something was wrong, she said,"Look at my feet, I can move them, I can move them", and we all had a crying good time.
What a wonderful Christmas present from the Lord.
Her husband is in the army and was stationed in Panama City Florida at the time of the accident and I have never met such caring and helpful people in my life.
Not only the neighbors but people that read about the accident in the paper or heard about it on the radio or saw her and her family on TV. I didn't have to fix one meal while I was there helping with the girls the whole month of December.
Tammy had been a crossing guard at the local grammar school, hired by the police department and two of the policemen came and built a wheelchair ramp to the house, and even painted it.
Children from the school sent cards, people brought toys for the girls, people gave money, so many things I don't have room to mention them all.
Mike was offered a reassignment in Kentucky where his job would keep him closer to home and the medical facilities were suppose to be top notch for Tammy, so in July of 98 they moved to Fort Knox , where they are now residing.
The medical facilities in Kentucky are not the top notch facilities they were told they were, and they are not as happy there as they were in Florida where everyone seemed to really care about what happened to them.
But Tammy is still being used by God.
Health South where she had been going in Florida and now in Kentucky for physical therapy, wants to do a poster on her which will only be another opportunity for her to testify of what God has done for her. It will just be more proof she really went through this, when she is up running around giving her testimony of the Love of her Heavenly Father and His healing power..
Tammy still mainly gets around in a wheelchair, but she can stand and walk with a walker and is slowly progressing, and she has no internal problems. She has an exercise bike and uses that quite a bit and it is building her mussels, and she is starting to have more feeling below her waist. She is not just sitting around waiting for God to zap her with healing, she is putting action to her faith.
I think most of you know the fight of faith is not easy when you are in it every minute and there looks to the natural eye like there will never be an end.
Just a little over a month ago a supposedly knowledgeable doctors(from Walter Reed Hospital) told her ,"You have already had your miracle and won't get any better". Satan will use any one to get you to let go of God's promises.
Tammy has great faith in her Father God and she believes what He says is true," By My stripes you were healed ", and she believes she will walk in time, but sometimes it gets a little tough standing when you've done all to stand.
The enemy comes to try and rob you of what God has promised, by using the same tactics he used on Eve,"Hath God really said".
I was also feeling bad because I want to live closer to her and her family to encourage her when she needs it, you know up close and personal, and be with our granddaughters and help Mike. But God has assigned my husband and I to a local church and we have a small ranch and have obligations here in Montana.
Anyway, Tammy was having trouble dealing with all the negative garbage that Satan was throwing at her and needed encouragement.
We e-mail each other most every day and although she didn't say anything I could read between the lines and did my best to encourage her with the word of God.
The Word showed up in the flesh.
Tammy's family (husband & 3 girls) were having a garage sale, and one of the customers started talking to her.
She ask Tammy all about what had happened to her, and then ask if she could pray for her. Tammy asked her if she knew of Jesse Duplantis.
(Jesse had prayed for Tammy and her family when they were in Florida, and immediately her physical condition started improving , also Mike and the girls had, had an encounter with God.
Yes, the lady knew Jesse, he even comes to her church, and she mentioned others ministers that Tammy recognized, so Tammy said she could pray for her.
We are a little cautious and don't believe in letting just anyone pray for us.
Tammy called me all excited after the lady left to tell me what had happened. The lady said she and a friend had planned on going somewhere else, but God told her to go to Kentucky. He didn't tell them why they were to go to another state, but they were obedient. \0/
She told Tammy that God said for her to just be patient, at His set time she would be totally healed, she also prophesied over her, gave her scriptures, prayed in the Spirit over her and encouraged her in the Lord. Tammy had been worrying that she wasn't doing enough, (reading the Bible, praying, etc.), and the lady told her God loved her just like she was.
Needless to say, God greatly encouraged Tammy, her family, and my husband and me also.
We still don't see anything in the natural, but God said He is not a man, that He should lie and we stand on His Word for total healing for Tammy, and thank Him for sending one of His hand maidens to encourage us.
I wrote all of this to encourage others, that God is concerned about you and will go out of His way to help you if you will just give Him a chance.
A few things you should know though.
Tammy didn't wait until she got hurt to learn about what God says about healing. She had been raised on the positive Word of God, and although she wasn't going to church at the time of the accident, the Word of God was still there and came out when she needed it. There's a possibility she could be dead now or totally paralyzed if she hadn't known who to call on. The way that she fell backwards out of the tree, they still can't figure why she didn't hit her head and injure it.
Her father (Russell), and I ask our local church body, and the ministries we are partners with (TBN , Kenneth Copeland Ministries), and many others I wrote to, to pray for her.
She is in the Word every day, and especially likes watching Joyce Meyers, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, Creflo Dollar etc., and they are all teaching God is on your side you can do it, positive Word of God.
She has enough negative people saying things to her without listening to someone preach doom and gloom and agony on me.
Tammy is spiritually standing on the Word of God right now, and we truly believe she will literally stand by the Word of God some day, and tell her testimony in many different places.
This is just a little part of what God has done so far in the Spence families’ life.
There is a great deal to come, and we will tell everyone about it in God's timing.
Ken Herr
Emmaus, PA
EMail: dhammett@xc.org
I Thought My Hard Work Would Get Me Into HeavenI guess you could call me a baby boomer. I was born into a booming country, just after World War II, where, by the time I was in grade school, almost everybody had a car and a television. I was told, like most children of my generation, that we should love God and our country, go to school, work hard and everything would be all right. I did all the right things, I said the pledge of allegiance, went to church, obeyed my parents (when they might find out) and knew that everything would work out okay. When things did not go right, well, I just needed to do something better or something more. If things seemed out of my control all I needed to do was ask God to help me - after all, I was told he is my heavenly father.
"Just like my earthly father," I thought, "God has a lot of things to do and, if he had time, he would help me out - the rest of the time I was on my own." I can handle this. I went to Sunday School and learned the bible verse from the book of John, chapter 3, verse 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." I believed that Jesus lived, and died and rose on the third day, and all of the other things they teach you in Sunday School. I was baptized at the age of 8 and a faithful church member, so I've done everything right. I'm okay with God!
School, church, play, work -- life was okay -- most of the time. More work, less play, then marriage. Ann and I were married in our teens. Boy, was I on top of the world! Everybody said it wouldn't work, but we were determined to make it work. I knew that with enough work, we would make it -- no doubt about it. Over the next seven years we had three children. I mustn't forget to go to church - do the right thing for the kids, you know. It felt good to go to church -- most of the time. When that didn't feel good any longer, I'd just have to do more and better, and more and better. We taught Sunday School, brought neighborhood and less privileged kids to church on a bus, and sang in the choir. I must have done a good job, we had three good, bright children and I was offered a job that moved me from our home in St. Louis, Missouri, to Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the mid 70s. Finally, my chance to reap the benefits of all that hard work.
I felt like a pioneer - new hometown, new faces and a whole new set of people to impress. Of course, if I wanted to fit in, I had to behave like my new friends. " I'll get to church," I told myself, "but first I have to work a little harder." God will understand if I spend more time working -- after all, he sent me to Allentown and I was getting farther with hard work than ever before. But, I could only do so much.
During the heart of our young children's lives, we didn't have time for church, and our family and marriage began to fall apart. After all, we were married young and you know the statistics for early marriages, but we determined to work hard to stay together for the kids. As our children began to marry and leave home we recognized that we were headed for divorce. Our lives had been focused around our kids, but now the kids were leaving. Now what? We went to counseling just to be able to say "We tried". During counseling we realized that the last time we remember being happy was when we were in church. That's it! Go to church, that will solve it all!!
In 1991 we began attending the Lehigh Valley Baptist Church. Just like 20 years earlier, I began to work in church. At last, I was right where God wanted me. The more I worked in church, the better I would feel. Right?
WRONG!
From my childhood on, I knew everything that was important about church. I considered myself a good Christian. I knew all of the right things, could sing the songs, pray in public, but one thing was missing -- I didn't know God. Oh sure, I knew who God was. I knew all of the stories of the bible, I even memorized some Bible verses. But the bible says in the book of Titus, chapter 3, verse 5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us...".
It was during a time of deep spiritual searching that the one who knew me best, my wife Ann, told me that I couldn't help her find God because I didn't know God myself. What do you mean? I don't know God? Of course I do. I know all of these verses, I go to church all of the time, I sing in the choir. How could she say I don't know God? I knew I was struggling with God, but how did she know?
It was that evening, October 1, 1993, that I finally gave up trying. I couldn't do any more. I remembered that the Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. But God, I've done all of these good things, surely it's good enough.
That evening, I gave my life to God by finally surrendering my sinful life and accepting the total sacrifice offered by the death of his innocent son, Jesus. I finally realized that God did not need, or even want, my good works -- no man's work is good enough to meet God's standard of righteousness. Jesus gave his all for me, I own my all to Him. Earlier the same day, Ann had given herself to God and asked him to save her, too. "Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again" John 3:7. Ann and I were born again the same day.
God watched out for us for so many years, patiently awaiting the day that we would turn to Him. We deserved none of His blessings, but He protected us. Even though I turned my back on Him for my entire life, when I turned to Him, He was right there for me. Today, we are finally really happy. We have given our lives to God, and He has given us new lives, the reason for life. "He that hath the Son hath life, he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life." 1 John 5:12. I would love to tell you more of what Jesus Christ has done for me and how He has promised me eternal life.
Yeoh Hong Huat
Malaysia
EMail: yeoh@hpoclpa.sj.hp.comI am the elder son of a Chinese family in Malaysia. All my family members (one young brother ,two sisters and parent) are from Taosime back- ground. Although Christianity is well known of in Malaysia, I did not believed it and taught that the Christians are blasphemy. My life goal was very simple , to earn a living and out of poverty.
However, there are few missionary come to my house to share the Gospel to me although I have rejected them every time. But in my heart, there is curiousity about their life. Why they take so much trouble to preach the Gospel, even to the notorious area (my house). One of the missionary is a English men who cannot speak local languages. Maybe their God is very special to them.
After entering university, I come to know a Senior from Campus Crusade of Christ. I did my Bible Study with him and decided to accept Christ as my Saviour and Lord two year later. I joined the Navigators later and started to be rooted in the Word. God has indeeds bless me a lot. My relationship with family members become closer. I learned to love people and my heart filled with joy of salvation. I can see how God work in the Navigators ministry and how God change people's heart and life perspective. Besides, I can see how God blessed the ministry brothers life as they trusted God in their daily needs and go as missionary by faith. God's Word indeed is living and active, He teached me in my character and provide me wisdom in handling daily issues and comfort me during difficult time.
Now, my sister already accepted Christ and we continous to pray for my brother 's salvation. My parent is very open for Christianity although they strongly against me to become Christian last time. The family is filled with love and joy. As I continous to serve God and making deciples for His glory, God take care of all my needs. I know that He take care of my future, He is my sheperd, I shall not be in want. By His word, He sanctify me. My life ambitious have changed , to serve Him and want to be a "well done,good and faithfull servent" in God's sight.
In Christ ,
Yeoh Hong Huat
Mark Hutcheon
Macungie, PA
EMail: dhammett@xc.orgWhatever Happened To The Good Little Boy?
My dear mother always said, "Mark, you are perfect. She probably said this out of her love for me, wanting to encourage me. Maybe she said this, because, compared to most other kids, I was pretty good. After all, my parents raised me with manners, and I generally was well-behaved and did well in school. Plus, I tried to go to church almost every Sunday, even through my teen years.
However, I knew I wasn,t a perfect young man. This realization began about the time I was in fifth grade, when I changed a mark on my report card. I received a dreaded "U, meaning "UNSATISFACTORY for "Self Control. I changed it to an "S for Satisfactory to deceive my parents into thinking I was still their "good little boy The teacher caught it, and I was disciplined for lying. I knew I wasn't perfect.
Since about that time, I saw myself as "flawed, and considered myself a "loser. I was always bothered with not being the best - in schoolwork, sports, my looks. I got involved with mischief, stealing, and perverted thoughts and actions. This demeanor accompanied me through high school and college, although I matured in some of these areas as I grew up.
In college my imperfection was magnified further, as I struggled through the courses. I was humbled by my difficulty. I was depressed almost all the time. The rock music I listened to seemed to just fuel this depression. One rock band I listened to even made reference to God, but still I wasn't getting life's answers. My spirit seemed to groan inside me as I strained to
find peace.
I graduated from college, got married, and moved to Parkersburg, West Virginia, where I began working at my first career job. My wife and I decided together to find a church that preached the Bible and "salvation. I didn,t just think of this idea on my own. A Christian friend of my wife's had been explaining the Bible and God,s plan to her throughout the previous year or so We were on our own, newly married, in a new state, and in a new job. Even though I had never been to a Bible-preaching church, I did not object to going. It sounded like a reasonable thing to do. After all, I was still searching for life's answers.
As we visited North Parkersburg Baptist Church, my "guard was up." It seemed so unholy and sacrilegious because the people smiled and gave us a hearty welcome. My idea of a church was one where the altar was reverenced and nary a word was said to anyone except, "peace be with you. I remember thinking that, "God must be sick of all this unholiness.
But, when the service started, and particularly the preaching of the Word of God, it began to get my attention. As the preacher would read and explain scripture, and I saw it with my own eyes, I began to see the real me and my dismal condition. My sin was my problem. It was like God pulled the black curtains from before my eyes. For the first time, I saw myself as God saw me - a hopeless, bad young man. On the outside, I was a cocky, proud young man. On the inside, I was still that depressed, empty, struggling young man.
The preacher then gave me the answer to my sad condition by way of a Bible verse - John, chapter one, verse twelve, But as many as received Him(Jesus Christ), to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. He said that the Lord Jesus Christ had gone to the cross to pay for my sins and to give me new life. Soon after that, the church members began to sing a song, "Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me.. And that thou biddest me to come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. As I stood in that pew, slumped over and broken, I prayed and asked Christ to deliver me from my sin, and I received Him as my Lord and Savior.
Since that day, the Lord has led my life. God turned that "loser into this "winner for His sake. I am still nothing by myself, but Christ has given my life His purpose. I beckon to His call now. His goals are my goals, instead of me setting my own goals. Since God saved me, I have new words to describe my life: satisfied, full, whole, complete, content, confident, solid, firm, assured, purposeful, guided and victorious.
I ask you: Do you see yourself as being caught in the muck and mire of this life? Does it seem like you just can,t win? Are you proud on the inside, but struggling with life and groaning for real peace within yourself? If you don,t know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you dont have real peace now. I urge you to pursue Christ. I have nothing to gain by you doing this --- but you have everything to gain.
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