Who Will Answer

I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Testimony

As I said in my “About” page, this will be a site filled with Christian testimony. If you would like to share your testimony on this site please email me.

My Testimony

Unlike many who come to know Christ at an older age I have had a relationship with the Lord since early in my childhood. Frankly, I can not remember not trusting in Jesus. This was due to my mother’s great faith and her openness.

My mother raised me in the Roman Catholic Church. Mom helped me understand early on that the Church was there to help my relationship with God. An emphasis was placed on God over Church and my personal relationship over congregational relationship with God. “The Church is run by man and man is fallen. Expect the Church to make mistakes and to be wrong, but God never.” She would tell me often in spare moments. In this way I never grew disillusioned with God even when the Church let me down.

My family sacrificed to send me to Catholic grade school and high school. Grade school was a bitter time for me and I only remember scenes and fragments of scenes. I loved Church, being an alter boy. High school was the complete opposite of grade school for me. I came into my own during high school. My studies into world religions and philosophy expanded my understanding and thinking. At the end of high school I decided to enter the seminary.

In the Archdioceses I lived it took 8 years of training prior to ordination into the priesthood. The winter of my first semester I felt strongly that God did not want me in the priesthood. I was devastated and very upset with God. I felt rejected; a bride jilted at the alter. That summer I would meet my wife. As surly as I felt God’s call not to be a priest I felt His call to marry.

At this point I was not worshiping at any church. My relationship with God was still turbulent. I wanted to be God’s perfect knight and yet I knew that was simply arrogance. My Bible reading had stopped and my praying, while strong at times, was not consistent or shared with my family. To my greatest shame I did not raise my family with a relationship with God. This sin has had consequences that are difficult for me to bear today.

Several years after my marriage, when my children were in high school, God brought me to Larry. Larry was a coworker and while talking about God he asked me a simple question “Is your wife saved?” Stuttering and stammering I said that I didn’t think so. Without taking a pause Larry said, “Haven’t you asked her?” In those short sentences God was rebuking me. If I knew God and loved God why had I kept it to myself? Why wouldn’t I share this most important of questions with her? It was because I knew what the answer would be. She would say that Jesus was a good man. Later that evening Cheryl did just that and I cried myself to sleep.

That very weekend my wife’s aunt died. Her aunt lived a distance from the house and I could not get time off from work to go to her funeral. Cheryl went alone. She came back very late Sunday night and woke me from a hard sleep. Cheryl had tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. “Dave, I believe. I really believe. The preacher at the funeral spoke as if he was talking directly to me. He asked us to come to Christ.” she said in excited, hushed tones.

You may be wondering why I brought Cheryl into this testimony. After all, this is my testimony and not Cheryl’s. Several weeks before my wife’s conversion I had started going to a non-denominational church that my friend was playing music. During that same time I had been listening to a great, local, Christian radio station. I became convicted that I was not leading the life God wanted me to lead. I became a better Christian. Later that month my entire family was baptized. It may not be the conventional meaning but I was born again!

My struggle with organized religion is still a stumbling block that I must overcome. My wife and I still search for a church home. The truth of the matter is that we are not putting the effort into the search that we should be. My reading and praying is still not consistent. I am still not living the life Christ would have me lead. I have fallen asleep. Today I rejoice.

Note:

Please do not take my leaving the Catholic Church to mean that I don’t believe that Catholics are not Christians. There are doctrines of the Church that I do not believe are Biblical, but the Roman Catholic Church is a Christian Church.

This question keeps throbbing through my mind. My only answer that I have is no or at least not consistently. The typical American, middle-class white guy I live comfortably with only my only stresses being of my own making. The personal debt, unhealthy body, and poor relationships have all been caused by not living as Jesus would.

Jesus praying in the garden sweating blood as He begs the Father to undo the burden He faces and His closest friends can’t even stay awake. As my Lord and Savior blankets my sins with His sacrifice I fall asleep.

Lord Jesus, forgive me for my lax ways. As you did for your disciples in the garden, wake me with a firm rebuke every time I fall asleep. Help me to make each of my steps fall on Your path.