Testimonies

Life after Death By CB This is the story of my journey from atheism, through agnosticism to becoming a Christian, someone with a personal trust in Jesus Christ. Now I face death with total confidence! Can you? I took this step in June 1987. Before then I thought the following: There is no God. Life on earth evolved. Jesus was a myth. The Bible was so old it could not possibly be accurate. History is unrepeatable so why should I believe it? Of all the religions in the world, why should the Christian faith be the only "right" one? Visions of heaven and hell experienced by some people close to death were biochemical changes in the brain. I had no doubt these stories were useful for controlling people! But what if these places really do exist, regardless of whether or not you believe in them? Can you identify with any of this? Even as a young child, I had no beliefs at all. It was as a teenager that I began to think that there might be a God. I attended School Chapel and went through with the church ritual in the vague hope that if there were " something in it" I would be all right. I assumed that making a commitment to Christ meant accepting that he was a man with a beard, living in Israel, claiming to be the Son of God. But I had great difficulty in believing in the existence of either and found myself unable to accept anything in the Bible. Then, in 1987 I had a strange experience! It started in February when I began to feel like I was suffocating from the inside. However, there was no clinical explanation for it. One Friday evening at the end of April that year, I met with three Christian friends to pray (speak to God). Because Christians prayed I thought I could be a Christian by praying! That is rather like being in a garage and pretending to be a car! Then the young woman in the group began to say things about which only I knew. She said: "You did not choose me, I chose you …Salvation* comes by faith not works… The only thing you will ever have to boast about is that it is I and I alone who have saved you…" I was overwhelmed. I gasped: " It’s true!" I concluded that there is a God and he knows exactly what each of us says, thinks and does! To him we are totally transparent and that is how he is able to know everything about each of us, including whether or not we have a relationship with him. (* The Christian view of Salvation is the attainment of Eternal Life in the joy of heaven. It has to be secured before death. No one knows or wants to know when that will occur). Then it happened! There was a violent rushing wind from above. It seemed to occupy all the space in the room and penetrated both my eardrums but no damage was done. My whole body was filled with this powerful but gentle wind. The suffocating stopped and I could breathe properly again. There was no wind outside. The doors and windows were closed. There was no draught within. It was like a scene out of Pentecost! Please see Acts Chapter 2 verse 2 in the Bible: " Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting."It took a several weeks for me to get my head around what had happened and why. I had often wanted to know whether or not the stories in the Bible were true. This is particularly so of the ones about Jesus rising from the dead and making the claim: " I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies…." (John 11v25 in the Bible). Also, " I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father except through me…" (John 14v6). Although I did not exactly meet with this so-called " man with a beard", I did have an encounter with who Christians call the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that God exists in three "persons". Water is available to us in the form of ice, steam and the water we drink. In a similar way Christians believe that God exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father made the world and sent His Son Jesus, fully God and fully man, to die on the Cross for the sins of all Christians. Who made God is difficult to answer but someone once stated: "If God needed to be made, he wouldn’t be God!" The Holy Spirit is to us now what Jesus himself was in the flesh. He moves different people in different ways. Pentecost only happened because Jesus lived, died and rose again. I thought. I prayed. I read into the evidence supporting the Christian faith. Since then much more has come to light. Such literature may be found in Christian bookshops. Even if you do not believe me or if you have another problem believing in what the Bible teaches, please seek this material out and read it. It is important. My experience convinced me of the truth of Jesus Christ: his life, miracles, teachings, death and resurrection. Belief in his being raised from the dead is essential to have a relationship with the one who gives Eternal Life. " That if you confess with your mouth that ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved."(Romans 10v9) The same applies to his visible removal from earth and, one day, his public and personal return when he will place all people into one of two categories. These are those who are going to heaven, a place of everlasting peace and beauty, and those who are going to hell, a place of everlasting agony and punishment. Of course, each person who has died by that time will have been placed in either heaven or hell. In the light of this, do you think you can sit on the fence? " Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him."(John 3v36) In June 1987, I made a conscious decision to turn away from being wrong before God. I made a commitment to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for me personally. Christians claim that this choice and belief are essential for Salvation, and the only way to escape God’s wrath. That is the Good News of Jesus Christ, also known as the Gospel. " For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."(John 3v16) But why should anyone suffer this terrible fate? " There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…" (Romans 3v22&23 in the Bible). Are you perfect? Can you say to a holy and righteous God that you are as sinless as he is? Since most of us are capable of making decisions, we will be accountable to God in this light. If you feel that you are ready to receive this wonderful gift of Eternal Life would you like to make a personal commitment to repent of sin and to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ? Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for all of the wrong things I have said, thought and done in my life. I ask that you forgive me. I believe that you took all my sin on you when you died on the cross for me- personally. You rose again to give me Eternal Life with you. Please come into my life as my Saviour, Lord, and Friend. Thank you. Amen. Then, if you are not already in one, please join a church where the Bible is taught and honoured and arrange to be baptised by having your body immersed in water. " You must repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins: and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2v38) You then need to walk with God by worshipping him and obeying his teaching. Also, you should tell others about what you have done and why, at your discretion. If you feel you cannot follow these suggestions, then take these claims seriously. Ask God to reveal himself and his truth to you. You are welcome to share this information with anybody by absolutely any means. Thank you for reading this. May God bless you and bring you closer to him.