In the spring of 1997, my life would forever be changed, at a meeting I had scheduled on a fateful Wednesday night.  At 7:00 pm I was scheduled to meet with Dennis, to discuss what I thought was a simple request, but before I can tell you this part, I need to take you back years before this night though. 

My parents took my brothers and me to church when we were kids, up until I was around 11.  At that time we stopped going, but as I went through high school I can remember having an empty feeling every time I would think about life after death.  What awaited us?  My dad had shared the story of Jesus with us kids.  How he had died on the cross, to pay for my sins, and if I would only believe in Him (Jesus), I would be saved from my sins.  Though I knew the story, it did not mean anything to me personally.

After my wife and I had been married for 9 years, and our two daughters were born, we both found ourselves thinking the same thing.  “There has to be more to life than what we were experiencing?”  We felt like there was something missing.  An empty hole in our hearts and lives that we could not fill with any thing we tried.  It was at this time one of my wife’s nail clients invited us to attend her church.  Knowing we needed something we could not find, we decided to start attending her church. 

We found right away that the people there welcomed us, without question.  We were starting to feel like we belonged.  About a month after we started to attend church, the pastor was going to have a baptism the following Saturday.  I knew I had never been baptized when we attended church as a child and I knew I needed to be.  So this brings us back to the start of this story.  I met with Dennis that Wednesday night to discuss being baptized.  He recognized right away that I needed something more that baptism.  He began to ask me questions, which I thought were strange questions since I wanted to be baptized.  What he knew and I eventually realized that night was that I needed a personal relationship with Jesus first.  Like I said earlier, I knew the story of Jesus, but I did not know Him. That night in April 1997, I asked Jesus to be my savior and forgive me for my sins, and you know he did just that.  I left that night floating on air.  The burden of my sins and all my failures were gone.

I went home and explained to my wife what had happened to me and how great I felt.  So the next Wednesday night she went to see Dennis, and he started asking her the same questions he asked me, and Joanie came to know Jesus that night herself.  We had finally found what we needed to fill that empty space we had.  We now walk each day with the confidence and peace only a relationship with Jesus gives. 

What Dennis did was simple.  He shared scriptures with us:   

• Romans- 3:23 for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 

• Romans- 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

• I John- 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

• I John- 3:1   How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God.

It really is not difficult.   Just pray the following from the heart:  Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner and that you died for me on the cross.  I ask you to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and show me how to walk with you.

                                                                        In Jesus name,

                                                                                    Amen

 

Please feel free to call me anytime if you have questions or want to tell me about your own experience:   541-561-7250