A personal story

In giving his personal testimony last night, the visiting evangelist told several stories of how he had conscientiously steered clear of church and church people through his younger years. Early in their married life ha and his wife had purchased a ranch in eastern Colorado and there, at the continued invitation of his wife, he had finally agreed to go to church – one time and one time only. He was unimpressed by the preacher’s demeanor but was very impressed by the power he had in preaching.

He said the sheepish little man stepped behind the pulpit and became warrior for the Lord preaching with passion against every sin he had ever committed, every sin he was thinking about committing and several he had not yet thought about committing. It was the first time he had ever heard the gospel presented. He left church that morning at a dead run.

Saturday of that week he got up and started working on the barn he was building on their small ranch and just as he got on the ladder, a car turned into their driveway. At the time they owned two fairly large dogs. They had named one Preacher and the other Deacon. Well Preacher and Deacon began barking and started to bite the tires of the offending automobile.

He shouted to the dogs, “Preacher! Deacon! Get up here now!” The dogs complied quickly and lay down at his feet. As he was scolding the dogs for their bad behavior, he saw the two occupants of the car running towards him as fast as they could. It was the preacher of the little church he had gone to Sunday and one of the deacons with him. (It took some folks a few minutes to get it but I thought it was hilarious.)

He went on to say that when everyone realized what had happened and caught their breath they went into the house to visit – him somewhat reluctantly. The preacher asked him if he knew if he died today would he go to Heaven. He responded that short of a couple of major sins he had done about everything else so he was pretty sure he would not. So the preacher asked if he could show him in the Bible how to know the way to get to Heaven.

The evangelist told that his father, who had grown up in a devout Catholic home but was no longer interested in anything religious had told him that “every word in the Bible is true.” So he told the preacher if he could prove it using the Bible he was ready to listen. He got saved that morning. Though it was many years before he settled on the calling God had placed on his life, he can always go back to that morning that he heard the plan of salvation for the very first time.

We were crying and laughing through the entire recounting of the many experiences that led him back to the Lord after he began running away, but it showed the graciousness of God towards all of us. He said the thing he lacked most in that time was Godly integrity. The integrity God alone can give us to enable us to maintain our witness unimpaired by the seemingly overwhelming temptations and trials.

I feel so easily impaired in my walk and witness. I have a long way to grow.