|
||
|
Title: How did you come to Christ? what changes happened Post by Kitch on Mar 4th, 2006, 9:40am How I came to Christ is a long story and I am sure will give the clones plenty of ammo if I still went in to AC1. I was born in a Military Family, my father gone for long periods of time. I am the oldest of the four children. Stories told by my father that he was married before he married my mother. He claimed to have 2 daughters through this previous marriage and that his pervious wife was killed in a car crash, while he was off fighting in Vietnam. According to him the parents of his wife got custody of his daughters. Since I never met them I could not say if it was true or not. I have doubt to their existence for my father was a story teller, at the time I thought he knew everything like most children think about their fathers. Since he was in the military he was seldom home. For the most part care if you could call it that was done by my mother. The extent of my mother and father’s speaking of Jesus was taking his name in vain when they were drinking and I can’t remember many times that they were not drinking. Since my father didn’t make a lot of money in the military and having four children the state subsidized us with wealth fare. Being the mother of four and not having to work I think made my mother very happy. During the duration of my fathers Military service we spent some time in Germany and Georgia however were never out of the state of Maine for to long. It always seems that the food was short and we were looking for hand outs. Yet some how there always seem to be plenty of Wild Irish Rose and other alcohol. In my early childhood that seem normal. While living in Georgia, I remembered people coming bringing food to the house and inviting my parents to church. My parents always gladly accepted the food but never took up the offer of church. I remember one day a woman from the state of Georgia came to the house to look around. At the time I didn’t know what a social worker did, all I knew is she came to inspect the living situation in the trailer. Since my parents had a days warning that the woman was coming over they spent the day cleaning the house. Which was the beginning of a cycle every once in a while my mother would panic and clean the house after months of letting it turn into a festering trash heap. After a time the family moved back to Maine, my father’s time in the Army was up. We all mounted up in a moving truck and moved to Maine in with my Grandfather. Moving seem to bring a lot of good and bad things. For meal time became even smaller but there were always people around. A constant party happening in my parent’s house you could not walk around the house with out tripping over trash, dirty clothes, or drunks. Violence and abuse in the house hold toward us children increased. I won’t go into the details of the abuse that is really unimportant. In time I made friends with one of my Neighbors who was a Christian he went to a private Christian school. Spent a lot of time playing on a roof playing imaginary games playing out the Apocalypse not being a Christian. I had no idea the biblical meanings behind it but that took up many days after school and during summer. I the child told me he was Pentecostal, one day it prompted me to ask my parents what faith we were. My mother said well my parents were Pentecostal and your father’s family is catholic, so were Pentecostal Catholics. So the next question why we didn’t go to church, and she simply said church isn’t all that important. Which made it was all the answer I needed. So I went through as I normally did learning to lie, and con people out of their money. In time I stepped up of my criminal activities and learn to break into houses and picking locks. One day my father moved out of the house, and I got the explanation that the state would stop paying the rent and feeding us if my father continued to live with us. So, I don’t know where he went but he was still around quite regularly. |
||
|
Title: Re: How did you come to Christ? what changes happe Post by Kitch on Mar 4th, 2006, 9:41am One day two women came to the door, they kind of reminded me of school teachers. They asked to speak to my parents; they invited my mother to church. My mother being drunk quickly declined with a rude attitude I piped up and told my mother I would like to go. I think time with the child out back of the house made me think that it would go to church or maybe seeing the relationship that he had with his family that there may be something special about church. That first Sunday my siblings and I went to this large Baptist church. Everyone there seem to care about us in away that seem so amazing to us they didn’t judge us as the dirty kids or the poor kids. We were giving things there didn’t have to ask for nor had to scam for; I was taken back and didn’t understand why these people were so giving. Members of the church would stop by bringing food and checking to see if we need anything. Each time we went the presented the gospel to us and one day when they give the invitation of salvation. I knew I had to have what these people have. That day at 9 years old I took Christ as my savior and Lord. The change in me was amazing. I stopped wanting to steal from people and didn’t want to break into houses. My siblings took the walk of faith about the same time. We were all giving gifts bibles, and being a new Christian I struggled through reading it. Granted at 9 my grasp of the old English in the King James Version was not all that great. After this commitment to Christ, even my grades in school began to improve. Yet Abuse and drunkenness increased in my home with my mother father and their friends. Then one day two pale women that looked like something out of a fairy tales (wicked witches). Took my brothers, sister, and I to a different house. At the time I didn’t know that it was for my good and that it was how God answered the prayers for safety and to know him more. Unfortunately our bibles didn’t accompany us. We moved to a farm and the father of the house took me to a Pentecostal church weekly and my knowledge and faith in God grew. One day we got word that our parents would no longer have causticity over us. This was some of the worse news I could have heard. Then to add more confusion and sadness to us the State decided it was time to move us to what they called a long term home. We moved in with a strict Catholic family even though the mother of the house did care for us she was quite the tyrant. Escape became something mental for me so I buried myself deeper in scripture. In these days the abuse that was in the house hold of my parents came out so I spent several years going to court and counselors all turning my world into four years of chaos and my only sanctuary and comfort was from the bible. I spent hour upon hour reading it. Every bit of the bible gave me comfort and joy I would not have known with out it. Then I got the chance to go to a bible camp so I went, where I met the first teaching that I realized to be heretical. The guy in charge of the dorm stated that when people died they became Gods of their own planets. I at the time didn’t know that was a Mormon teaching I just knew it wasn’t biblical. While I was away from the foster home at the camp the state of Maine decided it was best if my siblings and I were split up for they feared with our abuse and up bringing prior to this time would make us dangerous. At the end of the camp time my foster mother didn’t come but the two wicked witches. That is when I found out my brothers had been moved all over the state and my sister was still at my foster mothers house. The state assuming that since I was so old I would be dangerous to be around children moved me into a hospital, the Geriatric ward. I spent the rest of the summer in that place my only companion was a bible and the few elderly that were mentally enough there to talk to. As the school year approached the state relented on keeping me separated from other children and moved me back in the foster home where my sister was. I made it known that I wanted to go to a Christian school the name of the school was Glad tidings Christian Academy. Some how this foster mother convinced the state to allow me and my sister to attend the Christian school, I think she convinced them that the time I was in court with my parents and how it was always in the news paper that it would not be good to be in the public school with children that I knew from before the court cased happened. From going to this school my sister found her adopted parents and I shortly found my own adoptive home. Even though state of Maine would not allow the people that adopted my sister tried to adopt me. |
||
|
Title: Re: How did you come to Christ? what changes happe Post by Kitch on Mar 4th, 2006, 9:41am I moved into a home of a Christian family where life became quite stable. Where in time I finally got baptized so my faith grew and my understanding. This time I was in high school and in a public school and ran into teachers that were very anti religion and they did their best to mock the ones of us who were Christian. Teaching Nietzsche and trying to convince us that Christianity was false. I will also admit for a time I did back slide and spent more time chasing girls and partying with friends. Yet I still proclaimed Christ as Lord. Yet I didn’t defend my faith all that well when I could have nor was I a good representative for a time of a Christian. So after high school I went out on my own and searched to find out who I was. I challenged ideas that I had been told and even tried to prove my faith wrong. I looked into Islam, Hindu, Buddhist, and a sorted of other faith. Yet reading the history of the faiths and their documents and historical documents, and I could see plain as day that my confession in Christ was the right one. Now that I am years older, I can look back and see where God has stepped in my life and helped me and my family long. I can look back and see spots in time where I should have been killed, if not spending time in prison from the path that I was following prior to Christ. |
||
|
Title: Re: How did you come to Christ? what changes happe Post by feso on Mar 8th, 2006, 2:04am i was always a religious person but i always took it all for granted.....my relationship with the lord was always take for granted...... this past june i had surgery which lead to some real bad body reactions and...........well one morning i woke up feelin all numb...... from head to toe completely numb and i had no idea why....followed by a sudden light headed feeling and started having a real hard time breathing.........then all the muscles in my body stiffened out and i was thinking it was over........on the rush to the hospital i was repeatedly having palpatations and i kept having that hard breathing and i was feelin myself goin in and out of conciousness.....i could barely communicate with the docs and i found out all of the calcium in my body was practically gone.........and i desperately needed calcium.......body was shuttin down on me en all but for some odd reason i was allowed to come back in the mix...........i spent a month in the hospital thinkin about that situation cause ive never felt so close to death.........during that month i spent my time speakin with priest who came in and prayed with me..........and lil by lil becoming closer and gettin these different aspects of religion and how to have a relationship with the lord...........i accepted him fully into my heart........and ever since then i dont ever wanna take anything in my life for granted..............sniff sniff.........yah u can go ahead and clap |
||
|
Title: Re: How did you come to Christ? what changes happe Post by nOrKAy on Mar 19th, 2006, 6:13am Thanks for sharing this topic ,Kitch. And I like reading the testemonies. Feso, what a testemony you have shared. Very inspiring and touching. I am kind of teary when I was done reading it and looked at you. It always "WOW" me when I hear testemonies like this from men. And yes, I would be clapping if you were is person sharing that. ;D |
||
|
Title: Re: How did you come to Christ? what changes happe Post by nOrKAy on Mar 19th, 2006, 6:38am Well, for me, I grew up wth a Christian family so I grew up listening about the Lord. My dad is really a great influence about it. ;D |
||
|
Title: Re: How did you come to Christ? what changes happe Post by bigjoe on Mar 21st, 2006, 6:11am I think that we dont really come to Christ and that Christ comes to us....... This is important that after Christ comes to us then we have the dissision to make......... So if you feel you are a religious person that counts for nothing.... Being a Christian is not religion its a relationship with Christ......... Chew on that for awhile and see what you get......Also you must be very faithful to reamain in God's camp so this very important......... You hear all the time I will wait to come to God after I have fun (This is a very bad choice) Dont fool yourself we are talking about eternity not hanging out at the gym everyday...... So with all that in mind see what you think and read the BIBLE dont assume things like "God helps those that help themselves" Well sorry thats not in the BIBLE and never has been......... But see for yourself and comment AMEN |
||
|
Title: Re: How did you come to Christ? what changes happe Post by Wicked_Witch on Mar 21st, 2006, 7:52am Wow, Kitch..that was quite a revelation you made there. And I applaud you for having the courage to share us a lot about your private life. And I salute you for having found Christ and accepting Him in your heart before you can go farther down the black alley. And Alex, I always knew you are a decent man no matter how many times you crack a joke or say something naughty. :-* My family is Catholic although my grandmother is a protestant. When I was growing up, there were no religious people around. Religious in the way that they go to church regularly or pray the rosary, even once in a while. I think that is partly because the church is way out of the village where I live and going there will be too much trouble for anyone in my family. My father certainly do not go to church. And so was my grandpa. No one talks about religion at home. We were not even thought to pray at night before going to bed. Christmasses are for exchanging gifts and going house to house to visit godparents for some gifts or money. But the thing is, we were a God-fearing family even back then, all of us. Even my dad and grandad. I first learned about religion in school. It's a minor subject in the grade school I went to. We live in an island, in a fishing village. And the people there were always busy earning a living. We do not even have our own chapel. The only time they go to church were on baptismals and weddings and funerals. At the church in town. Where you have to travel by boat to reach it and walk at least a kilometer from the dock. In school I learned a great deal about Christ. Of who He is, what He has done to save mankind, about St Mary and a lot more. When I went to study highschool, we always start and end classes with a prayer. And that prayer got stuck in my brain. Even now that I am older, I still say that prayers everynight as my personal prayer. And when I can't sleep, I know I have forgotten to pray. All my life, I have never been a religious person. I go to church when I have time or on occasions. But everynight I always apologize to Him. I talk to Him in my own way. Anytime. In my darkest moment, I have never asked for His help but I know in my heart that He loves me because He never failed me. He knows without being asked that I need him. And EVERY problem I have ever encountered, He gave me the strength and the knowledge on ways I can overcome them. And I have never failed to thank Him every chance I get. I know I am blessed. And since then, I have always tried to share my blessings with other people when I can. |
||
|
1freeworld Groups » Powered by YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.3.2! YaBB © 2000-2003. All Rights Reserved. |