"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field." Matthew 13:44
Translation: the Kingdom of Heaven is AWESOME! It really is a privilege to dine with the Creator of the universe at His table. I am so amazed at how gracious and forgiving Jesus is! My life is a perfect example of redemption! I did a lot of things wrong. For eleven years I did all different types of drugs. I had become "very good" at drinking, to the point of being a blackout drunk. I slept with women I barely knew. I stole from people to get high. I was addicted to porn and had an affair with a married woman. The root of all of these things is that I was running from God. When I was 15, I had an experience with Jesus. He basically introduced Himself and told me that He wanted me to give up my life for Him and share His love with the nations. I was afraid. I couldn’t even say the name of Jesus in church without feeling uncomfortable. And so like I said, I ran like Jonah. I knew what I was supposed to do and went the opposite direction. I ripped a God sized hole in my heart and tried to fill it with absolutely anything else.
I love how Jesus is timeless! This January, Jesus reached out with His hand and delivered me from the grip of my addictions and despair. I quit everything cold turkey, no withdrawals! On February 11th, I fully surrendered my life to my Redeemer. Now, 220 days later, I have sold and given away my possessions. All I am keeping fits into a chest that my Mom gave me. In 18 days I leave the country for 11 months, to do exactly what I ran from. I’ve told my friends and family that I am coming back just to visit and then heading back out. When I tell people my story, the largest focus is on how quickly I turned around. I am here to tell you that it was not of my own will. Without Jesus, I am nothing.
What really blows me away is how He trusts me after all I’ve done. How He doesn’t look at me and see mistake after mistake. How He is not mad at me but loves me unconditionally and is proud of me. At first I didn’t believe it. The enemy was able to throw shame and guilt on me. He tried to make me think that I had wasted my life. One night I shared my testimony at a treatment center for teen boys addicted to drugs. These guys were usually court ordered to be there and only went to this meeting because it got them out of chores. This was the first time I had shared my testimony in front of a group and after I was done, all five of the boys raised their hands to accept Christ. Seeing redemption run full circle truly humbled me! I was able to speak life into those that feel like no one knows how they feel! Jesus took my epic failure and turned it into a weapon for His Kingdom.
Revelation 12:11a says,” And they defeated him[the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.”
Our testimonies are powerful! They partner with the very blood that was shed on the cross to defeat the enemy. The devil tries to use shame, guilt and the fear of being judged to keep us from sharing that power with those that need to know that they are not the only ones. I was recently asked to represent The World Race at a Christian leader conference called, Catalyst, in Atlanta Georgia. I will be leaving the country basically from one of the stages. I’m told that there will be around 13,000 attending! I am completely blown away by this opportunity. In school, when I had to share in front of the class, my face would turn red and my eyes would water. I was terrified of public speaking. Now, even though I’ve never done anything like it before, I am excited. I get to share with thousands of people how Jesus has transformed my life! I am completely awestruck by His grace and love!
