Forty-one years ago today in the history of the Christian church, a very small blip on the screen occurred. On this day I became a Christian one Sunday morning in 1976, right after the morning church service. Pastor Dick McKeen, (Pastor Mac) wanted to talk to me about my Christian faith, and I said, "Oh, don't worry about me, I'm ok, I believe in God. I'm not like the Biology professor at college who believes in evolution." I was a freshman at the University of Lowell, in Lowell, MA. That was the only open door that the pastor needed, and he went on and said graciously, "Well there's something more you need to know about becoming a Christian."
So we sat down and he explained that the Bible teaches us that we need to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior to become a Christian, and that belief in God was not quite enough. He went on to tell me the gospel that Jesus was the Son of God and he came to the earth to live a sinless life, so that he could become the sin offering for us when he died on the cross. And, most importantly, he described how Jesus rose from the dead three days later and conquered death itself. Because of this, we can know that if we put our faith in Jesus as the Christ who was raised from the dead, we too would one day rise from the dead and be with him in heaven for eternity. That was the part that hit home for me because I really wanted to know where I would be when I died.
As a young man, I had many questions running around my head as well as all the other normal stuff young guys do like playing sports, being a part of the Boy Scouts, and trying to stay out of trouble. For me, I kept asking, 'Who am I, why am I here, where am I going, what's the meaning and purpose of life, and where will I be when I die?' Some big philosophical questions for a teenager but they may have reflected my personality or my home situation more than anything else. My parents had been separated and were about to be divorced while I was a senior in high school, and life was not always a whole bunch of fun.
But when I heard that there was a way to know that you could go to heaven through the gospel of Jesus Christ, I was thrilled. When Pastor Mac asked me whether I wanted to accept Jesus as my Savior, I stopped and thought about what I really believed. I remembered the pictures in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School when I was young, of the stone having been rolled away from the tomb where Jesus had been buried. I asked if I really believed that Jesus rose from the dead, and I said "Yes," I did. I believed there has to be something other than this life and I wanted to know where I would be when I died. My conscience confirmed to me that this was the truth, this is the reality we all need to know to get right with God and to go to heaven.
Well, I'm not always a real outspoken person and it took me a while to start talking about my new faith with my friends back in school. Eventually, I transferred from the state university and went to Gordon College, and changed majors from Biology to Biblical and Theological Studies. I thought I wanted to be a pastor but I ended up being a pilot. But I remember more than anything else the deepest and greatest joy of knowing the salvation found in Christ, and the joy of living in this faith all these years.
There's great theology to be found in the Bible too that has been a source of fantastic joy for me in knowing God. In fact, one of the most influential books I've read has been J.I. Packer's, Knowing God. We can know Christ in great ways through Scripture so that our lives are changed and transformed into his image and character. It all began for me as Pastor Mac described it forty-one years ago today, that God has such great love for us that he sent his only Son to be our Savior and give us the gift of eternal life.
FAITH TODAY: John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
So we sat down and he explained that the Bible teaches us that we need to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior to become a Christian, and that belief in God was not quite enough. He went on to tell me the gospel that Jesus was the Son of God and he came to the earth to live a sinless life, so that he could become the sin offering for us when he died on the cross. And, most importantly, he described how Jesus rose from the dead three days later and conquered death itself. Because of this, we can know that if we put our faith in Jesus as the Christ who was raised from the dead, we too would one day rise from the dead and be with him in heaven for eternity. That was the part that hit home for me because I really wanted to know where I would be when I died.
As a young man, I had many questions running around my head as well as all the other normal stuff young guys do like playing sports, being a part of the Boy Scouts, and trying to stay out of trouble. For me, I kept asking, 'Who am I, why am I here, where am I going, what's the meaning and purpose of life, and where will I be when I die?' Some big philosophical questions for a teenager but they may have reflected my personality or my home situation more than anything else. My parents had been separated and were about to be divorced while I was a senior in high school, and life was not always a whole bunch of fun.
But when I heard that there was a way to know that you could go to heaven through the gospel of Jesus Christ, I was thrilled. When Pastor Mac asked me whether I wanted to accept Jesus as my Savior, I stopped and thought about what I really believed. I remembered the pictures in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School when I was young, of the stone having been rolled away from the tomb where Jesus had been buried. I asked if I really believed that Jesus rose from the dead, and I said "Yes," I did. I believed there has to be something other than this life and I wanted to know where I would be when I died. My conscience confirmed to me that this was the truth, this is the reality we all need to know to get right with God and to go to heaven.
Well, I'm not always a real outspoken person and it took me a while to start talking about my new faith with my friends back in school. Eventually, I transferred from the state university and went to Gordon College, and changed majors from Biology to Biblical and Theological Studies. I thought I wanted to be a pastor but I ended up being a pilot. But I remember more than anything else the deepest and greatest joy of knowing the salvation found in Christ, and the joy of living in this faith all these years.
There's great theology to be found in the Bible too that has been a source of fantastic joy for me in knowing God. In fact, one of the most influential books I've read has been J.I. Packer's, Knowing God. We can know Christ in great ways through Scripture so that our lives are changed and transformed into his image and character. It all began for me as Pastor Mac described it forty-one years ago today, that God has such great love for us that he sent his only Son to be our Savior and give us the gift of eternal life.
FAITH TODAY: John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
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