Okay, here is my story of how I was born again. This story however isn't really about me, its about what God has accomplished in me. Glory and gratitude to Him...always.
I was single, 24 yo, had a very well paid job doing shift work, was enjoying surfing the best locations in the country when not on shift which meant nearly every day; was living in a small rented cottage in the countryside half-way between the beach and my work; owned an excellent 10 yo Chrysler AP6 Valiant with only 50,000 miles on the clock, no debts, no ties, all the dope and alcohol one could wish for, thus to any casual observer, I had it made. And that was what I thought also. Until a workmate of my flatmate had a chat with me. She was a Christian, her father a Presbyterian minister. She asked me if I believed in God. Well, I was raised a Catholic, so yes, of course I believed in God. (Although in my mind I was having a number of reservations regarding some of the stories I had been brought up to believe like the flood etc.) She then asked me a question that was inspired of the Holy Spirit. "Did I think that the life I was living would meet with God's approval?"
I can't remember what I answered her at that moment, possibly some monosyllabic grunt that could resemble yes in any number of languages and no in all the rest. However I couldn't shake the question off me the rest of that day. You see, I was ripe for a takeover. I looked great on the outside, but inside was morally and emotionally bankrupt. And deep down, if I was brutally honest with myself, I knew it. I was bored, lonely, and under the superficial pleasure seeking selfish shallow and unloving and unlovable character that everyone saw, was an unhappy discontented fella who wanted things to be different. And here was my opportunity. The Creator of the universe was coming knocking at the door of my life and wanted in. That night as I was laying in bed and thinking about that question, I gave up. I gave up doing things my way, I gave up attempting to make myself happy, I gave up trying to live a life without the God who made life possible, and invited Him into my life and make it one that He would approve of.
Thus I became a Christian in 1976, and after a couple of brief forays into the local Catholic church where I saw no evidence of the wonderful forgiving merciful and life giving Saviour I had just met, joined a pentecostal church. This was in a city several hundred miles away from my hometown, and 3 months after I was baptised, God told me very clearly that He wanted me to go home. I told the pastor this and he was very dubious that this new born child of God would be hearing God speak to him so soon, however, he kindly gave me his blessing and said for me to feel free to return anytime if things didn't work out.
I didn't have a job at home of course, nor anywhere to stay. But I trusted God and even asked Him for a specific job at the precise location I had worked a year or so previously before I left home. I resigned my current position and left that week.
I left town with my trusty surfboard on the roof and my few meagre possessions crammed into the boot (trunk for my American friends) on Good Friday, and arrived that night at my mothers doorstep to tell my very devout Catholic mum that I had come to know Jesus and needed a bed for a night or two. After reluctantly letting me in (she lived in a small apartment and had no desire to share it with the one who when he left town was not on very good terms with her). Assorted remarks concerning 'cult' and 'heresy' peppered our conversation that night, but she did see I was a different person than the one that left 15 months previously.
Mum asked me what I was going to do about work. I told her that I had prayed, that I was here because God told me to come, so He would provide the work. No problem. Now it was mum's turn to be dubious. 'Yeah right' she said. Or words to that effect. Of course there is no paper on Good Friday so had to wait until Saturday nite to view the work vacancies. I told mum what was the specific job I wanted which made her even more dubious. When I saw in that Saturday night paper the precise job offered I don't know who was more surprised, me or her. It was a close contest, but I think she won. I went in to apply the following Tuesday morning (Monday being a holiday) and started work there Wednesday. I had discovered that God answers prayers.
I joined the local church and after a couple of weeks, decided to try another prayer. I asked for a wife. It was time to settle down. By then I had a place to stay and was beginning to grow in my faith and love for my Saviour.
I was giving a message at the communion table 2 weeks later when she walked in. Sitting down shyly at the back of the church she was a total knockout and a complete and utter distraction from everything I was attempting to do at the table. Unfortunately she couldn't stand the sight of me and it took me quite a while to convince her that she was God's gift to me. We were married within 6 months.
Three years and 3 children later we found ourselves in another town and settling into what we hoped would be "the good life". A further child and another 6 years saw us back-slidden, both of us back into the dope (me growing and selling) and living and working in paradise. Again, on the surface one would think we had everything. I was working as a park ranger on 40,000 acres of native forest maintaining walking and tramping tracks in a catchment area that supplied drinking water for the city. Our kids were all healthy, and our home was supplied by my employer. Set at the top of the mountain range we had views to die for.
But again, underneath, things were not as good as they may have appeared. But we did love what we were doing, we loved each other, the work, the house, the area, the kids loved going into the bush hunting and fishing etc, our nearest neighbour who was my workmate and his family became our best friends but God was missing. And this made all the difference. Seeds were being sown in the minds of our children and despite our promises at church to raise them in the faith, they were being raised and exposed to a life quite different to what God intended for us. And there were occasions when friends or family could have done with some good solid Christian influence, counsel, and prayer, but we were awol. Others suffered because we weren't in a position to help , God suffered because His beloved children were playing the fool and trampling on the precious gift of His Son. And slowly but surely, we sunk deeper and deeper into a pit of our own choosing.
Another 2 children and another 5 or 6 years later and God opened my eyes. I was about to lose my wife, and my older children had left home and were doing all the exact same things I was doing before I even met Jesus so many years previously. Not only did God open my eyes to what was actually happening around me, but He also opened my eyes to what was happening inside me. I had become the same selfish, proud, arrogant, abusive unloving and unlovable person I used to be. And my wife God bless her had had enough.
I had a decision to make. Did I want to save my marriage? Did I want to keep this woman that God had given me nearly 20 years ago? And what was I willing to do to change the current situation? I realised there was only one thing to do. Just one.
I knelt down and prayed. I cried and cried and wept and called for my Saviour to forgive me for neglecting the precious gift of His salvation, for neglecting the precious gift of the mother of my children, and neglecting 6 wonderful kids. I asked forgiveness for not raising them in the faith as I had promised. I asked forgiveness for not being the spiritual leader in our household. And I asked God to heal us. To heal our marriage, to heal our children, to turn things around the way they ought to be. I asked Him to take me back to the beginning. Back to when I first came to know Him. So we could start again. Laying aside all I had been taught, forgetting inconsistencies in doctrine and unanswered and unasked questions, and laying aside all the ups and downs of our Christian walk previously (we had our reasons for leaving the church) I wanted to be taught afresh, right from the beginning.
I hadn't touched a Bible for over 10 or 12 years, but a scripture came immediately to mind, one that I couldn't even remember memorising. (If that makes any sense). It was in fact the only scripture, if asked, that I would have been able to quote. Jesus said to me at that moment through His Holy Spirit,
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all those things I will add unto you".
Now, a further 16 years on, and I can testify that God has been as good as His word. What He had promised, He brought to pass. My wife and I are closer than we had ever been, despite my wife's reluctance to reconnect with her own faith.
I have discovered that the promise that the spouse is sanctified by the faith of the believer is a good promise. The closer my relationship with Jesus, I have discovered the closer my relationship with my wife becomes. So if I am drawing closer to Jesus, and my wife drawing closer to me, then she also is drawing closer to Jesus.
Five of my children have been baptised as adults, two of them married Christians and are raising my 10 grandchildren in the faith. I am no longer lonely lol.
As for my spiritual walk, the good Lord did take me back to the beginning, and started me again on the road of faith and taught me many things that before were never brought to light. And also many old things I once cherished He has proven false through the testimony of the scriptures. No longer holding to the traditions and teachings of man, I have discovered to my delight that the Bible is sufficient for all things pertaining to salvation and Christian practice. But one must approach the Word with an open heart, willing to be taught, and without any preconceptions.
