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Sharing my testimony with people has always been one of my favorite
things. My story of salvation and becoming a preacher are both very interesting
stories.
Being raised in a preachers home, I honestly thought I knew all about
this salvation thing. It seemed pretty easy to understand, and yet at night
I would ask myself if I could really ever remember asking God to forgive me and
for Jesus to live inside me. For years that went on, sometimes I felt like I was
going to burst from the confusion, burst from the not knowing for sure.
Then, on June 14th 1987, I was sitting in the pew listening to my
father, just like I had done so many times before. But something he said struck home,
something about Blessed Assurance. All day long I thought of those words, and by
church time that night, I was really under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
A 12 year old kid bowed his heart that day, and became a blessed child of God. After
proper baptism, I honestly thought my conviction and times of confusion were over. All
through the teen age years, I would feel strange desires, like I was missing out on
something. They became very strong, and soon I was asking to lead in areas of the
church I was attending. I started leading the music program at 13, then added teaching at 15.
By the time I was 17, I already had feelings of becoming a preacher. However I got
married when I was 19 and didn't surrender to preach until after my 21st birthday. When I
surrendered, I was committed, but after a while I allowed the world to interfere with my
service.
In October of 1996, I went to see a doctor about a sinus infection that had
been plaguing me for almost a year. Two weeks later I was having the first
of may surgeries on my sinuses to remove a tumor. Three months after that, the tumor
had grown back to two times the size it started as. On February 5th 1997, I had a
Radical Maxilectomy, where they removed my cheek bone, the orbit of my left eye, the Sinus,
roof of my mouth, and the teeth from the left eyetooth back. I guess you could say that
God got my attention!
I now have much more time to focus on the work of God! Much more practical
application to his Grace, Mercy, and Love. And a greater respect for a God that I
now do my best to serve.
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