Being a Christian Part 2 - The Journey to Faith

-

From the previous post in this beginning series, you will see that I question 'where it all started'. Well, I do not know the answer to that, but I do know some of the steps. 

One of these steps came at the ripe old age of 17. I was living in St. Louis, Missouri and working for a business that closed down residential swimming pools for the winter. It was a seasonal job, and I was put alongside a man who must have been in his late twenties at the time, Randy Lough.

I cannot remember much of the job, but I do remember Randy very well. He was the first Christian I remember meeting. Randy (Randy Clough) loved talking about Jesus. I have no doubt there was an aspect of evangelising, but what pointed me to Jesus was the sincerity, not of what he was saying, but of the evidence of his tears and how his conversion had impacted his life. I did not know Randy previously, so I did not know him when he was not following the Lord, but needless to say, the change had been dramatic; well, at least that is how it was conveyed to me.

I remember Randy praying before he ate his meals, which also impacted me. Randy appeared to be thankful for all God had done and was doing for him. When Randy would talk about Jesus and His saving grace, he would often tear up and sometimes be quite emotional. This impacted me. I enjoyed our conversations, and ultimately, I made a confession of faith in Jesus Christ as my saviour.

This led to me going to Randy's home on Sundays, where I would meet with his family in their home church. I felt the family's kindness, and I was grateful for that. They bought me my first Bible.

After a short while, the job came to an end. I kept going to Randy's home on Sunday for a few months but eventually, I stopped. I can't remember exactly why, but I recall it being a 40-45 minute drive from me. It may have been income-related; I can't remember.

However, I do know that within a few months later, I was virtually back to who I was before I met Randy, though I did have a Bible.

And I did read my Bible, and I would pray. Nevertheless, I was back to my old ways, behaving like the average 18-year-old in the world does.

It would be a long time before I came back to my faith, and it would be at a rather decisive point in my life. I have previously said that this was when I met Jesus; however, I don't think that is the case. Though I got closer to Him, and it certainly impacted my life for the good but it was a false conversion, if one were to call it a conversion.

When I did eventually make a more proper profession of faith and was baptised, about 8 years later, it was then that I found a church to be part of. One that would feature as a part of my life for over 20 years. 

There will be more to come on that next time. 

In the meantime, let's give Glory to God for all He does to lead us to Him.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

-
It would be gravely remiss of me not to start this blog with an answer to this question. I have heard many people give an account of what the gospel is. However, most people only give a snippet of what it is. Some people may say that that's the crucial part - that Jesus died for our sins, but it leaves out so much, even if you include repentance. You see, this Gospel is not our own, so we should not add to or subtract from it in any way. Even in witnessing, we need to declare its fullness. To say any less is not the Gospel. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that God created man " in our own image ". And when He did, he gave Adam a command with a warning. Adam (and Eve) broke that command. In doing so, he broke not only that command but the 'world' God had designed man (man and woman) to live in. God told Adam that should he eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he "would surely die". Enter in, sin, and death, di...
Read more

Being a Christian - The Beginning

-
I'm not sure where it all began. Was it in the womb, through other people's prayers, was it before the foundation of the earth, was it when I wondered about my own self-existence as a child, or was it when the Gospel was preached to me? Or was it an accumulation of all the above? I do remember as a child when I realised my parents didn't know everything, and in that moment, the world became a much bigger place. That's when I started questioning my own self-existence.  By that age, I had already pondered on the existence of God, albeit mildly. I remember my mother telling me that she was given a necklace with a cross on it by the owners of a sweet shop that she would go by often. I mention that because she was 16 years old when she was pregnant with me, and being pregnant so young was obviously looked down upon, even more so in the 1970's. I am making a fair assumption that they were most likely a Christian couple and prayed for my mother and me - yet to be born. I c...
Read more