My Faith
I
grew up attending a teensey, weensey Baptist
church in Northern Alabama. I was taught
that if you believe that God sent his only son,
Jesus Christ, to save us all from our sins then
you were saved. That was it.
So, I was saved at the age of seven but I
never felt like a Christian. Years later,
my family and I moved to another city. It
took about a year and a half to find a new
church that felt like home. Within that
time I gossiped, I lied, I totally forgot about
God and his way of life.
Over the summer, I attended a youth conference at our new church and
I worshipped and prayed. It changed the way I
looked at Christianity. School started and
I slid back into my old ways. I would go
to church on Sundays and Wednesdays and praise
God. I'd promise Him that I'd never go
back and BAM, by the next day I was back to my
sinning ways. It was a vicious cycle.
Then one day, in the car on the way to church I heard
God telling me, "Go out. Tell your
generation about Me." I responded,
"God, I have sinned, why are you asking
me?" After this, I repented like never
before. God forgave me and washed me
clean.
I bet you're thinking HAPPILY EVER AFTER,
right. No, not even close. That day
I only gave God 95 percent of me. The last
5 percent is what did it. I went back to
my old ways
Over the summer I started praying every day. I
started reading my Bible. Little by
little, giving 95, 96, 97 percent. I began
hearing His voice but it wasn't enough.
The following year, I went to the youth conference
at church again and gave it my all.
And it's made the biggest difference in my
life. I know I'm going to spend all
eternity with the Lord, my Savior. I'm
amazed at how relieved I feel knowing I
won't ever go back to my old ways. PRAISE
GOD!
The thing is, God knows we are all sinners, each and
everyone of us. But he forgives us anyway.
His love knows no end, all we have to do is
ask. Are you feeling pulled down by
life? Weighted down by stress, worry and
guilt? Well, me too. But it's at
these times that God offers a hand. He's
also there when things are going right and I
think I've got it handled because that's when
I'm most likely to let my guard down and slide
back into my old ways.
You see, we give up on God, God doesn't give up on
us. He's there at the beginning and at the
end, during the good and the bad because we need
guidance at all times and He's always
there. Knowing this has brought me the
most peace.
Just because you're driving a new car, got a
promotion at work or made an 'A' at school are
you necessarily happy. To the world, many
people appear to have it all but they would
willingly trade it for what God offers us for
free...a chance to start over with a clean slate
without all the baggage that life gives us.
Now, my story isn't going to make a change in
anyone's life because you had to be there to
appreciate my struggles with living a Godly
life. No, I've never been a drinker or
done drugs. I've not been homeless or
worried if my Mom or Dad would come home at
night. To many, I've lived a great life
and I have but I have my path to walk.
Your path is probably different so your story
will be too. It's been that way from the
beginning. Click
here
for a video of one man's face to face
encounter with God as told by my Pastor, Chris
Hodges.
Links
Faith
