As I was driving home from work just a few minutes ago I was thinking about some things. My thought are basically that I want to express to anyone who wants to hear what Jesus has meant to me, and what I think he would like to mean to you too. I was not raised in a church going family. We went to weddings and funerals, but never once went to church together. My mom had a big white King James version of the Bible that I looked at a few times because it had some cool looking Renaissance paintings of the Saints, but that was as far as my interest in the Bible went. As a kid in elementary school I remember one profound night I was thinking about God as a concept. Someone must have told me that he was eternal and I spent a nearly sleepless night trying to wrap my mind around that concept. I couldn't. But I did experience something that night for the first time, I felt God's presence. In the 6th grade I prayed my first real prayer. My guinea pig, Mushroom, was sick. I was scared and sad because I thought she was going to die. I had to take a shower because we had to go somewhere and there I prayed. "God, if Mushroom is not going to get better will you please let her die, I don't want her to suffer." I was balling because praying that made me sad. Right after my shower I checked on her and she had died while I was gone. In my Jr. High years bikes, friends, and video games crowded my life and I did not think about God so much. High School added cars, girls, and booze. I graduated in 89' and was living it up. I had a good paying job, a pretty blond girl, and lots of friends. January of 90 I was 19 and fantasizing about what being 21 was going to be like. I wanted to start going to bars, and was wondering what strip clubs were like. In the middle of all this, one night after a fun night of drinking and sleeping with my girl a random thought entered my head. "God wants for people to have sex after marriage, not before." For me this simply was the position of the Bible, not that I knew it from personal reading. This began a month long internal dialogue that ended something like this. "God does not want me to have sex before marriage. God is the one who created everything. God is the one who is in charge. I believe that God does exist. I need to do what God says is right." I liked (like) sex. I did not like the idea of giving it up. But for the next few times I slept with her I left with a feeling of wrongness. Finally one night I told her what was going on with me. She was mad, then she seduced me. I felt horrible after and that was the last time we had sex. She tried to seduce me a few more times, and I impulsively tried to get her to marry me. She wisely refused me and a month after our last sexual encounter we broke up after three years and a promise ring. The last time I saw her was Feb. 14, 1990. So on a foggy Valentines evening I went to the house of the girl I planned to marry and we exchanged a few belongings and I left. I drove around crying like a baby and wondering what in the world was happening. I pulled over into an empty parking lot and wept. Then I prayed my second real prayer in my life. "God, Julie was my life and my future and I've given it all up for you. You are God and I will follow you all of my life." For me the fact that I was a sinner who needed salvation was simply an understood part of it all. That night I received forgiveness and salvation. There in my little red S-15 pick-up I was filled with his Spirit. I've lived with Him for these last 19 years. You know people that I don't. You could tell me about them and your relationship to them. Then I could say, "I don't believe in that person." Then you could say, "Let me introduce you." Then I would say, "No, I don't believe in him so there fore you cannot introduce me to him." You would think, "I know that this person exists. I have a relationship with him. I do things for him, he does things for me. We talk often." I would like for each of you who reads this (and others too) to know Jesus like I do. I have a relationship with Him. He is my friend. He does thing for me, and I do things for him. We talk. Sometimes in prayer. Sometimes in the Word. Sometimes in my car. Sometimes at church. If there have been times you have considered Jesus, of taking that seemingly crazy step of trying to know Him, let me encourage you. Do it. Do it now. Do it today. You never know what tomorrow may bring, and you can always use another friend.
With His Love,
Steve aka HeyMrP

I'm glad you've found something that gives you comfort and hope dude, good for you.

Wow, that's a powerful story, thanks for sharing, it might inspire other people :)

I'm still kinda confused why god would be against sex before marraige. It was one thing back in the olden days when a kid needed a family and if you were having sex while unwed you would risk having a child without a family.. but with all the modern forms of conception I don't see why it would be immoral.

This video explains the bibles view on marriage. Sex is special and therefore should only be engaged in when married

>_<

One thing that Mrheyp's comment did raise again for me (I've thought about it before) is why god only picks certain people to "touch"

Nazi's and Hitler.


Just wanted to get that out of the way early.

Thumbs way up.

EDIT: I think God is willing to touch anyone who is willing to receive His touch.

and on a side note.. heymrp, I am glad you found substance for your life and may your faith and testimony continue to grow...as long as its real for you, you will never have to prove it to me...or anyone else.

FFS. I was just about to invoke Godwin and you beat me to it.

Thanks Mrheyp for your willingness to share.

Doggylives, I think some of the "selection process" falls into the hands of the individual and not on God. Scripture says you will find Him if you seek Him. I believe this, that if you are truly seeking God that He will touch you. Now I will admit that I have met people that testify that they have been touched while not seeking God, but I wonder about that. In my experience people who are not seeking God would not accept anything from Him.

At the risk of being shouted at for starting a religious discussion lol.

I searched for god after I left my parents religion, a religion I was born into but realised to be full of crap.

I searched for god at a time when I really needed him. He never appeared to me. Since then my thinking is Atheistic.

If god loves us and is the honest, loving god believers say he is then surely he wouldn't make such a mystery out of himself. If I want to be friends with someone then I wouldn't make them do all the work. It just seems like a lot of fun and games, searching, seeking etc. For me it's the equivalent of god playing hide and seek with humans.

Seriously, if god wants us all to find him a simple, "hey guys, I'm over here" would suffice.

MrP -

I've of late been wondering what happened to you. Welcome back. :O)

Thank you for posting your testimony.

He will bring you through the fire, no matter what that fire may be and you will be refined.

At the risk of sounding like a simpleton, He did. His Book literally is that.

That was probably the most poignant statement said written at plime in a thread of this nature.

I would like to say that I also am happy for you Steve, and may your journey be filled with faith and enlightenment.

Jesus is alright with me too.

And with me

Jesus kicks ass

I can accept what you are saying and I won't put myself in a position of being Gods lawyer, but if you can stand to read them I have some thoughts. You have sought Him and could not perceive Him when you did. I love theology, but I don't see this as a question of theology. To me these are questions of the heart, of lives, of "what does it all mean?" At this point in my life all the evidence I need of His existence is in the relationship that I have with Him. It is in no way a one sided thing with me doing the heavy lifting. I can do no other thing than to approach things with the knowledge that He is. If we stood before a door and I told you that God was waiting on the other side to begin a relationship with you, actually to adopt you, but you could not go in unless you were willing to make a complete surrender of all your own hopes, plans, and dreams. That you had to make an unconditional vow to strive to live your life in the way that he wanted. Being sure that as good as you may already be, that you fall short of what His plan for you is. Willing to abandon life as you know it and give the keys of your life to Him. With those as terms would you go in? I know that God does not entertain the idea of having casual friends and acquaintances. I can only believe all people have moments when they sense Gods presence. They see something in nature and have a moment of awe. They don't simply see something, they don't only know something, but they feel something too. Something other. Something bigger. Something magnificent. But then their "rational" mind kicks in, and the awe fades, and they simply remember it as something that was cool. I believe He has reached out to you. I believe that all your life he has been seeking a way and a time and a place when the noise of the world and life and pride and whatever (<---I say these things not because I know you, but because I know me) don't keep you from hearing Him. I hope that your past experiences of seeking Him have not hardened your heart to the point where you will never look again. He is there. He is waiting. He does love you. I hope I have not gone too far, but right now I am feeling especially passionate about these matters. And I pray that even before you have a chance to read these words that He will give you a "Hey DL, I'm over here." You're in my prayers tonight.

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Hey dude, I appreciate the time it took to reply and that you seem to be genuinely concerned for me. It's always nice to see raw humanity in a stranger.

I always find the expression "hard heart" to be a strange one when it comes to believing in god. It's not that my hearts hard, believe it or not I'm actually a loving, warm, and friendly person. I often wonder and stand in awe of nature and that never fades into, "That's really cool", it stays as awe. I love nothing better than to take my dogs down to the beach and enjoy a glorious sunrise with the breeze of the early morning on my face. The only difference is that I am in awe of nature, not something I've never seen and have no evidence of. You say all the evidence you need is that you believe in him and if that works for you that's awesome but for me I don't believe and there's no other evidence of god to be found anywhere else.


It's not that I'm happier or am deliberately trying to keep god out of my life, it's just that I see no reason, no evidence, no logic in believing in anything supernatural. My life's great right now so I'd prefer god not to waste his time on me anyway, I'd much rather he went and helped those with no food, the little child that gets raped by daddy every night, those living with cancer or one of the other many natural (Or you could say god-made) diseases, those that are suffering through natural disasters, hurricanes, tornadoes and the like.

When he's paid attention to all that and fixed it then he can get back to little ol' me with my insignificant and petty worries and give me the same warm fuzzy feeling that so many western, privileged Christians claim to have.

Please understand that my comments aren't intended to offend or to belittle your beliefs, the same as I'm sure your comments weren't intended to belittle my thinking and reason.

My initial comment stands, I'm glad you personally have found something other than drugs, alcohol etc, that helps you cope with life and is right for you.

For those who are interested, you can come to Ichthus and visit us if it rains. :D Our little town of 3000 hosts this festival of 20,000+ every year. It's this coming weekend!

They moved the festival from May to mid-June due to weather problems. It could be very exciting!

Last but not least, if you look REAL close, you can see my house.