Michelle and I were married in the fall of 1998. We had both grown up in
church and Michelle had accepted Christ at a young age, but had fallen away in
her late teens. I had never accepted Jesus as my savior, and continued to drift
away from the church starting around age 16. After we were married, we began
talking about having kids and we both thought we should raise our kids in church
so that they would have the same good "values" that we had.
Well, we started going to a large community church and quickly became aware
that there were more than good "values" to teach our children. There was so much
more to this Jesus thing than I realized. Soon we were in the Christian
bookstores trying to find help in understanding the Bible better. I came across
a book called "Left Behind". It was a fictional novel about the end times, based
on the book of Revelations. This subject had always interested me, although I
really was not a Christian. At this point, I still thought that a person could
get into heaven just by being a good person. Was I ever wrong.
The "Left Behind" series inspired me to dig deeper into the bible and I
learned that Jesus was the only way to heaven:
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me."
John 14:6 (NIV)
I also learned that no matter how good of a person we may think we are, we
are not even close to being sinless, and that is what it takes in order to be
with God in heaven:
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
Romans 3:23 (NIV)
Jesus Christ took the punishment for our sins so that we could be with God in
heaven, and not have to suffer an eternal separation from Him in hell.
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might
die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
It was at this point that realized I needed to pray to God and ask
His forgiveness,
admit that I am a sinner, and accept Jesus Christ as my savior:
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
Revelations 3:20 (NIV)
Now that I am sure of my salvation, I have a continuing and growing need to
learn more about what the Bible has to say about everything. I know that I have
a long way to go, but I also know that the Holy Spirit will guide me on my journey.
If you have questions about who Jesus is or your own
salvation please
email me
and I will try and help. I admit, that I am not a pastor, but I can
definitely point you in the right direction.