tandemcpl
Member
I spent the best part of 52 years on this earth walking with Satan. I was not just a non-believer; I was a defiant atheist who wanted nothing to do with God. This approached seemed to be working for me and I joined one group after another trying to find fulfillment. Many of the groups I joined had one thing in common, large amounts of alcohol. Although I had used illegal drugs in my 20s, I had since grown to embrace alcohol as my drug of choice. The beer and whisky helped me to cope with the stresses life seemed to bring me every day. When the beer was not enough to escape reality, I turned to pornography; after all, it cannot be bad, it is on the television. None of my actions were secrete, everyone I hung out with knew of my vices. They not only knew, some of them shared in them. It took the untimely death of a family member to make me see I needed to do something different.
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During the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday our family received word that my wife’s brother, Steve, had passed away from a heart attack. This news took everybody by surprise because Steve was only in his late forties. Steve was a dedicated follower of Jesus and during his funeral service many individuals stepped forward to explain how God had blessed their lives through Steve. As a follower of Jesus, Steve left a powerful legacy for his wife, children, and grandchildren. His legacy also had a profound effect on my life. In the days and weeks following the funeral service, I began to ask myself, “What type of legacy would I leave?” I did not like the answers I was receiving.
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In February 2011, I overheard my wife and daughter talking about finding a church to attend; I interrupted them and told them I wanted to join them. I did not tell them at the time, but I had come to the realization that I needed to do something different with my life. We started going to church that February and after going to services every Sunday, I gave my life to Jesus on April 3, 2011. From the day I gave my life to Jesus, I have had a strong desire to learn as much as I possibly can about our glorious God.
<O:p</O:p
At this early stage of my walk in Christ, I relate most to the woman who had such love for Jesus, she washed his feet with tears and hair. Jesus explains this as follows: “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love” (Luke 7:47, NLT). The sins I have been forgiven are too many to count, and there is no way to ever show my Lord enough love to repay what He had forgiven me. Praise God.
<O:p</O:p
Have a blessed day.
Toby
<O:p</O:p
During the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday our family received word that my wife’s brother, Steve, had passed away from a heart attack. This news took everybody by surprise because Steve was only in his late forties. Steve was a dedicated follower of Jesus and during his funeral service many individuals stepped forward to explain how God had blessed their lives through Steve. As a follower of Jesus, Steve left a powerful legacy for his wife, children, and grandchildren. His legacy also had a profound effect on my life. In the days and weeks following the funeral service, I began to ask myself, “What type of legacy would I leave?” I did not like the answers I was receiving.
<O:p</O:p
In February 2011, I overheard my wife and daughter talking about finding a church to attend; I interrupted them and told them I wanted to join them. I did not tell them at the time, but I had come to the realization that I needed to do something different with my life. We started going to church that February and after going to services every Sunday, I gave my life to Jesus on April 3, 2011. From the day I gave my life to Jesus, I have had a strong desire to learn as much as I possibly can about our glorious God.
<O:p</O:p
At this early stage of my walk in Christ, I relate most to the woman who had such love for Jesus, she washed his feet with tears and hair. Jesus explains this as follows: “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love” (Luke 7:47, NLT). The sins I have been forgiven are too many to count, and there is no way to ever show my Lord enough love to repay what He had forgiven me. Praise God.
<O:p</O:p
Have a blessed day.
Toby
