A Testimony for Christ, why is He Worthy of it All:
I been burning for Yeshua and his kingdom for over 38 years. Gripped! Grateful! Graced! You might ask, Jeff, what’s the backdrop, what’s your story? Why are you burning with such enduring passion? Glad you asked, ladies and gentlemen, there is so much to my story buy I will highlight some significant experiences. Christ came after me as a 15-year-old teenager when I was DEEP in sin and rebellion, honestly, I wasn’t even looking for Him. I heard the gospel initially and rejected it! But that seed was planted in my heart. I couldn’t escape the Holy Spirit, the Hound of Heaven drawing me to the Father.
I had a major wake up call, the realization that life is fragile, we are not promised tomorrow, and we are NOT invincible. I was confronted by the consequences of sin and addiction. My older brother died at 18. He was slamming cocaine, something went wrong, he died on that hospital bed and slipped into eternity. My whole family was shaken to the core. Despair. Confusion. Overwhelming sorrow leading to suicidal thought. Questions, “what’s the point of my existence?” I had to medicate more, feed the addiction to avoid the pain. Nothing worked! The vicious cycle continued. Tragically, I was on that same train as my brother, as a matter of fact, my whole family was heading for a train wreck, a collision with darkness with eternal consequences.
I was bewilder, I lived, Joe died! Why?, I shouted to the universe, because I knew not God nor did I care to.
“BUT GOD...”
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”
My resistance to God waned and the offer of eternal life was magnetic. He was drawing me, wooing me to His loving embrace. Like a moth to a flame, I came. I remember distinctly the day my life was forever changed. My simple yes to God catapulted me into a totally different trajectory, which today I call, “living the reality of the kingdom of God.” With my hands raised, tears in my eyes, and a longing in my heart for what is real... something significant, tangible even, happened as the scriptures came alive in living color,
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
I confessed my sin, called out to Jesus Christ, and by faith BELIEVED Him! The authenticity of experiencing the Creator of the Universe ravishing my soul with His cleansing love. My heart swelled with determination for change! I was desperate, longing, and broken. I cried out to the Heavenly Father in sincerity and He answered me, as He promised, “Anyone who calls on the name the Lord shall be saved!” I made a choice that day I will put my trust in Christ! I believe! His redeeming death, burial, and resurrection power was for me. I received the truth of His redemption and the reality of His kingdom. At that moment it was like warm oil being poured out from heaven into the center of my being. It began to explode on the inside. The love of the Father, like a cleansing agent, scrubbed and cleansed the sin out, mended, healed, put back together the broken, fractured places in my vessel. It was the most unusual and glorious experience I have ever had. It was both physical and spiritually. A great eternal exchange happened. I was dead, Christ made me alive! I was spiritually blind, Jesus gave me sight! He took my “train wreck” and made something beautiful out of it.
God’s so faithful to transform the willing and available. So, all these years later, despite the trials, tribulation, the glory, and goodness, my heart swells with His love, gratitude, and burning passion. My message is still, GO ALL IN, leave nothing on the table for our Lord Jesus. He’s worthy of it all! Continue to make Him the highest priority. Be the example to others of what a radical pursuit of Him is. Collectively, the pursuit of full surrender as a healthy, functional, loving community of Christ – the ekklesia. Keep holding on, endure and overcome the challenges with an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE... there is a reward and there is a day of reckoning.
MY EXHORTATION TO YOU IS, IT’S WORTH IT! SURRENDER ALL TO CHRIST AND WATCH WHAT HE WILL DO IN AND THROUGH YOU.
