May 27,1990 - EVERYTHING CHANGED!
Twenty years ago today Jesus, in His UNBELIEVABLE grace reached down from heaven and saved me! He knew every stupid, foolish thing I had ever done…AND He knew every stupid, foolish thing I was going to do…and He saved me anyway.
I can’t believe it…I am still overwhelmed by the cross…His sacrifice for my sins…freely given…AMAZING.
To say that I ran from God for the first 18 years of my life is a bit of an understatement…I really wanted nothing to do with Him, especially after my mother died in 1982 when I was in the 6th grade…
Yet…as I look back over the most rebellious times in my life I can see He was there the entire time…calling to me, wooing me, letting me know that life didn’t have to be “that way!”
He NEVER gave up on me…He was relentless in His pursuit of me…and the ONLY reason for this is His AMAZING GRACE! I was a sinner…I was the engineer of the train known as the “hell express,” - and JESUS changed everything.
I still remember the moment I realized I needed Him…in some ways it seems like it just happened. I was sitting in choir practice, preparing for a mission trip when all of a sudden I knew that I had NEVER received Christ into my life…I had never fully understood that there was a seperation between me and God…and only JESUS could bridge that gap.
SO…I found one of the ministers on staff and told him I wanted to follow Jesus. Stop and read that sentence again…I wanted to follow Jesus. I didn’t want to pray a prayer to just get me out of hell…I didn’t want to go through a religious ceremony based on the traditions of man…I FINALLY understood that Jesus gave His life for me and I wanted to spend the rest of my time on this planet giving my life to Him.
He changed me! I am fully convinced based on the Scriptures AND what HE has done in my life that you cannot meet Jesus and remain the same! AND…the beauty of this is that 20 years later He is STILL changing me!
He has brought me so far…I never imagined in a million years He would bless me the way that He has…my amazing wife, our awesome little girl, the best friends I could ever ask for and the most amazing church on the planet.
And yet I know He’s not finished with me. There is MUCH refining to do in my life…and I am so excited and overwhelmed that He, in His mercy, would be so patient with me as I continue to learn to try my best to hear His voice and do what He says.
He really is an amazing Savior! I am in awe of the fact that HE SAVED ME! Thank You Jesus…You were pierced for MY transgressions, crushed for my sin…and BY YOUR WOUNDS I HAVE BEEN HEALED! AMAZING!