How God Changed My Life

Today I am 13,119 days old. That's 35 years, 11 months and 7 days. I remember when I couldn't wait to get into my "teens." Now I'm just hoping I don't make it to triple digits. Through these days, God has never failed me and I'd like to share with you how He has changed my life.

In this amount of time I have seen many things. I've seen many changes. I've watched men rise and fall. I've seen the faces of Nations changed forever. I've witnessed an impeachment of a president. I've see Enron collapse. I've seen the twin towers crumble and I've watched us a Nation fight back and begin to rebuild.

Sometimes one of the hardest things to handle is change. That's why I am so thankful that I serve God who states in Malachi 3:6 (KJV) "For I am the LORD, I change not..." It is very comforting to have something "sure" in your life. Something that you know will never waver, will never forsake you, will never let you down and will never belittle or degrade you. That's what I have in God, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

My mother, at that point and time of her life, was an alcoholic, drug addict and not the best role model. My mother had been through several marriages and her life was in a shambles. Because of this, I lived with my Grandmother a lot of the time.

See, I grew up in church. My Grandmother got me in church and was in the "Old Time" way. We'd be in church whether the creek rose or whether it didn't. She put God first in everything. Grandma would pray on you over a game of UNO. She didn't mess around. I went to church all the time, 3 times a week unless we were in revival and then it was 7 times. Yes, I grew up in church. But the problem was, I didn't allow God to grow in me.

When I turned 18 I moved into my own apartment. Now I'd love to tell you that it was all sugar and spice and everything nice. But it wasn't. I was broke. I was no milk for macaroni and cheese broke. Canned pork was a delicacy at times. That broke. I had a job, but rent and expenses, car payment etc. took every penny. EVERY penny. In that time is when I began to get "out" of church. God had called me to preach when I was 15 and I wanted nothing to do with it! I had seen what preachers went through and how they lived. No way! Not for me. "You've made a mistake God," I said. Right...

If God truly has a hold of your life, you can't just walk away. I know that now. I wish I had known it then. I had been "churched" to death. I went to church, did what I was supposed to do, but the key element that I needed I didn't have. I needed a personal relationship with God. I needed a day to day experience with Him, not with the church house.

So, because I was running from what I knew He wanted me to do, the help and grace of God ceased to operate in my life. God can't bless us in disobedience. And I was a disobeying machine.

A failed marriage, emotional scars and a lot of hurt later, I found myself broken busted and disgusted. I was not happy with my life at all. I was a licensed Electrician making good money. I had a good house that had been completely remodeled. From the outside it all looked good. But I was miserable. Money truly can't buy happiness.

I met my 2^nd wife at the hospital where I worked. She is the one for me. I knew it then and 4 years later I know it now. She's honestly my other half. She's a wonderful woman and I have no idea why she is with me. J (She'll smack me for that if she reads this.) But even with finding her, there was still that emptiness. That hole that nothing could fill. She was raised in church as well, but a whole different denomination than I. She was raised Lutheran, I, Pentecostal. If you've ever been to those types of churches you know how vast the differences! We began looking for a church and my Grandmother suggested we visit an old church she knew of. It was Non-Denominational and she thought it would be a good fit.

So off we go! We visited this church and I swore I would never go back. It was a Nazarene pastor co-pastoring with a Pentecostal pastor. Co-Pastor? What? I didn't think 2 people could drive a car at once! We left after that first visit and I was glad it was over. Here is where the beginning of my end started.

You see, I still knew God's voice. The same voice that called me to preach 15 years prior had never left me. I knew every day what I was supposed to be doing with my life. But because I didn't want to do it, I "ignored" Him. (You can't ignore Him) I wanted to do my own thing, make lots of money because I never wanted to be "poor" again. But here's one way God changed my life: He never asked me what I wanted.

I left that church convinced I would never return. My wife and I were driving an hour after service, and during that trip God spoke to me and said, "That is your new church home." I almost wrecked!! I began arguing with God but lo and behold that is where I began to attend church. Slowly but surely God began to use me in ministry, I began to preach, and am still actively in ministry. My first published book, "Can You Stand" was just released December 19^th, 2006 and I am working on my next one.

All of this goes to show that God was never out of control of my life. I thought I was running things, but He orchestrated every move I made. I look back now and I can see that He never had His eye off of me. He knew where I was going every second. He went before me and made sure everything was secured for me to end up exactly where He wanted me.

The Bible teaches us that God "never leaves us nor forsakes us." (Hebrews 13:5) It also teaches that God shall "supply our every need." (Philippians 4:19) It is from the understanding that God "is not a man that He should lie" (Numbers 23:19) that I learned every promise He ever made me He has kept. God takes our yesterday and erases the sins and mistakes of our past. Man is infallible in his ability to hold mistakes over our head, never letting us forget, but God is just and faithful to allow yesterday to be just that: yesterday.

Today I can see that it didn't matter how far from God I tried to be, He was always right there. He is describe as "omnipresent" meaning He is every where all the time. There is not escaping His love, nor His wrath.

God will change your life. He will take the broken things of your life and replace them with new. The Bible says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) It is in this assurance to know that no matter how bad our lives have been, if we love God, and serve Him with our whole heart, He will take the bad and make it into good. God truly can and will change your life forever. My mother, who I mentioned wasn't the best role model, has since given her life 100% to God. He has taken a woman who was broken, hurt, abused and exhausted and has made her a new creature in Him, who helps other women as often as possible. The change is amazing, and only God could make such a difference.

If you do not know Him, you need too. If you've never met Him, I'd love to introduce you. If your life is a mess He will straighten it out. God changed my life, and He will change yours too.