Post by John on Feb 7, 2019 22:11:05 GMT -5
I was reading Letters wonderful testimony, and I went back and realized I hadn't posted anything about how I got saved. I think I did at WCF, but not here. My testimony shows how events have to line up a certain way for God to reach you, and that things don't happen by accident.
I was raised believing in God, and I did have a home church, a United Methodist congregation. I remember getting confirmed at some point, but really not understanding what it meant. I was just told that this meant I was made clean and free from past sins, but I don't remember any real change. My Father was the manager of a radio station, and I always wanted to work in radio myself. They would hire students that were at least 16 years old to work part time after school, and when I was 15, almost 16, I got a part time job there in the afternoon. They were a country station at the time, and I didn't really care for that style of music, but I wanted to work in radio.
When I was 17, someone was leaving the station, and that opened up a full time position. I wound up dropping out of High School and I went to work full time, which meant working in the morning. I was preparing for my G.E.D. at the time, and wound up taking and passing that a month before I would have graduated. That is neither here nor there. What made this move important was the time of day I was working. Every morning during the 9:00 AM hour, they played southern gospel music, and had a program called "Morning Devotions," where different area preachers came in and spoke for 15 minutes on any topic they wanted. Being exposed to gospel music and preaching got me under conviction. I was resisting the call, as I didn't want to get saved unless I was committed to following God. This went on for 6 months, and I was terrified of dying and going to hell. One morning, a preacher was on the topic of the return of the Lord, and I couldn't take the fear any longer. I repented and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I got a Bible and started reading. This led to my search for a Bible based church, as I didn't believe the United Methodist Church was right because of the World Council of Churches.
I got saved at work, and the Lord set this up in the job opening occurring and my leaving school to take that job. I also received a call to preach while at work. I would read the Bible while doing my air shift, and one day, I was reading in the gospels, and I heard a voice speak to me and said plain as day, "Preach the Word." I knew I had that call on my life at that point. God has his hand on our lives, even if we don't feel it or recognize it, and if we are saved, God led us to the right place to hear and receive the message of the gospel.
I was raised believing in God, and I did have a home church, a United Methodist congregation. I remember getting confirmed at some point, but really not understanding what it meant. I was just told that this meant I was made clean and free from past sins, but I don't remember any real change. My Father was the manager of a radio station, and I always wanted to work in radio myself. They would hire students that were at least 16 years old to work part time after school, and when I was 15, almost 16, I got a part time job there in the afternoon. They were a country station at the time, and I didn't really care for that style of music, but I wanted to work in radio.
When I was 17, someone was leaving the station, and that opened up a full time position. I wound up dropping out of High School and I went to work full time, which meant working in the morning. I was preparing for my G.E.D. at the time, and wound up taking and passing that a month before I would have graduated. That is neither here nor there. What made this move important was the time of day I was working. Every morning during the 9:00 AM hour, they played southern gospel music, and had a program called "Morning Devotions," where different area preachers came in and spoke for 15 minutes on any topic they wanted. Being exposed to gospel music and preaching got me under conviction. I was resisting the call, as I didn't want to get saved unless I was committed to following God. This went on for 6 months, and I was terrified of dying and going to hell. One morning, a preacher was on the topic of the return of the Lord, and I couldn't take the fear any longer. I repented and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I got a Bible and started reading. This led to my search for a Bible based church, as I didn't believe the United Methodist Church was right because of the World Council of Churches.
I got saved at work, and the Lord set this up in the job opening occurring and my leaving school to take that job. I also received a call to preach while at work. I would read the Bible while doing my air shift, and one day, I was reading in the gospels, and I heard a voice speak to me and said plain as day, "Preach the Word." I knew I had that call on my life at that point. God has his hand on our lives, even if we don't feel it or recognize it, and if we are saved, God led us to the right place to hear and receive the message of the gospel.