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!

What Has God Done For You?

In Jesus' earthly ministry, there was an incident where he came upon a demon possessed man. The demons begged Jesus not to cast them into the abyss, but rather to send them into a herd of pigs. Jesus did this, and then the pigs ran off the edge of a cliff. I guess they should have thought their request through a little more.

The man who was possessed was sitting up and in his right mind after that. The people nearby were scared -- except for the no longer possessed man who thought that was pretty awesome and wanted to go with Jesus. Jesus wouldn't let him but instead told him to go tell people what God had done for him.

For followers of Jesus Christ, those words might as well have been spoken today. Go brothers and sisters and tell people what God has done for you, because the testimony of an individual is a powerful thing indeed! Its more than just head knowledge of the Bible -- its an actual person's account of the transformation that has occurred in his/her life.

What God has done for me is that he opened my eyes to the reality of sin in this world and how messed up it is, that one day the world will be judged, that Jesus is the son of the living God, that his atoning sacrifice on the cross paid the price for my sins, and that I desperately needed to turn away from sin to Jesus -- accepting him as savior and making him lord of my life.

What God has done for me is cast out the demons of pornography addiction, video game addiction, and anxiety and smashed the false idols of children, spouse, sex, work, control, car, entitlement, and so many more. What God has done for me is transform my heart and mind from the inside out, and he did it overnight the day I got on my knees and cried out to Jesus to save me, a hopeless sinner.

Praise God for his work in my life!

Through Jesus Christ, what has God done for you? What demons has he removed? Alcoholism? Drug addiction? Sex addiction? Food addiction? Self pity? Pride? Depression? Anger? What relationships has he restored? Marriage? Kids? Family? Friends? What has he healed you from? What has he given to you? In what specific way has he delivered you from bondage to give you a fuller, more abundant life?

The answers across the body of believers number as many as the stars in the sky, but the instruction to all is the same -- now go, and tell what God has done for you.

Grace and Peace

State Of The Heart

Some people have these great testimony stories about how Jesus saved them from this awful life of crime or drugs or violence or all of the above. He pulled them out of this deep dark pit and turned them completely around. To outside observers that barely new these people there was an obvious and dramatic change. There is no question that something happened to them to dramatically alter their lives.

Not so with myself and a number of others.

I'm not saying that Jesus didn't rescue me out of just as dark of a pit, but I'm saying that the casual outside observer standing at a distance might not have a clue about it.

The reason? My life was pretty good before coming to Christ and its pretty good now -- by the world's standards. I loved my kids very much then and now. I love my wife very much then and now. I had a good job then and now. I drove a decent car then and now. I wore close to the same clothes then and now. To the world, nothing is that different. I just "got a little religious or something".

Understandable.

Its understandable because the world can't see inside my heart. There was some pretty unpleasant stuff in there that I don't really want to post. Its gone now, replaced with a love and focus on Jesus Christ. Praise God for that! Sure, sometimes dark things creep back into it, but I now have the power to resist it, instead of being a slave to it.

I heard Brian talking about just this thing and was so happy to hear him talk about others with the same story. Life looks grand from the outside, but just ask these guys where their hearts were at.

Its also understandable because the world wouldn't call any of the activities I used my time for sinful. Of course not, the world doesn't like that word sin. But there is no way to sugar coat it. My attitude was "Thanks God for this great life -- I'll just go blow all my time trying to enjoy myself; after all, you just want me to be happy." What bunk. What a lame excuse for being selfish, ignoring God, not caring about others, and teaching my children, without thinking about it, that life is all about how much fun you can have before you die.

Thank God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for saving me from such madness now, while my children are still so young. I pray that they grow up to be strong Christians.

Grace and Peace

Two testimonies

I was looking around for information about Michael Franzese (mob big wig in his BC days). Here is that story:

http://www.michaelfranzese.com/inside.php

While I was looking for his story, I came across the testimonies section of the CARM website and read through quite a detailed story of a Muslim who came to renounce Islam and follow Christ:

http://www.carm.org/christianity/testimonies/journey-muslim-al-gharibs-story