I wasn’t ignorant of the way of truth. From the time I was a little boy, I was brought to church. I was taught that if I was to make Heaven my home I would have to pray and give God my life, but I would not accept that way. Instead, as a young man, I went out seeking the pleasure of sin. I sailed on the merchant ships and went halfway around the world reveling in sin.
The Lord, in love and mercy, brought me back to an Apostolic Faith Church. There, I knelt at an altar of prayer and laid my whole life out before God. I didn’t care who saw me or heard me. I wanted to be sure to make my peace with Him. God saved me and oh, the sweet peace that came into this heart of mine!
Some people ask, “How do you know the Gospel is real?” I found it real that night. The Lord changed the whole course of my life and gave me an opportunity to do things I couldn’t do in my own strength. The change was miraculous. You can’t tell me the old-time religion is not real!
I look back many times and see the hole of the pit from whence the Lord dug me. Before God saved me, I had never been able to quit the old gang. The bright lights had been very alluring to me. I had been seeking sin with all my heart. When God saved me, that cigarette habit that I had tried to quit for years was gone. And that tongue, which had spoken evil, spoke no more evil. I used to come home, after a trip at sea, to find that the filthy conversation they used on the ship had rubbed off on me. I would try to bridle my tongue by purposing, “I will not slip this time,” but invariably I would. Since the Lord saved me, almost eighteen years ago, my tongue has not slipped from that day to this. That night the Lord took the desire for sin out of my heart, and I don’t look back to that kind of life; I have no desire for sin.
Today I have a hope of Heaven. I know the Lord is coming soon and the thoughts of my mind are that I want to be ready when the Trumpet sounds. I want my lamp trimmed and burning brightly. There is joy in serving Jesus, and I am glad I am a Christian.
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