Happy morning! I thought I would put this up early so those of you waiting with baited breath could relax the rest of Saturday. Here then is part 2:
One day in 1997, my car broke down, and I borrowed my mother’s car. She had an NIV Bible in the front seat, and when I opened it, I was amazed that I could actually understand it. She bought me a copy with a two-week reading plan on the life of Jesus. I read through those fourteen chapters in a couple of hours. When I realized Jesus was God, I understood that I was not and never would be acceptable to a completely holy God; I fell to my knees as God regenerated me and gave me the faith to believe His word.
In November of 1997, I quit doing drugs and began attending the Bible Church Tom attended. After a couple of years, I began drinking again—but, I figured I wasn’t drinking as much as before, and after all, I could control it. Or so I thought. It felt odd going to Church after drinking during the week, and I soon realized I could not continue to serve two masters. So, in 2002, I stopped attending Church.
After struggling with alcohol for two more years, I was released from that bondage as well and soon felt the call into preaching Christ and Him crucified. I was attending a Bible church, but spent a year investigating the confessional churches because I just could not shake the feeling that something was being watered down where I was. I kept hearing that we were “Evangelicals,” and although I was not sure exactly what that meant, I was somehow pretty sure I was not. During a conversation with one of our elders, I mentioned something about dispensationalists. He said “All Christians are dispensationalists.” This bothered me because I was sure I was not a dispensationalist. So I struggled for a time with the feeling that perhaps I was not really a Christian.
Tune in next time...
Saturday, February 2, 2008
My Story Part 2
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1 comment:
Alan:
You have me very intriguied at the moment. Good job :-)
And thank you for the comment. It really meant a lot to me. It reminded me that people care, and even if they haven't been through the exact same things that I have, they can still help me...they can still care. Intellectually, I ALWAYS know that, but sometimes I let my emotions/feelings get the better of me. I think that most (if not all) people have this longing for someone who will just GET THEM. Who's walked a mile in their shoes. Who knows what it's liked to be tempted....and to me, that's one of the things that so awesome about Jesus...He was fully God, but also fully man. He was tempted...He gets it. He's a high priest who can sympathize with us, yet at the same time, was Himself without sin!! It's something that my mind has a hard time wrapping itself around at times.
God gets me. He created me. He knit me together in my mother's womb. Even when I hated God...when I was working against Him, He still saw everything that was going on in my life...He still knows the things that I went through. Even if I feel like no one else on this planet gets me, God does. He knows me better than I know myself.
I don't know...I guess what you wrote just really reminded me of that. Thanks :-)
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