Testimonials: Christopher 2007

Angry, hurt and alone. These 3 things ruled my life for 30 years. The only way that I was able to overpower these feelings was to run, either literally running to a new city or figuratively running, by getting drunk. Of course this was just a futile attempt at setting things right. When I was done running or sobered up the problems were still there or usually twice as bad as they originally were. I finally reached the point in life where I had lost my family, my house, my job, my car and my driver’s license. I had no where else to turn. I had been introduced to the bible in 2002 but nothing really took hold. I started attending a bible teaching church in 2003 and started to learn what all this “Jesus stuff” was about. On August 8^th, 2004 I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior and my life has made 180° turn for the better. Once I realized that I was a sinner no matter how “good” I was, it all of a sudden made sense (Rom.3: 23). I finally figured out the only way I was going to get to heaven was through Jesus Christ (John 14:6) and His death on the cross for my sins. All I had to do was sincerely have faith that God loved me so much that He sent Jesus to this wretched place we call earth to atone for all of my sins past, present and future, so I can spend eternity in heaven with Them (John 3:16). I have had a couple of stumbles in my walk with Jesus, which was caused by my falling out of fellowship with fellow Christians and not keeping the support I need to battle my flesh. Every time I had a problem in life I fell back on my old behavior to deal with it instead of turning to where my real strength lies, in Jesus Christ and with fellow believers (Eccl. 4:9-12). I now look at these “tough” moments in life as a chance to give things over to Jesus to attend to in His time. This leads to growth in my patience that leads to an increase in my faith (Jas 1:2-4). The more I trust God with my troubles the more I understand that there is absolutely nothing I cannot overcome when I tackle it in a Godly manner and with Jesus Christ as my strength (Phil. 4:13). Because of God’s sovereignty I came to be at the C.R.M. where I found the support and guidance I need. Now, not only am I getting the knowledge I need to become the person God wants me to be, but also the example of how a true Christian should live their life.

Note from Chaplain Ted;  Chris is now an intern at the Columbus Rescue Mission and working full time also.  He is learning about the ministry of Rescue and considering pursuing that if God calls.