My Personal Testimony of Salvation

I was first introduced to the whole idea of “Christianity” when I met a guy in a bar in the Republic of Panama. Both my brother and I were in the Army and incredibly had both received assignments to be stationed there. However we were never close growing up and after almost 6-months had yet to contact or see one another. The guy in the bar said I looked like someone in his unit and after further exploration came to the conclusion that he served in the same unit and this guy who looked like me was indeed my brother. Both my brother and I could be described as out of control growing up and although we had good parents, we never went to any kind of church. However, as I would be considered a “bad” person, my brother was even more so than I ever was. I then made some comments about how crazy my brother was and the guy across the table looked at me quizzically and said that we must be talking about someone different, because the guy he had in mind was in what he called “the God squad.” He went on to tell about a brother that was not the brother I knew growing up.

This got me curious, and so I got a hold of my brother and invited him over for dinner so I could see this transformation for myself. There was indeed something different about my brother and after about an hour, I finally asked him about all this stuff I heard about him being in “the God squad.” He immediately pulled out a small Bible and began to share with me some verses in the Bible. I couldn’t believe that this was the same brother I grew up with. Nonetheless, I wasn’t buying all the things he was telling me about and figured this was just a phase of life he was going through. Before he left that night, he invited me to church to check it out for myself. I told him that I would think about it and let him know. I couldn’t get over the difference in my brother and knew that I was going to have to check this so called church out for myself. To be honest, I thought that my brother had gotten himself involved with some kind of a cult. However, that coming weekend, I had to deploy to the field and would not be able to attend, so I told my wife to go and check out this church my brother was attending. My wife, unlike me grew up in a church similar to this one and when I got back from my deployment and asked my wife about the church, she was very hesitant and told me frankly that I would not like it. When I asked why, she said that they “preached” directly from the Bible. By her telling me that, made me all the more curious, so we both went the following Sunday. When the Pastor spoke that morning, I felt very uneasy with what he was saying. I knew he was talking about me and that my life was missing something, and I was doing all kinds of things to try to find peace and contentment in my life. I heart was beating furiously and I felt an immediate need to remove myself from the situation. I left and went to the restroom where I became physically ill and vowed never to return. Nonetheless, in God’s mercy, I found myself going back the following Sunday. This time, when the pastor gave the invitation, I responded to the good news about Jesus Christ and what He did for me when He died on a cross.

What I realized is that I was missing this personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When the pastor came to the close of his message and asked if there was anyone who wanted to have this personal relationship with Jesus, I simply said in my heart, yes Jesus. I then found myself in front of this church where a guy sat down with me and showed me some more Bible verses and prayed with me. That day was the beginning of many changes that took place in my life and still continue to this day. It was incredible how my desires changed and the things that were once so important to me, now seemed less important. One of the biggest changes that happened was with the relationships that I had with my wife, family and others that I came in contact with.

May I share with you from the Bible how similar changes can happen with you?