TESTIMONY: RECEIVING CHRIST

Remembering, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures”, preached by Pastor Paul VanGorder in the church we attended, conviction of sin struck me literally like a knife in the center of my body and I lay down on the floor. I saw for the first time my spiritual problem. It was not simply wrong doing. I was a wrong doer and away from God in continuous and total violation of His law. I was headed for His Judgment. I needed to receive The Lord Jesus Christ by faith to be acceptable to God.

To be candid, at first I shrank in fear to let go of my own way and simply receive Christ by faith. It was a step into the unknown as if stepping off a building. The Spirit immediately seemed to say that if I refused then and there to accept Christ I would never again have such an opportunity. I would forever come under God’s judgment. Consequently, I mentally said to the Lord Jesus Christ: “I will – now,” with a kind of dependence on Christ, an abandonment and no support in mind but Christ. A sense of peace came, but no emotion.

I started to go about life as before when a surprise took place. I had previously tried winning in the courtroom regardless of any consideration except staying within the law and State Bar ethics, but now my overly competitive attitude plagued me and convicted me of sin. I asked God in prayer to open a work that would support my family without having to endure this conflict. He answered and I was appointed Judge of the Juvenile Court of the Atlanta Circuit. Judge Jack Langford said that job is a ministry of suffering and I found his statement to be true, but the Lord carried me through. I was then 36 years old. I am now 87 and the fellowship with the Lord is better than ever.

The text this week from the International Lesson Series, (Col.2:6,7), is about receiving Christ and I felt compelled to give my testimony.