I am the son of an alcoholic and while growing up, my family never attended church of any sort. The only thing I heard about God and Jesus was what we saw on the TV flipping through channels. I believed that as long as I was a good person, God would let me into Heaven.
When I was 15 years old, God allowed a storm into my life to get my attention. Through an accident at school, my family discovered that my 9-year-old sister had a cancerous tumour. The accident had caused it to rupture, spreading to her other organs. Straightaway she was sent to a Children’s Hospital to begin chemotherapy and my world was turned upside down. Whenever I had heard the word cancer, the only thing I could think of was death.
After a year of chemotherapy, her best friend began inviting her to the church she attended. She finally agreed to go. She attended a service they held for children, and it was there that she heard for the first time why Jesus died on the cross and that He loved her so very much. She decided that morning to become a born-again Christian. She asked Jesus to forgive her of her sins and she put her faith in Him.
When she returned home, immediately I could tell something was different about her. She had a peace and joy that I had never seen before. She was no longer afraid of what might happen to her. Instead of discovering for myself what happened to her, I watched to see if this was truly real or a passing fad. Her faith never wavered, and it only grew stronger as her health declined.
The church family of Grace Baptist Church loved on my family and had compassion upon us. I saw genuine Christianity – not a show. It was through this compassion that I met my future wife.
Sadly, my sister did end up losing her fight with cancer shortly after her 11th birthday. At her wake, I was invited to attend a special meeting at Grace Baptist Church. I agreed to attend, and it was then that I heard the Bible being taught where I could understand it, and I enjoyed listening to what I was learning.
After attending the church for a few weeks, I realized that Jesus died for my sin and that I could never be good enough to earn Heaven myself. I knew that I was a sinner and had broken God’s laws. In my heart, I knew that Jesus was the only answer to get to Heaven and if I didn’t become a born-again Christian, I would never see my sister again. On November 14th, 1999, I repented of my sin and in faith asked Jesus to forgive me and save me from Hell.
Since that day, there have been many storms since, but I have had a peace in my soul that only Jesus Christ can give. He can save you from eternal death and give you eternal LIFE! What are you waiting for? What has to happen before you will trust Him to save you?
I do hope you realise that what you need most of all is God’s forgiveness of your sin in your life like I did. It is such a comfort knowing that God could love a selfish, sinful person like me! God did more than just love us – He personally paid for all our sins when He gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place!
The Bible says in John 3:16 “For God so loved THE WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Romans 5:8 says, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus’ death in our place was THE greatest act of love ever done.
If you would like more information on what it means to be a born-again Christian, please ring me or email me at pastor@clarebible.ie