The Story Of My Life

I've shared the story of what God has done in my life with various people, but I want everyone who happens across this to know the saving power of Christ. This is the story of my life from childhood until this moment.

I grew up going to a church that taught things not found in the pages of the Bible. I went to service. I went to Sunday school. I memorized prayers. I learned some of the stories from the Bible. But I never really got it. Church was stuffy and boring. I didn't feel the love of God when I went there, and as I reached my teenage years, I just stopped going. I walked away with the idea in the back of my mind that there's a God and all you need to do to be with him in heaven one day is lead a “good” life.

Boy was I wrong, I just didn't know it yet.

Fast forward through high school and college. I had a "good" job, a "good" wife, and a "good" family. I was a "good" dad. Life was "good" and so was I. No problem, right?

Wrong.

On the outside I looked "good" and my life looked like there was nothing wrong at all. Except on the inside I was a mess. I didn't know it most of the time, but I was. I was looking for happiness in all the wrong places. What I didn't realize then is that you can't find true lasting joy in anything of this world. No matter where or how hard I looked, nothing would satisfy.

Then, for no reason that I could figure out at the time, I started listening to various speakers, preachers, and teachers talk about God and the Bible. The more I listened to them, the more I was interested. I learned about things that I was totally ignorant of so many years ago. I learned that God's creation was spoiled when man first disobeyed him, bringing sin and death into the world. I learned that man's big problem from that point on was that we had a sinful nature bent on rebelling against God, and had the evidence in my life to prove it. I learned that a cost must be paid for our sins. I learned that God promised a savior to deal with this problem. I learned that God fulfilled that promise through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. I learned that Jesus will come back one day to judge the world.

Most importantly, I learned that spending eternity in God's presence was not something that happened by being "good" -- but rather by putting my faith in Jesus Christ -- trusting that his death on the cross paid the price for my sins once and for all, and making him lord of my life.

I had a lot of knowledge at this point. I came to believe that the Bible was true and that I needed to turn to Jesus, but I still wasn't doing anything about it. Until one day when God opened my eyes even more. He showed me that if I walked through life in this state, my children would not grow up knowing about him at all. That was something I could not accept. At home that very night I got on my knees and admitted to Jesus that I was a terrible sinner and that I needed him desperately to save me.

Now for the most amazing part. He did. And he did it in such a way that there was no doubt it was real. I had the strangest warm sensation inside for a few days after. Fear and worry were replaced with peace and joy. I was no longer bent on rebelling against God through my sinful, selfish, lifestyle. I wanted nothing more than to know him more, love him more, and serve him more.

Since that time I have grown to know the Lord more and more and have read his word more and more. I see evidence that he saved me in my own life and in the lives of my children, who genuinely love God and are excited to go to church to learn more about him and worship him. That is something I have never experienced until I gave my life to Jesus.

That's where I am today -- loving and serving my savior and my lord, Jesus. I know without a doubt that Jesus saved my life for eternity. If he has done the same for you, that is so awesome! Keep trusting in him to the end, for this world is only a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow – the eternal promises of Christ to come are so wonderful. If you don’t know Jesus yet, I pray that he work in your heart and transform it – the peace and joy and hope he brings is so much better than anything this world can offer.

Grace and peace my friend; may God be with you always, watching, protecting, and guiding you through this life!