True Story
Shortly after I surrendered my life to Christ, I was asked to write down what I felt a Christian was. I could only draw upon how I became a Christian and what it meant to me. What I wrote only touched on my depths of despair and the way things controlled my life. As you read, my hope is that the joy I now feel shines through and that you will see how the love of Jesus has saved my family.
What is a Christian?
What a Christian is to me has changed a great deal over the years. In 1981, I thought I was a Christian when I spoke a prayer to ask Jesus into my heart. I did this because I loved a Christian girl and I knew that she needed me to be a Christian. It was a win-win situation. I got the girl and salvation too!
Well I married this girl and spent the next five years acting as what Bill Bright describes as a carnal Christian. This is a Christian that is self-centered rather than Christ-centered. I would reluctantly go to church or pray. There were more important or fun things in life and my god wanted me to do them. Yes my god, the one that I made up, not the real God. The world was telling me that this kind of god was okay.
Then about 1990 I simply rejected anything that had to do with Jesus and His church. My god told me that I could do anything as long as I was happy. The problem was that as hard as I tried I could not be happy. Over the next seven years my family slowly deteriorated. We were not only unhappy but there was a great deal of anger and very little love. My wife, God bless her, never gave up hope in God. She kept praying for me and knew that God would take care of us someday. She has always been my greatest inspiration for Christian faith.
Someday came in April of 1997 when I received a letter from my Wife's Pastor. It talked about a conference of men called Promise Keepers. Well with another beer in my hand I shocked my wife by saying I wanted to go to it. That weekend at Promise Keepers changed my life forever. It was like getting hit by a 2x4 right between the eyes. I came to understand what it means to be a Christian and what I was missing all those years!
Now that I look back to that day in 1981 when I spoke that prayer I suppose I was saved. I can not say that with any certainty because the reason I said it was not from the heart that I was asking Jesus to enter. Also that day I did not understand what I was asking for. Asking Jesus into your heart is a two-way covenant. Sure the salvation part was good but I did not realize that I was giving my life to Him. He expects Christians to deny themselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him. A Christian is someone who has Christ in the center of his life. Giving up my life for Him has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience. With Him in the center of my life my family is back together and there is joy and love in our home. This can only be by the grace of God!
I can honestly say that accepting Jesus Christ as savior alone will not work. You deprive yourself of all He can do for you on earth. Most importantly you deprive Him of what He requires of you. As a Christian we are His ambassadors here on earth. Our mission is to spread the good news and to help others. As the late Rich Mullins sang "Faith without works baby, It just ain’t happenin’. "
That is my story and I invite you to learn more about the Good News of Jesus Christ. As you can see He has changed my life and He can change yours. We have created a page called "The Road to God" and we invite you to go there now.