"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" - Mark 1:15 (NIV)
On July 14, 1993, when I was 17 years old and between my junior and senior years of high school, I prayed to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior.
My spiritual experience before then had been limited to the occasional Catholic Mass (I was baptized Catholic when I was six months old). When I was 16 years old, some football teammates of mine occasionally talked about God, and His relevance to us. A couple of them even tried talking me into going to church with them at the church down the street from my house. After a lot of talking, I finally went. However, I was bored out of my mind, and did not go back for a few months.
Later, I was cruising around town with my friend Chuck, and during the drive, the conversation turned to spiritual matters. We eventually wound up at his house, thumbing through his Bible looking at various topics. During that time, Chuck also talked me into going back to church.
The following Sunday, I returned to the little church down the street from my house. Unlike the last time, though, the sermon this time made sense, and caught my attention. I listened intently to the pastor, and I made it a point to come back the next Sunday.
I continued to attend the church over the next year, and in July 1993, when I was 17 years old, I went with the church to Gull Lake Bible Camp outside Kalamazoo, Michigan. I spent most of my time with the high school group, and met a few people. One of them was a 15-year-old guy from the area named John.
The Wednesday night of the week, July 14, 1993, John and I were walking back to the cabin area after the high school youth service, and we were discussing what we had heard from the youth pastor. He then asked me if I was saved. I told him that I had no idea about what he was talking about. He then went on to explain about how Jesus had died on the cross for our sins and then rose from the dead. I already knew that part of the story, but for some reason, it had never really impacted me until then.
John then asked me if I wanted to pray and receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I told him that I wanted to sleep on it, since it was getting pretty late and we had a full day ahead of us the next day. He then reminded me of this T-shirt that said, "Those who wait until 11 o'clock, die at 10:30!" That did it for me. John led me through the sinner's prayer and I prayed to receive Jesus.
I went to bed not thinking too much of what had happened. However, the next morning, at the morning meeting with the youth pastor at the camp, I felt something different, like something had happened to me. As the youth pastor started with his testimony, I tried to figure out what was going on with me. In retrospect, I now know that it was God beginning to change me.
Over the next year, I went through my senior year in high school. I continued to attend church, and got involved with some of the activities with other Christians in my school, including praying for a few minutes before the first class of the day.
Since then, I have continued to follow Christ, and learn as much as I can. It hasn't been a cakewalk, as I've had my fair share of trials. However, despite everything, two things have stuck with me: that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37), so miracles can happen, including even the worst of people can be saved; and eternal life in Heaven with Jesus Christ is secure and will never be taken away since I am a son of God and He has given us grace beyond measure (Ephesians 2:4-6).
God has love and grace for all of us, and all we have to do to repent (Acts 17:30), believe (John 1:12) and confess (Romans 10:9-10). The choice is yours. However, like the t-shirt said, this is not a decision to be taken lightly or to be held off for too long, for we don't know what will happen the next day or when Jesus will come back for us (Matthew 24:42).
If anyone reading this has any questions, please feel free to comment on this post. If you have questions that you would not want others to hear, please feel free to e-mail me.
I'd love to hear from you either way. Thanks for reading and God Bless!
--Rob
Copyright 2015 - The Disciple's Beacon.
