My life before Christ was a life of alcoholism, foul language, infidelity and morality and heavy metal rock music. Lost and destined for an eternity in hell! A place that no human being on the face of this earth should be! This is a very dangerous place. I drank to get drunk. I cursed at my two boys. I cheated on my wife and was caught up in things that I was not proud of and are not worthy of talking about!
Little did I know God had a different plan for my life! I remember every detail. I met a pastor named Rick Johnson at a JROTC even here in Blue Spring, Mo. Had no idea he was building a church until later on. I asked where the church was and got a personal tour of the not yet complete building that was being built.
On Monday July 8th 2002 while at work doing my lunch workout, God caused my cassette tape player to stop working. I normally worked out to a heavy metal rock group called God Smack. Since my tape player stopped working I decided to tune over to some Christian music on Calvary 88.5. Not knowing that the more I listened to this station, the more my heart was getting prepared for a life changing experience! All through the week during my workout’s I would listen to this station.
I had been attending church for a couple of weeks but, on Sunday July 14, 2002 I attended church service and that evening was a new visitor get together at the pastor’s home. At the time my wife was working for McDonald’s and was running late. There were about 13 couples there. They began to give their testimonies on how God radically changed their life! The started to the right of me and every person in the room except for me had that personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Some had military backgrounds and others had drug backgrounds and others would give their backgrounds of alcohol and immorality and all kinds of sin. They were all delivered and saved by Jesus! God’s timing is so perfect and right that by the time that it got to be my turn my wife walked in. By then my heart was ready and was broken. Once it got to my turn I told the group how my life was not what I wanted and that if I was to die today I know for a fact I would spend an eternity in hell! I stated that I no longer want that life and I need Jesus in my life!
They walked me through the scriptures and how I was a sinner in need of a savior. That evening, I repented of my sins and called upon the Lord to save me! Christ changed my life! Christ in me was so noticeable that my coworkers the next day said, “There is something different about you.” one coworker stated I convicted him so much that he too turned back to the Lord. My kids followed my footsteps in the path of salvation. I got rid of all my rock music and threw it in the trash. I stopped cursing. I started praying at the dinner table. I hungered for God’s precious Word. I wanted to know all about my Savior. I was baptized. I was discipled in the Word and no longer had the desire for alcohol. This was not something I did. It was the fact that Jesus Christ took up residence in my heart and changed me. I became a tenor for the Choir then moved to children’s ministry. Went on my first missions trip to Guatemala and worked in VBS and evangelism. Coordinated VBS for Whiteman AFB 3 years, and now I minister to the Junior High!
If you are reading this and do not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and you have not repented of your sins and asked Jesus into your heart, you are missing the greatest life ever! You don’t have to clean yourself up first. Jesus will take you just as you are just like He did with me!
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.