Post by Humbled on Mar 12, 2007 13:25:27 GMT -5
As a child, I grew up in a household & family of churchgoers, and I regularly attended "Sunday School" and all the other things of that sort, around age 4 my father left my mother & I, and the downward spiral began, living without a father, my grandfather picked me up and treated me as his own, and to this Day I honor him. but at age 7, after he had been diagnosed with a Brain tumor he passed away, at the time, I wasn't allowed to see him, all I remember is my family coming home the saddest I've ever seen a person Be. as a 7 year old Kid, I could not understand why God would let my Dad leave me, then the only man I really "knew" as a father be taken from me. for the next 15 years of my life, I waked in enraged anger, and loneliness as I separated myself from God, angry at him for not living up to the Prayers I thought were supposed to be answered when you said them. My adolescent & teenage years had a lot more anguish and trouble than I care to remember, and I truly regret a lot of the things I said and Did. well, now I'm 22 years old, and full of distaste, and anger against God & Christianity in General. I had a friend at the time who was 39, and an atheist / Agnostic and we did a lot of hanging out & what not. towards my later years, I was extremely hostile towards the Christian faith, and something that am now ashamed of some. So basically what happened to Bring me back to the Lord is something I'll Never Forget. we were watching the Tom Cruise Movie: "The Last Samurai" and I have always been fascinated by the time period and the Samurai way of life. and when I was saying this, my friend turned to me, and he's normally a high-strung kind of guy, and he turned to me so calm, and quotes the bible word for word almost without realizing he was doing it. the scripture I'm referring to is;
Acts 9:4 "He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
and what my friend said was "Brad, Brad, why do you dislike Christianity so much?" at the time I didn't realize that, but I did break down sobbing, and let go of all the anger I had carried for 15 years of my life, and after that I walked with a newfound freedom within myself. and it was then that I knew I had been in the presence of the Spirit, if not Jesus working though someone.
Since then I have stumbled and fell in my first steps, but I am a Child of god, and was baptized in the Name of the Father, son and Holy spirit last year, and I have never looked back. AMEN! and Glory to God, for "Greater is he who is in Me, than is in the World"
Acts 9:4 "He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
and what my friend said was "Brad, Brad, why do you dislike Christianity so much?" at the time I didn't realize that, but I did break down sobbing, and let go of all the anger I had carried for 15 years of my life, and after that I walked with a newfound freedom within myself. and it was then that I knew I had been in the presence of the Spirit, if not Jesus working though someone.
Since then I have stumbled and fell in my first steps, but I am a Child of god, and was baptized in the Name of the Father, son and Holy spirit last year, and I have never looked back. AMEN! and Glory to God, for "Greater is he who is in Me, than is in the World"