Am I supposed to feel any different today
since this is my spiritual birthday? No epiphanies, no great spiritual insight,
no feelings of being more spiritual than any other day. However, I do think I have a
better attitude toward my spiritual birthday than my physical birthday. With each
passing year, we get a little older, and we sigh because we move a little further away from our youthfulness and a little closer
towards an increase of aches and pain and wrinkles this side of eternity. Optimistically, I guess on the
flip side of things we are closer to the rapture or heaven with each passing day! But today I am another
year older spiritually in Christ.
The funny thing is; I don’t feel more like Christ as I feel getting older! If I am bummed out over anything on my spiritual birthday, it is being less like Christ than I should be at my spiritual age. Unfortunately, there are no specific benchmarks indicating where we should be as we grow older in the Lord. I suppose desiring spiritual meat over spiritual milk and my behavior aligning with beliefs are general signs of growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where am I supposed to be spiritually at the age of 38? Having more time in the Lord doesn’t always translate into maturity. I know some older saints who act like they are still thumb-sucking Christians and struggle with the fundamentals of the faith.
The funny thing is; I don’t feel more like Christ as I feel getting older! If I am bummed out over anything on my spiritual birthday, it is being less like Christ than I should be at my spiritual age. Unfortunately, there are no specific benchmarks indicating where we should be as we grow older in the Lord. I suppose desiring spiritual meat over spiritual milk and my behavior aligning with beliefs are general signs of growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where am I supposed to be spiritually at the age of 38? Having more time in the Lord doesn’t always translate into maturity. I know some older saints who act like they are still thumb-sucking Christians and struggle with the fundamentals of the faith.
Let
me quickly express my gratitude
and thankfulness to the Lord for bringing me out of the darkness (Col
1:13-14) into the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ. Once I
realized Christ died for me (Rom 5:8; 1 Jn 4:9-10), providing a way of
escaping the wrath of God for
sin (Eph 2:3; Rom 6:23) through
His great sacrifice on the cross, I accepted Jesus Christ as my dear
Lord and Savior and was judicially declared righteous by faith in His
substitutionary work for my sin (Rom 5:1, 8). My penalty for sin was
imputed to Christ
on the cross (2 Cor 5:21), and the righteousness of Christ was put to my
account; it’s called
imputation (Rom 4:24). I didn’t earn it; I didn’t deserve it; it was all
of grace, unmerited
favor in the face of deserved wrath (Eph 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6, 7)! Did I
understand all of what that meant at
the time, no, not really. I just accepted the gift of salvation by
faith. I once
was on the fast track to a fiery hell but no longer since 1-19-76. Ever
since then my journey
is one of faith in Christ (Gal 2:20; Heb 12:2), and my eternal
destination is secured in heaven (Jn 14:3, 10:28-29).
I
was so abysmally ignorant concerning
the Bible when I got saved; I didn’t even know where the book of Genesis
was located! Before
salvation, I was spiritually blind to the truths of Scripture. I
always believed there was a God, and the Bible was His word, but I was
lost as
a goose, nonetheless. My grandfather was a Baptist minister for several
decades, but my Dad didn't live for the Lord when I was growing up. When
I
got off of my knees after asking Christ into my heart that morning of
1-19, I sensed something was different. I couldn’t articulate it at the
time, but it was as if a veil of some kind was removed from my eyes. My
mind already
had perceived the world to be different than what I once knew. “…was
blind, but now
I see” were more than mere words; it was a spiritual reality. Unbelief
no longer blinded me from the truth (2 Cor 4:4).
How
did I arrive at this most amazing
thing of being born again, having the Holy Spirit living within me (Gal
4:6), no longer considered an enemy of God (Rom 5:10; Col 1:21) but a
child of God (Rom 8:14-17; 1 Jn 3:1, 2) and on my way to heaven (Jn
14:3; 17:24)? Theologically it goes back before the foundation of the
world (Eph 1:4-5, 11), but I will stick to the immediate known events on
earth leading to my salvation. Looking back, I
realized my family and others were praying for me to come to the
knowledge of
the truth (Jn 14:6).
On Friday, January the 16th, I was walking down a hallway at the community college and noticed a bright green fluorescent poster on the wall at the end of the hallway advertising a movie entitled, “A Thief in the Night,” playing at a local Baptist church that Sunday near the school. I asked my mother to go with me to see this movie Sunday night, and she agreed. After the showing, I realized for the very first time that Jesus died for me, and I certainly didn’t want to go to Hell because of my sin, and I didn't want to be left behind in the rapture. During the invitation time, I had raised my hand that I didn’t know the Lord. During the last verse of the invitation, the preacher said that if you don’t come now you never will. I said to myself, “I’m not going forward then!” In my defiance, I happened to look down at my hands clinching the pew; my knuckles were white!
On Friday, January the 16th, I was walking down a hallway at the community college and noticed a bright green fluorescent poster on the wall at the end of the hallway advertising a movie entitled, “A Thief in the Night,” playing at a local Baptist church that Sunday near the school. I asked my mother to go with me to see this movie Sunday night, and she agreed. After the showing, I realized for the very first time that Jesus died for me, and I certainly didn’t want to go to Hell because of my sin, and I didn't want to be left behind in the rapture. During the invitation time, I had raised my hand that I didn’t know the Lord. During the last verse of the invitation, the preacher said that if you don’t come now you never will. I said to myself, “I’m not going forward then!” In my defiance, I happened to look down at my hands clinching the pew; my knuckles were white!
On the way home mom never pressed me
on anything. But when I went to bed that night I uttered my first prayer to
God; “God, I will get saved after classes tomorrow!” That was it; I slept like
a baby that night. The next morning I left early for school to study for a test.
I took my coat off in the library and put it back on. It was cold in there. A
few minutes later the librarian announced that all classes have been canceled
today because the heating system had malfunctioned. I thought this was some
kind of prank. So, I left the library and discovered that the whole school was indeed
closing. Almost immediately afterwards, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, “Get saved, now!”
I quickly ran to my car because my
eyelids felt like a balloon being filled with water ready to burst. Once I
opened the door of my car, I threw my books in the backseat and quickly closed
the door. The dam broke. I simply could not stop crying! Instead of heading to
the church that showed the movie, I went back to my hometown to the church where
my mother attended. I had been there a time or two but nothing memorable as
that past Sunday night. As I neared the road to my home, an inaudible voice
came from the backseat, “Why don’t you stop by the house and drop your books
off first? You don’t need to take them to church with you anyway.” I looked in
the rear view mirror and nothing was there. The voice from the back said it
again. I turned around and remembered saying, “No, they are coming to church
with me!” I passed the road to my house, and whatever was in the backseat was either
silent the rest of the way or no longer there.
When I pulled into the empty parking
lot of the church, I sat in the car for about twenty minutes trying to regain
my composure; this former Navy SEAL was a basket case. I got out of my car and walked to the back where the parsonage was
located. I knocked on the door, and the pastor opened the door. He could see I was
visibly upset; so we went to his study. Then he said, “What can I do for you?” I
told him straightly, “I want to get saved!” He cried out, “Praise the Lord!” So we got
down on our knees; I asked the Lord to forgive me of my sin and save me.
When
I stood up for the very first time for Jesus, I knew something was different in
my life. I had no idea how different my life would become because of Him. It
was the most important thing I had ever done or ever will do. If I could only point
to one thing that I did right in this world, it was receiving Christ as my Lord
and Savior that chilly Florida morning at 10:40 AM.
I honestly believe if God would send
His only begotten Son for me that I might share in this eternal life (Jn 3:16), He could, and I believe that He did,
shut the whole school down just for me as well. Come to think of it, I don’t recall ever
getting any thank you cards from any of the students missing a day of school.
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Anyway, that’s my
salvation experience on 1-19; your experience may be not as dramatic or more so, but
the content is always the same – salvation is by grace through faith and not of
works; it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8-9). It’s the best gift you will ever get
if you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I love 1-19 because on that day
my life was forever changed for the better, now and for eternity.
Postscript
The week of my salvation experience, which was on a Monday, I drove my little sister to the bus stop on that Friday of the same week. Along the way, there was a railroad crossing that claimed the lives of several people and left others crippled for life. Two of those victims were friends of mine when I was in high school that got hit by a train while riding a motorcycle. One was killed and another was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It has always been a dangerous crossing. On that morning at the bus stop, the windows on the VW beetle were foggy except for the windshield. As I crossed the small bridge that spanned a creek something told me to slam on my brakes. I probably wasn’t going more than 25 mph.
Immediately, I hit the brake pedal hard, and the car skidded to about six feet from the RR tracks. The very moment the car came to a halt a train passed by with no warning, moving at a faster rate of speed than normal. It was the closest I had ever come to being hit by a train. There were no automatic barriers or stop signs at the crossing. I simply did not hear the train coming and was negligent in not wiping the side windows down, but there was also negligence on the conductor’s part for not sounding the horn as he approached a crossing and traveling at a faster rate. I thanked the Lord for saving us and vowed to never be so careless crossing over any RR tracks.
Here is what came to mind on that Friday morning on 1-23-76. I believe that was my time to die had I not gotten saved on Monday the 19th. My sister would have gone to heaven, and I would have gone to hell. It was so clear to me from this incident that God was revealing to me His sovereign care and informing me of what I was spared from and the vital importance of never turning down or postponing the offer of salvation. I saw my death and considered my destination had I not gotten saved that past Monday.
Fortunately, my sister didn’t have a clue what just took place for she was young and preoccupied. My grandmother on my mom’s side was killed at the same crossing a little over two years later on 4-4-78. The RR Company finally installed two stop signs because of my grandmother’s death…
If you have never trusted Christ, do not delay, do not reject the offer, do it now. We all have an appointment with death but after this the judgment (Heb 9:27). Should you die during the time of putting it off, thinking about it, or turning the offer down, it is tantamount to rejection in either case and that rejection leads to a very bad place. A place no sane person would want to ever go there. Read the warning from the Apostle Paul,
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2b). This offer will not last forever because you don't have forever to decide! <><
The week of my salvation experience, which was on a Monday, I drove my little sister to the bus stop on that Friday of the same week. Along the way, there was a railroad crossing that claimed the lives of several people and left others crippled for life. Two of those victims were friends of mine when I was in high school that got hit by a train while riding a motorcycle. One was killed and another was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It has always been a dangerous crossing. On that morning at the bus stop, the windows on the VW beetle were foggy except for the windshield. As I crossed the small bridge that spanned a creek something told me to slam on my brakes. I probably wasn’t going more than 25 mph.
Immediately, I hit the brake pedal hard, and the car skidded to about six feet from the RR tracks. The very moment the car came to a halt a train passed by with no warning, moving at a faster rate of speed than normal. It was the closest I had ever come to being hit by a train. There were no automatic barriers or stop signs at the crossing. I simply did not hear the train coming and was negligent in not wiping the side windows down, but there was also negligence on the conductor’s part for not sounding the horn as he approached a crossing and traveling at a faster rate. I thanked the Lord for saving us and vowed to never be so careless crossing over any RR tracks.
Here is what came to mind on that Friday morning on 1-23-76. I believe that was my time to die had I not gotten saved on Monday the 19th. My sister would have gone to heaven, and I would have gone to hell. It was so clear to me from this incident that God was revealing to me His sovereign care and informing me of what I was spared from and the vital importance of never turning down or postponing the offer of salvation. I saw my death and considered my destination had I not gotten saved that past Monday.
Fortunately, my sister didn’t have a clue what just took place for she was young and preoccupied. My grandmother on my mom’s side was killed at the same crossing a little over two years later on 4-4-78. The RR Company finally installed two stop signs because of my grandmother’s death…
If you have never trusted Christ, do not delay, do not reject the offer, do it now. We all have an appointment with death but after this the judgment (Heb 9:27). Should you die during the time of putting it off, thinking about it, or turning the offer down, it is tantamount to rejection in either case and that rejection leads to a very bad place. A place no sane person would want to ever go there. Read the warning from the Apostle Paul,
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2b). This offer will not last forever because you don't have forever to decide! <><
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