I never considered myself an evangelist.
I would only share my faith when opportunities arose: like when friends in deep trouble needed some answers, or when I was asked about what I believed (which was rare); then and only then would I witness to what Christ had done in me. That’s why I’m still amazed that I made a commitment to evangelize everyday after hearing a New Year’s message in 2004. (Read part 1 here.)
I had always thought that evangelism was somebody else’s job; only those who had the gift of evangelism actually did it.
It certainly was not my job!
The day after I made that commitment to share my faith everyday I found myself in the chair of my hairstylist. She told me how her marriage was in trouble, her kids were screwed up—you know, the typical American family story—and I listened, waiting for my opportunity.
My Testimony (and today is my 20th re-birthday!)
God gave me a special present to celebrate my special day today. At the end of this post I will tell you what this very tangible gift is….
Twenty years ago, on December 2, 1990, my life changed….
That was because I judged myself by my own standard of goodness.
One night while searching for witches’ covens in an open field at midnight, I challenged Satan to show himself.
He did.
I was also robbed at shotgun point by drug dealers (as a meth addict I didn’t have much discernment in friends).
I broke into a “friend’s” mobile home and stole some equipment in broad daylight.
I knocked on the apartment doors of strangers looking for a wife; I found a lost key and tried opening neighbor’s doors with it. The television spoke directly to me. Then I got a very clear vision that I was headed for Hell if I didn’t die….
Such was my life before Christ. But things changed twenty years ago when I understood that I needed a Savior.
Revelation 12:11 says: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…”
Every evangelist—every Christian—has a testimony of what Christ has done in their life and should be able to articulate it in various lengths of time. I have a 30 second, 60 second, 5 minute, 10 minute, and 45 minute version.
MY TESTIMONY ON HOW I CAME TO FAITH
My story is quite a roller coaster ride and I’d like to share it with you. Over the summer I gave an updated version of my testimony of what Christ did in my life. (I previously shared it to our congregation seven years ago, before I was an evangelist.)
You can watch or listen to “A Wretch Like Me” MP3 or Quicktime. Click here and scroll down to August 15, 2010. (No permalink available.) Or you can read it by clicking here.
*****
Now, wanna know what gift God gave me?
Read More