He Changed Me

I remember when I was a young man. There seemed to be nothing in this world I was afraid of. No FEAR and NOTHING could slow me down. Life was great as I knew it… Then one day my eyes were opened and I will never forget that day.

I was at church and the preacher man was reading from God’s word. It seemed like every thing this man preached was going straight to me…? Confused I was… I was very young, probably around 9, and tears began to fall from my eyes. I did not understand fully what was going on. But I knew who did. It was this man they spoke of… Jesus. Others were praying at this thing they called the altar. So I proceeded to the altar as others. I remember praying, and I was so scared. After my acceptance of Jesus, I remember my father taking me out for ice cream. I knew who Jesus was but was not clear on why we were celebrating with ice cream. Why was this a big deal? I found myself asking this day to day. Little did I know that this is where my story would begin, this was the first time I had realized the truth of life and the seed was planted.

For many years after I attended church giving praise to the Lord, and as a young teenager confusion was still present in my mind. How could this one called Jesus have the power to save me from eternal darkness and life in Hell? Doubt began to sink into my heart and every where I turned there was the torment of FEAR. Every time a storm came in I would be terrified of where I might go if I did not survive it. I would pray that the Lord would give me another chance to set things right. Sometimes I would even go out to my father’s barn to pray so others would not see. The last thing I wanted was for others to see me as a liar. I had already gone up to the altar as a young child… but I felt homeless.

The next Sunday came and another preacher man stood behind the pulpit reading from God’s word. I knew the Lord was speaking to me once again and this might just be my last chance to set things right between him and me. It seemed as though everyone’s eyes were on me as the room got smaller and smaller. The FEAR within me strong, as the tears fell from my cheeks. I bowed my head in the pew as the Devil tried to persuade me to not act on my feelings or FAITH… but the Devil LOST! I prayed that the Lord would give me STRENGTH and as I took that first step it was as though Jesus carried me the rest of the way. I ONLY remember the first step and next I was at His altar crying out His Name, Jesus. I knew that this time I was not going to stop praying until I knew for a fact that I was settled with my Salvation and no doubts would be left in my heart. It was then that the Comforter came to me and the fear was GONE. Praise His name, I was SAVED! I now knew my home was with Jesus in Heaven. This was the day my seed began to grow.

Not too long after my acceptance of my Savior Jesus Christ, I knew in my heart that He had work for me to do. It was then when Jesus called me to preach His word. I was so excited to be called to preach His word, so that others who were seeking Him could find Him. While accepting this responsibility when I was in 6th grade I really had no idea the struggles which were ahead of me.