My 8 Steps
Step – 1
(Disobedience)
Step – 2
Disobedience, distant from God
Step – 3
John 3:3 “Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’”
Step – 4
See God’s kingdom
Step – 5
For God to forgive my sin
Step – 6
Stop bad habits: unnecessary alcohol drinking, smoking, swearing
Look to the Bible to learn what God wanted me to do
Step – 7
Wanting to help others grow in their Christian life
Praying for victory in my still plaguing sin areas
Step – 8
Attending Sunday School from my childhood and wanting to go to church did not bring victory over sin areas in my life. Being sent to the principle’s office didn’t help, nor saying the Lord’s Prayer before going to bed. There remained an immoveable wall between me and God. Alcohol, though it made me temporarily forget about God, could not remove that barrier. The closeness to God that I searched for and the victory over sin that I desperately needed were still beyond reach.
During some pre-marital counseling, my future wife’s pastor shared John 3:3 with me and asked me if I had been born again. I had no defense. The answer was, No. He shared with me how God wanted me to be born into his family by trusting Him by faith to be my Savior from sin. I wanted to do what God wanted me to do. I asked Jesus right there to be my Savior from the sin that I unsuccessfully battled with.
There were more victories than failures in the months that followed. I gave up alcohol as a source for power. I asked God for His help to stop swearing and smoking. God put within me an increasing need to search for life’s answers in His Word.
In the forty plus years that followed that prayer of faith in Jesus, my growing desire has been to help others in their relationship with God. From teaching children what I barely knew myself, to helping searching adults come to faith in Jesus, God has faithfully remained at my side. My closeness to God today is a humbling reminder of what God wants for everyone.
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