Testimony Tuesday... looooong post

http://www.challies.com/ had a wonderful idea last week. Tim Challies suggested that everyone tell the story of their salvation today. So, although you may have heard me tell the story in church, let me share with the few who read this blog about the best event that ever happened and is still happening to me:

I had the best of all worlds spiritually speaking.

• Mom and dad not only made certain I was in a good church, they went with me.
• Cherrydale Baptist Church in Arlington, Virginia had a godly pastor, A.W. Jackson, who was a pastor to his people in every sense of the word.
• I had terrific Sunday School teachers who helped me memorize the Bible and told me the stories that still stick with me today.
• My grandparents on both sides loved the Lord and His church. My grandfather started up "Youth for Christ" in Washington, DC and was responsible for bringing to one of the rallies, a promising young evangelist, Billy Graham.

So my spiritual heritage was deep. But it stopped with me.

I made the mandantory decision without ever really know what I meant. I knew it was something that was expected of me, but it was like making sure my shoes were shined before going to church. By the time I was in 5th grade, I was an expert at being 2 different people. One at church and the other in school and in my neighborhood.

In 7th grade, I walked into the boys room and some friends of mine were looking at a Playboy Magazine they had brought from home. I can remember knowing it was wrong to look, but the pictures were much better than the flannelgraph action figures I saw in Sunday School. My thought was: "I'd rather be accepted than to walk alone." And so for the next 5 years that was exactly what I did.

My parents did their best. They sent me to a Christian School. Soon we discovered how good smoking and drinking were. I became an expert at disguising who I really was while I was at church.

Then the grace of God appeared. He showed himself in 3 people.

My church called Rev. Al Dasburg as the Youth Pastor. He saw right through me. But I couldn't write him off as I had other spiritual leaders. He was smart, funny and his love for Jesus was genuine. On a youth activity we went to Dulles Airport for the airshow. A couple of us got hold of some beer and we proceeded to get loaded. Going home, we were hanging out of the car windows yelling at people.

The next Sunday night, Al called me into his office. I knew he was going to bring in my parents and I was trying to think up some story to explain my actions. But he didn't. He told me he knew what we had done. I tried to deny it, but he refused to be swayed. He said that he could not control what I did outside of the church, but if I ever did anything like that again he would take me to my parents. then he said

I know you need Jesus. So from now on, I am going
to pray for you everytime I see you.

Then he let me go. He never embarrassed me. He never reminded me of his promise in front of my friends, but every once in a while he would walk by me, elbow me and say "I'm still praying." I didn't know or wouldn't admit it then, but God began working.

The second man was Missionary to China Russ Glazier. By this time he was in his 70's and retired. This was 1967. And an old man like that was not on my list of people to spend time with. But he was the speaker at the church's youth camp. His enthusiasm and stories of how he was a prisoner of the Chinese when they took over mainland China got to me.

After the camp, he asked to take me to lunch and for some reason I went. Again, it was the gracious intervention of God. He didn't try to "get me saved". He told me stories of God's provision of the needs of his family. I was fascinated. Here was a man who talked like he actually knew God on a first name basis.

At the end of our conversation, he simply looked at me and said, "Tommy, I can see in your face that God is working in you." I couldn't deny it. But wouldn't admit to it, either.

The third man was Bill Arn. He owned a construction company. He was rich and successful and wealthy and, did I say rich? He was everything I wanted to be. But in a youth meeting at church he told of stopping his business for 2 weeks every summer, paying for his men to travel to a South American country, paying for materials so that they could build a church for a missionary. He did this every summer. I knew he had to lose a bundle of money.

I asked him, "Why?" With utter simplicity he said, "If you loved Jesus, you would too."

That was it. If 3 men whom I respected were so caught up in Jesus, then I better pay more than just a passing thought to him. I went home that night and read through John's biography of Jesus. I read it again all through church the next morning. I read it that afternoon. I went to church that night and read it again.

My friends who were as hypocritical about church as I was looked at me like I had smoked some bad weed.

That evening, my father had to close up the church so we were always the last people to leave. I found myself alone standing outside by the back door when a thought hit me. It was as clear as if someone was speaking to me. I heard, "If you don't accept Christ as your Savior, you're going to hell." And for the first time, I believed it for myself. It wasn't about church or religion, it was about me and Jesus.

I had no problem knowing I was a sinner. I knew that. In fact, I knew I was a very bad sinner. My life was a wreck and I understood it. I don't recommend to anyone this kind of prayer. I told Him:

God, you have 2 weeks to change my life.

He didn't hear my words, He heard my heart. He knew I was calling out to Him. It didn't take him 2 weeks or even 2 minutes. I knew something had changed immediately. I ran to my youth pastor's office and was surprised to see him. I told what I did. He acted like he knew it was coming and took me to a verse that helped me immensely in the days and years since then.

Philippians 1:6 - For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

That promise of a faithful, gracious God has become my life verse.

That night, I went home and went to sleep immediately. I never had before. I usually needed chemical assistance to help me sleep. But just before I fell asleep I asked God that if this was the real thing that he would wake me up early enough so that I could read the Bible before I went to Washington-Lee High School. Without an alarm clock, the Holy Spirit woke me up at 5:30 AM the next morning and I started reading.

I went to school and, without thinking, brought my Bible to school. I was sitting in Home room waiting for the announcements when another football player noticed it and said, "Why did you bring a Bible to school?" Without thinking I said as fast as I could "I-accepted-Jesus-Christ-as-my-Savior-last-night." almost all as one word. I wish I had a camera for the look he gave me.

Later during Study Hall... well study hall was for students, I was an athlete so I was in the gym playing basketball. I got elbowed going up for a rebound and I responded with some very picturesque language about the guy and his mother. I was immediately sorry for what I had said. I knew it was wrong. I was heart sick over it. So after the bell rang, I went to him and told him I was wrong for saying what I did. Another Kodak moment look was missed because I didn't have a camera.

Later that week, I was taking a test. For the first time, I had studied and wasn't going to cheat. I knew the answers, all except one. I was wracking my brain, but it would materialize. Innocently I looked out the window and saw the answer on a friends test. I knew immediately that it was the right answer. I rationalized that I would have thought of it eventually.... and wrote the answer down, turned in the test and returned to my seat.

The same voice that awoke me, the same voice that pushed me to say what I did about accepting Christ, the same voice that told me I was wrong about my cursing, told me I was cheating. I got up, walked to desk and asked the teacher if I could have my test back. At first he said I couldn't but I told him I was going to add anything, I was going to scratch over an answer and that he could watch. With another of those looks, he handed me the paper and I scribbled across my answer. I knew I had done right.

My life changed on that Sunday in April, 1968. Since that time I have heard that divine Voice correcting me, guiding me, urgng me to to pray, calling me to pastor and preach His Word. What an Adventure!