HOW GOD CONVINCED ME THAT THE NEW GOOD NEWS ABOUT HIM WAS TRUE
This is the story of my journey from atheism, through agnosticism to becoming a Christian, someone with a personal trust in Jesus Christ. I took this step in June 1987. Now I face death with total confidence! Can you?
My former beliefs
This is what I believed prior to June 1987.
There is no God.
Life on earth evolved.
Jesus was a myth.
The Bible was so old it could not possibly be accurate. History is unrepeatable so why should I believe it?
Of all the religions in the world, why should the Christian faith be the only "right" one?
Visions of heaven and hell experienced by some people close to death were biochemical changes in the brain. I had no doubt these stories were useful for controlling people!
Can you identify with any of this?
But what if heaven and hell really do exist, regardless of whether you believe in them?
Unable to accept the bible
Even as a young child, I had no beliefs at all. It was as a teenager that I began to think that there might be a God. I attended school chapel and went through with the church ritual in the vague hope that if there were " something in it" I would be all right. I assumed that making a commitment to Christ meant accepting that he was a man with a beard, living in Israel, claiming to be the Son of God. However, I had great difficulty in believing in the existence of either God or Jesus and found myself unable to accept anything in the bible.
A strange feeling of suffocating
Then, in 1987 I had a strange experience! It started in February when I began to feel like I was suffocating from the inside. However, there was no clinical explanation for it.
God knows me
One Friday in April of that year, I met with three Christian friends to pray (speak to God). Because Christians prayed, I mistakenly thought I could also be a Christian just by praying! Then the young woman in the group began to speak out things that only I knew about. God spoke through her saying, "You did not choose me, I chose you salvation* comes by faith not by our deeds the only thing you will ever have to boast about is that it is I and I alone (Jesus) who have saved you " I was overwhelmed. I gasped: "It's true!" I concluded that there is a God and He knows exactly what I think! To him we are totally transparent and that is how He is able to know everything about each of us, including whether or not we have a relationship with him.
(*The Christian view of salvation is the attainment of eternal life in the joy of heaven. It has to be secured before death. No one knows when their death will occur.)
A rushing wind
Then it happened! There was a violent rushing wind from above. It seemed to occupy all the space in the room and penetrated both my eardrums but no damage was done. My whole body was filled with this powerful but gentle wind. The suffocating stopped and I could breathe properly again. There was no wind outside. The doors and windows were closed. There was no draught within. It was like a scene out of Pentecost! The bible describes the events of Pentecost when it says, "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:2).
Wondering about what Jesus says
It took several weeks for me to get my head around what had happened and why. I had often wanted to know if the stories in the Bible were true, particularly those about Jesus rising from the dead and making the claim:
" I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25). Also, Jesus says of myself, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no-one comes to the Father except through me " (John 14:6).
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Although I did not exactly meet with what I thought would be a "man with a beard", but I did have an encounter with the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that God exists in three "persons". Water is available to us in the form of ice, steam and the water we drink. In a similar way Christians believe that God exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father made the world and sent His Son Jesus, fully God and fully man, to die on the cross for our sins. Who made God is difficult to answer but someone once stated: "If God needed to be made, he wouldn't be God!" The Holy Spirit is the same spirit that dwelled in Jesus himself. He moves different people in different ways but always towards God.
Looking at the evidence
Pentecost only happened because Jesus lived, died and rose again. I thought. I prayed. I read into the evidence supporting the Christian faith. Since then much more has come to light. Such literature may be found in Christian bookshops. Even if you do not believe me or if you have another problem believing in what the bible teaches, please seek this material out and read it. It is important.
Believing the truth about Jesus
My experience convinced me of the truth of Jesus Christ: His life, miracles, teachings, death and resurrection. Belief in Jesus being raised from the dead is essential to have a relationship with the one who gives eternal Life. "If you acknowledge with your mouth that 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
Two eternal destinations - don't sit on the fence!
Jesus was visibly removed from earth and, one day, He will publicly and personally return. He will place all people into one of two categories. These are those who are going to heaven, a place of everlasting peace and beauty, and those who are going to hell, a place of everlasting pain and punishment. In the light of this, do you think you can sit on the fence?
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:36).
Making a decision
In June 1987, I made a conscious decision before God to turn away the wrong things I had believed. I made a commitment to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for me personally.
The Good News!
Christians claim that this choice and belief are essential for salvation, and the only way to escape God's wrath. That is the Good News of Jesus Christ, also known as the Gospel. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Accepting the grace that Jesus offers
"There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 5:12).
We all have sinned and no one should suffer the terrible fate of perishing without knowing the grace that Jesus offers us.
Thank you for reading this.
May God bless you and bring you closer to Him.
