I suppose I’ll start by saying that I do not have one of those testimonies that speak of how I lived a life of corruption, and then one day I met God through a life changing experience, and life has been great ever since. Nope.. That’s not my story.. Though, I do love to hear such testimonies, they are very encouraging. However, for me it was different because I grew up in a Christian home with Christian parents, so I always knew about the Lord. Even at a very young age I had a love for God and a desire to walk with Him. Plus, my mother, being the strong Christian woman she was, tried to raise me up in the Lord the best she could and for that I’ll be forever grateful.

It wasn’t however, until the age of 12 that I officially invited Jesus into my life(heart). This was at a time when I starting getting into the pre-teenage rebellion, which of course would only get worse as I got into the teens. Truth be told, like most teens, I rebelled hard against my parents, authority, and life in general. However, even through all of that I never really felt rebellious towards God, I felt like He was the only one who could understand me. I realize now, of course, that my actions were against His will and desires for me. The crazy thing is, I remember times when a few of us kids would go out and vandalize something and then later I would tell those same kids what Jesus did for them on the cross and how they can have eternal salvation.. Needless to say, the Lord had His hands full with me...

After the whole “menace to society” stage, which didn’t last too long (because I came to my senses and grew up a little bit), I went through a time of great depression and anger, which stemmed from several reasons; some my own doing, some not... This is what I refer to as my “dark time”. Now, for the sake of not wanting to ramble on too much, I wont get into the details of my actions, but let’s just say, I was out of control and headed down a seriously self destructive path. I remember pouring my heart out to God several nights, pleading with Him to take this anger, pain and sorrow away. Little did I know, He was answering my prayers and doing a work in me that I simply couldn’t see at the time.

As time went on the Lord revealed things about myself and my life that I needed to see. I began to see much clearer and how some serious changes needed to be made in and around me. It was when I started making these changes and started putting God first and applying His Word into my life, that, before I knew it, my depression had left and my temper was becoming controllable! I literally became a new person!! Many people who meet me now find it hard to believe I was ever like that. I sometimes look back and find it hard to believe too but glory be to God for all that He has done in my life..

The Lord continues to this day to work in me and change my life for the better and He’ll continue until the day I die as with all His children. With each passing year I can look back and say for certain I have made changes for the better and have grown and continue to grow in the fruit of the Spirit(Galatians 5:22-25).

Many years have past now and the Lord has since called me into ministry. Not just with Promise Land, but also with Triumphant Return Ministries. Furthermore, the Lord has blessed me with a beautiful, loving, supportive, incredible wife, Janette. I do not deserve such a woman like her by my side. She is truly a special person sent from God.

Now I realize that this Testimony was suppose to be about when and how I got saved, but I wanted to share with you a Testimony that deals with the other side of salvation.. Meaning, what happens when you face struggles and hard times after you have already asked Jesus into your life(heart). Remember, my struggles started after I had already asked Jesus into my life. See, my testimony is about the power of making Jesus Lord of your life.  It’s truly a life-changing step that continues through out your life/walk with the Lord. It may not seem life changing the day you ask Him into your heart, but the minute you do invite Him in, He begins to work in your life; like me you may not see it at first, but believe me, I’m living proof that He changes lives.

It’s also worth noting that during these times, even when I was a complete mess, living in depression and anger, God had blessed me with my first electric guitar and a Christian guitar teacher. My point in sharing that is…. even though I was far from being a perfect Christian (I still am), God was not only working in my current struggles but He was also working and preparing me for the music ministry. Who would have thought that at the time?…  See, God looks at the heart, He sees the bigger picture.. He’s not looking for you and I to be perfect before He can use us or Love us.. If that was the case, none of us would be worthy enough.. Especially me.. Point is, God was with me through those times and not only helped me over come it but made me a far better person in the end.. Plus, God took those bad situation and turned it into good and those very struggles I faced is now used for good..

I also wanted to show through my testimony that once you asked Jesus into your heart it doesn’t mean life is without struggles or problem. There are those who try and tell people that once they come to the Lord there will be no more problems or hard times. This is simply untrue and it sets a person up for a fall. Jesus said, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”(John15:19). This may seem harsh but its truth! Those who know me will tell you that I pull no punches. I’ll give it to you straight from the Word of God because it’s by His Word we are to live our lives and test all things. (Luke 4:4 / 1 John 4:1 / 1 Thess. 5:21)

The fact is, we live in a fallen world full of sin and though we are not of the world we are still in the world and therefore we face struggles just like everyone else, many times even more because of our stand with Christ (John 15:19). However, the difference is, we can have a peace that surpasses all understanding through our struggles and hard times (Philippians 4:7). Furthermore, by walking with Christ we know who is in-control of our lives and we don’t have to worry about what comes our way (Romans 8:28). Where as, without Christ we are lost, confused and uncertain what the future holds.

Some of you reading this may be unsure about Jesus and Christianity. Maybe you hate religion or think it’s filled with a bunch of hypocrites. Let me say, during my walk in the Lord I have seen the counterfeits, the hypocrisy and the apostasy in the churches and I know it has given Jesus and Christianity a bad name. For that matter, I’m sick of all the religious garbage too, but, one thing we must not do is decide who God is based on man’s actions. Man is sinful (Romans 3:23) and therefore, we cannot determine who God is based on bad choices people make. It’s God’s Word we must look at to determine who God is and what He stands for. Upon doing so you will not only find out who and what God is, but you’ll see that God was/is tired of the hypocrisy too. In fact, Jesus had to deal with that a lot among the religious leaders of that time. (Matt. 23:28 ; Luke 12:1)  My point is, don’t let the wrong actions of other people decide your relationship with God. Remember, the reason our Heavenly Father sent Jesus, His son, was because of sin and so that we would no longer have to be in bondage from it (Romans 5:8). So don’t let the sins of others keep you from Him. To read more about inviting Jesus into your life click here à JESUS

In CHRIST,

Dave

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