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Something Stirred Within Me
Having grown up in a Christian home, I read the Bible some and attended Christian meetings regularly. Although I believed what I heard, somehow it wasn't real to me. Eventually, I found other things to do as a teenager, and by the time I joined the Army when I was 19, the Lord Jesus was about the farthest thing from my mind. I started drinking for fun, then it turned into a habit. Before long, I was into drugs. I was trying to have fun and be happy, but the more I tried, it seemed the worse my condition became. I began to realize there was more to life than having things and doing things, but I had no idea what it was!
After I got out of the Army, I began to travel around and visit some of my buddies, but I got nothing except more discouragement. All the things we talked about doing after we got out just fell apart. I drifted up into Toronto, in Canada, and after living on the street for a week or so, I met a young Christian who asked if he could talk to me about the Lord. He sat down with me and began to speak, then he gave me a tract about Jesus being the Son of God who came to give us life. Something I had never felt before stirred within me. (Later I found out it was faith!) Through contact with him and some others there in Toronto, I eventually opened my heart and received the Lord. I had a wonderful experience of salvation and enjoyed the Lord's sweet presence. I realized that all the Bible stories had been true, and that I had a misconception of who Christ really is. The real Christ was all I wanted now! But soon the experience faded and I didn't know how to go on contacting the Lord. I was miserable and even began to get back into the things I was into before I was saved.
I hitchhiked to California from Florida and wound up on the street in Berkeley. I got very desperate and turned to the Lord, asking Him to take me home--so He did! That evening I met some young people in the local church in Berkeley and they spoke to me about the Christ I had met before. As we talked, I began to have the same feeling inside as when I received the Lord! I told one of the brothers I felt like I had failed the Lord. He told me I wasn't supposed to make it on my own--I was a member of the Body. Since that night, I have been living in the Body of Christ, enjoying the Lord daily in His word, and enjoying His riches in all His members. The local church has gotten richer every year for over twenty-five years. Praise the Lord! He has kept me year by year growing in His grace and in the apprehension of His Body. The real Christ has a real Body!
D.P. | Back to List
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