Mark and I decided it was time to join and become members of the Cornerstone church. We have enjoyed the church so much and want to become more a part of it. In order to become a member we had to attend two classes. In one of the classes we had to share our "God story".
I couldn’t have wriiten this better myself!! Written by a blogger friend
“What I Used to
Think “
If you’ve been reading my blog long enough, you’ve heard
bits and pieces of my testimony of how God has changed my life. Our church
calls this a ‘God story’ and explains it as events leading up to and after the
point of intersect…when God intersects your life ….you were going one direction
and then suddenly God opens your eyes to truth and your life starts on a new
path. It is this intersect point in a person’s life in which many put their
faith in Christ for the first time. It is often referred to as when they were
‘saved’, or the moment they first believed. The events and feelings after this
point are often called being ‘born again’. Maybe you’ve heard those terms
tossed around. Well, let me tell you what I used to think.
My beliefs used to line up well with what our American
culture tells us. I believed in God, and I thought that when I died I would go
to heaven as long as I was good. I pictured judgement day as me coming face to
face with God and handing him my resume of my life. I thought that as long as
there were more good things on it than bad things, then I was in. These beliefs
seemed to be confirmed on TV shows, movies, and even at funerals. Almost
everyone goes to heaven I thought. As long as they are good.
About the same time that my friend Steph and I started
meeting (I shared about her in an earlier post click here) I remember being in
church one day. I will never, ever, ever forget this day in church. I sat there
listening to the sermon, and at the very beginning our pastor asked the
congregation ‘What is the one way to heaven?’ After he asked I began thinking
and answering the question in my head. My answer of course was: as long as you
are good…you know, don’t murder anyone, try not to cuss, try to do random acts
of kindness, be a good person. The sermon went on, and I hung on to the end for
the answer to his question. Toward the end of the sermon the question was asked
again, and then our pastor gave us the answer: Jesus. What on earth does that
mean I thought? Our pastor went on talking about having a relationship with
Jesus, and what that looks like….and that through Jesus, we had a gift. A gift
of eternal life. Although I maybe had been told this many times previously,
apparently I hadn’t been listening or maybe I never cared, because it sure
didn’t sink in until that day. This was the day that the song ‘Amazing Grace’
is referring to in the lyric ‘I once was blind, but now I see’. This day in
church was my intersection point – the point that God intersected my life. This
was the day that I began to understand who Jesus was, what he had done for me,
and that I brought absolutely nothing to the table in order to bring about my
salvation. It was only through Jesus that I would be in heaven one day.
After that day I constantly searched my newly opened
Bible to ensure that this matched up. Was Jesus really the only way? I needed
to confirm this. How could I be sure? What about my cherished resume belief?
That had to come from somewhere – was any of that true? At this point I had
begun reading in the New Testament and I came across verses like this:
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is
Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture
says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (Romans
10:9-11)
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While
we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by
his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
(Romans 5:8-9)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John
3:16)
This is often termed as the ‘good news’. But, here is the
hard part - for many of us in our minds it starts off as bad news in that we
have to recognize our sin. We have to know what Jesus died for to understand
the beautiful importance of his death which cancels our debts and brings us
into a relationship with God. It’s hard to come to terms with our sin. Trust
me, I fought it. But if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and
the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God (Romans 3:23). There must be a point in which we recognize that
our sin separates us from God. If we can’t ever get past this part of the news,
then we will always feel offended, stand-off-ish, and defensive any time the
gospel is brought up. Once I was able to let down my pride and realize my sin,
I understood the amazing grace of God. And, my resume belief was gladly
released. I am so thankful that my admission into heaven doesn’t depend on my
own works. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast
(Ephesians 2:8-10)
If you believe in God have you taken the time to ensure
that your beliefs match up with the word of God – the Bible? Mine didn’t. Have
you read the Bible? If not, just start. Start in Matthew of the New Testament
and read until the end to Revelations. Then, once you have a grip on the New
Testament, go back to the very beginning (Genesis) and start reading the Old
Testament. Some verses are confusing though, so it will help to have a study aid,
or a life application bible in which you can get additional insight and
explanations for the verses. Or meet with a friend that can help you through
the verses. Hate to read? Catch some sermons online.
Well, to some this might sound like a bunch of hodge
podge and you may have wished that you didn’t take the time to read this. But,
I know I am not wasting my breath. I know that there are people out there who
believe what I used to believe, and think what I used to think. But, the Bible
does not back up the resume theory (or whatever you want to call it) for
entrance to heaven. It is in Jesus alone that we find the promise of eternal
life. And, in Jesus alone we find the promise of new life here on earth. Here
is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I
was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display
his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and
receive eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:15-16)
Here is My God story - written Jan 2013
Growing up I
attended church with my family, was baptized as a baby, attended an AWANA group, and confirmed as a teenager. I remember asking Jesus into my heart as a young child at christian camp. I thought
that if I believed in God, that was it, I was a Christian and going to heaven. I lived for
the world, doing whatever I wanted and what was fun and enjoyable. When I
became a parent, I knew I wanted to be a good example and wanted the best for my
children and marriage. I gradually grew to know the Lord and have a stronger faith and
understanding. I don't have one exact moment that changed my life, it was more of a gradual change. I know that we are all sinners, and through Jesus Christ we can have eternal life. By reading
God’s word and living a life for him, we can be transformed. I am trying to
live my life for God’s glory and love and serve through Him. I know that with
God all things are possible and I put my hope and trust in him.
Mark's God Story
I was born
and raised in a Christian home. When I was five I asked my Aunt Betty what it
takes to get to heaven, she told me I needed to believe in my heart that the
Lord died on the cross for my sins so I would have eternal life, which I did
and prayed the prayer of salvation. As I grew up I noticed some Christians
treated others quite badly during the week, except in church of course and this
bothered me very much. As I got to be a
teenager I used other Christians hypocrisy
as a means to justify my sinful behavior and started worrying more about
being cool and fitting in with friends and being popular than living the way
God intended.
My spiritual
life was pretty much a roller
coaster in my teen years, getting into
trouble on several occasions. I always felt guilt after doing sinful things,
but always seemed to revert back to those things time and again. Even in the
midst of this I knew I would never be happy until I started living the way God
intended. Living the way of the world
had pretty much made me miserable. For years before I went to sleep I would
pray I would meet the right women.
I finally
did when I met Holly, we were married 11 months later after we met. We both
wanted to base our marriage and family on the Lord which we have done. I consider
Holly and our three kids gifts from
God. We have a great marriage and we are
trying to teach and raise our children how God intended. I finally learned to
Focus on the Lord and not what others did and said, we are all hypocrites to an
extent. I truly feel my life is a miracle to be this happy and satisfied, 20
years ago I could not have thought it possible. I want to learn more and and to
be a good example for my family everyday.
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