Part Of The Story

PART OF THE STORY

We had been married for ten years and had three little kids. I was busy as a professional person and my wife was an excellent homemaker. A few years prior we had moved from Minnesota to Seattle and we loved it out here. Yet, after ten years of a normal life, with no major problems, we were on the verge of getting a divorce. We didn’t talk about it but we both knew it. What a tragedy that would have been. But one day something happened to me that changed the story completely. Let’s go back a ways and get some more of the story.
I was raised in Northern Minnesota in the little town of Ericsburg. We had a little farm on our forty acres where, until the age of thirteen, I was trained in hard work. Most everything in those days was done by hand, including milking our eight cows. We put up hay by hand, cleaned chickens and most everything else. We pretty much worked all day every day. We sold our cream to the creamery, our chickens, eggs and vegetables in town and to the resorts. The good part of that is that I learned to work at a young age.
One of the good things my mother did in those days was to send my sister and me to Sunday- School. We only had one little mission church in that town. We learned the Bible stories and how to become a Christian. However, I never did make that commitment and through my teenage years, when I never saw the inside of a church, that knowledge disappeared from my mind.
Then when I had graduated from college my wife suggested that we should start attending church. So we did just that. We attended a church of a large denomination which she had been raised in, where we never once heard the message of salvation. Now we were good church members but our lives did not change.
When we moved to Seattle we attended a church of that same denomination. Shortly after we began attending there the pastor announced that they were going to start the Bethel Series Bible Study. It was to train some teachers for the next class. I decided to join. After many months of this Bible study and much Bible reading, the plan of salvation, how to become a Christian was restored to my mind. I actually heard God say to me one day, “You’re going to be a Bible teacher and you’re not even a Christian?” I had to seriously deal with that one. Quite some time later I finally made up my mind that this was going to be the day for that decision. As we sat in the church that Sunday, our pastor announced a short quiet time. It was right then that I had a little chat with the Lord and surrendered my life to Him. I didn’t feel any different at that time but just one week later I noticed several miraculous changes in my life. I didn’t swear any more, I didn’t try to quit, God just took it from me. I experienced a peace that I never had before. I didn’t have to reach for that wine bottle in the cupboard after a busy day in the office. And yes, I noticed, for some reason, our marriage was already better. The years went by and my wife passed away about three months before our 50th wedding anniversary. Yes, a miracle had taken place in our lives. II Cor. 5:17 says; “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
You see, belonging to a church didn’t help me, neither did being involved in a Bible study, although that was the thing that opened my eyes. It was my surrender to Jesus that brought about the miraculous change in my life. Now I know where I will spend eternity besides enjoying the wonderful abundant life that God has promised His children here on earth.
You know, you can have a similar experience. Just seriously consider what you have just read. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. You need to repent of your sins, turn from them, and decide to live for Jesus instead of yourself. Then find a good Bible teaching church so that you can grow in the Lord. Amen!