Doing a “bio” about myself is something I do not care very much to do. What I do care about doing and sharing is the importance and great impact which Jesus has had in my life.
There was a time in my life when I actually thought very little – indeed, I tried to ignore anything which had to do with God and/or Jesus and the Bible. Today it is very difficult to imagine ever going even a few minutes without saying a prayer or giving thanks to my Lord and confessing Word which I have learned to continually resort to as I deal with everyday problems. Today my Lord continually encourages me along the way. There is no secret or complicated formula for following after God and endeavoring to give Him glory in all we do and say. Either we are being “real” in this or we are not.
The end result for me when I was “in the world” was to attempt suicide. You might think that having survived blowing off the top of my head with a shot gun would had been reason enough to begin living for God. It was not! Until I was born again I had not the wherewithal to “live for God”. The Bible says plainly that unless we have His Spirit living in us we are none of His. I continued to abuse alcohol and drugs afterwards – what a mess!
Several years later I met a man who challenged me to consider if whether or not I was ready to meet God. I did not care for his in my face inquiry, but still, he made me to recall when I did go to church and when I did used to sing praise songs to God. What made the difference, in the end was when I began to read a Bible with the intention of debating with that man who challenged me. I wanted to argue doctrine. Can you imagine that? Instead I heard God speaking to me through those words I read in that Bible. Just like the Prodigal son I returned unto my heavenly Father in shame and repentance for my wasted life. He forgave me and accepted me just as I was.
It's been a rocky and winding road to this point, but I have found that only as we “burn our bridges” to our past can we fully begin to live the full life He has promised. A good example of what it means to burn our bridges is what Elisha did after Elijah called to him to follow. He slaughtered those oxen and used the plow to roast them.
No turning back, no turning back. God can work with that!
