Meeting Jesus

     I will try to describe how I came to know about Jesus. I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. I was not a good JW. I ran away from home when I was 16, I lived on the streets. I eventually ended up in Vietnam. In Vietnam I was part of a 5 man team with the proverbial “one for all and all for one” mentality. After Vietnam, when I came back to the states, I had problems, I could clearly see that everyone went by a different set of rules. The civilized rules were, “every man for himself”, ”do it to him before he does it to you”, ”take care of number one”. Its not that the world had changed, I had changed, war loads you up with a lot of baggage. I was into weed, drugs, anything to escape. I remember, while sitting with my friends, smoking pot, I would say that I would kill myself but I wanted to see what will happen tomorrow. This was my low point.

     Originally I was from Long Island New York after a some drifting I landed in Denver Colorado. There I meet Al Hernandez. He was an odd duck, he prayed before his meals, spontaneously, no one telling him too. A nice enough guy. He once asked me to tone down my foul mouth because it bothered him, I was nasty. He didn’t seem to live by the “every man for himself” rule. He befriended me and told me he was once a mess himself, He told me about Jesus, not baby Jesus, but the real story. While telling me about Jesus he took out his Bible to show me verses, I said no way, I went and got my JW Bible (we lived in the same apartment house). I told him that he had to show me from my Bible. I need to add here that when I was a JW I didn’t know how someone was saved. For the most part JWs do the best that they can, They seemed righteous, squeaky clean according to man’s judgment. That’s about all I had from my JW days. When Al was sharing Jesus with me I knew I was far from being righteous, I knew I was nasty, and I knew I didn’t like it. He went about sharing from the Bible the good news, that God has made a way.

Is. 1:18    Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

     I knew my sins were bad. With that verse I got real quiet, maybe there is hope for me. The Bible verses went on to declare that everybody is unacceptable compared to God.

Rom. 3:10-12    As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Is. 64:6    But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags …

At this point he’s talking about me. Whats coming out of the Bible is talking to me.

The first step is wanting to turn from the things that are unacceptable (sin).

2 Pet. 3:9    The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

     Repentance, yeah, I didn’t much like my nasty ways. It seems that without the desire to stop our wicked ways the rest of the Gospel doesn’t work. I’m not saying you have to clean up your act before you can be saved, you can’t, God will get around to dealing with that later, but for now you must want too. Here is the good news in a nut shell.

John 3:16-17    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Mat. 16:21    From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Rom. 5:8    But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

     It turns out that Jesus came from Heaven to die in our place. This was never taught by the JWs. I had not heard of anything like this before. Please understand I was fresh from combat, I understood someone taking the bullet for me. It is the ultimate “one for all” act. Jesus knew in advance that a bullet had my name on it. He went to the cross anyway. He took my bullet. With this understanding hope had taken root in me. I wanted to know more, What must I do to earn such a friendship as this. Well it turns out you can’t earn it, it is a free gift!

Eph. 2:8-9    For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

God confirmed his acceptance of Jesus sacrifice by raising him from the dead.

1 Cor. 15:1-4    Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

     Knowing these things is not enough, we must make a decision, and according to the Bible we must confess with our mouth to God that we want what Jesus has done, believing what is reported in the Bible.

Rom. 10:9-10    That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

     I found what I was looking for, JESUS. I knew that my life must change, and I believed that Jesus was raised from the dead. All that was left according to Romans 10:9-10 was for me to come before God in prayer and ask that Jesus’s death would save me. I therefore bowed my head and took God at his word, and told him that I wanted what Jesus died to give me.

     I have found over the years that God wanted more than just to save me. He wanted me to be in his family.

John 1:12    But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
1 John 3:1    Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

     Through this experience I’ve changed, I’m still changing 50 years later. Meeting Jesus is not an end in itself, but a beginning. If you have made the decision to ask Jesus into your life, you need to read your Bible, its yours, you will understand it now, start with the gospel of John, it gives a clear picture of Jesus. You will also need to find a Bible believing church. Know this, he will never abandon you.

Heb. 13:5    Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.