Key verse:  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalms 51:10-11).

My first real conviction of sin happened in the summer of 1988, when I was 8 years old.  My parents had asked me to go outside and call my sisters home for dinner, but when I went outside to call them, they would not come home.  I became very frustrated and said, “Will y’all just come on home?  Jesus Christ!” 

My parents heard my exclamation inside the house.  When I came in, they asked me to sit at the table.  They asked me where I had heard to talk like that.  I told them that other kids in the neighborhood say it all the time.  My parents told me that it was not a nice thing to say because I was using the Lord’s name as a cuss word, which I knew we weren’t allowed to use because I had my mouth washed out when I was 5 for saying “d-a-m-n.”

            I told them I was sorry.  They said that I needed to tell God that I was sorry, too.  Feeling horrible for what I had done, I went back to my room, put a Southern Gospel tape in my radio, and cried in my pillow while listening to “The Old Rugged Cross.”  I told God that I was sorry, and that I didn’t want to disappoint him again.

            Then, during the summer of 1991, I had been given a pamphlet that showed Jesus knocking on the door of a heart.  I knew I loved Jesus, and I remember that I really wanted him to live in my heart.  I went home and asked my parents how to get Jesus to live in my heart.  They told me all I had to do was repent of my sins and ask Jesus to be my Lord.  At age 11, I made the best decision I will ever make by professing Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

            I was truly blessed to have been raised in a Christian home.  I walked closely with the Lord through high school and the first two years of college.  However, during my junior year at Louisiana Tech, I began drinking alcohol heavily on a regular basis.  At first, I would only get intoxicated about 1-2 times a month, but by the time I quit I would be drunk as much as 5 times a week.  In my heart, I knew that my actions were displeasing to the Holy Spirit inside me because I was constantly having to justify my actions to myself;  “It’s not like you’re hurting anyone”  and “I’m just having fun. It’s not like I’m driving drunk.” 

The first time I knew my drinking was ruining my witness happened one night when I was drunk in public.  A person came up to me and said, “Hey, don’t you go to my church?”  To this day, I can’t recall who the person was, but I remember feeling ashamed the next day.  However, I still didn’t quit.

            I met my wife, Christy, in April 2003.  She started to hang out at my house, and we quickly became best friends (never wanting to be apart).  I had a party at the end of May, to which I had invited Christy, but she was unable to come due to a family emergency.  I ended up becoming very drunk that night, and I thank the Lord that Christy, who has never seen me drunk, was unable to attend that night. 

            During the summer of 2003, we were nearly inseperatable.  When I was with her, I didn’t really have any desire to drink.  We enjoyed talking, going to movies, and walking in a local park on a daily basis.  Unfortunately, I had one more battle with the bottle to fight.

             While Christy was in Nashville recording a CD, I went out drinking one Friday night.  My friends and I went to back to the house, and I decided to start a fire in my backyard, despite my friends urging me not to make one.  To make matters worse, I decided to pour gasoline on an open flame.  The stream from the plastic can caught fire and traveled back into the can.  I slung the can, hitting one of my friends.  It deflected off his arm and set my backyard on fire.  My friend, Tom, immediately jumped into action and put the fire out. 

            I woke up the next morning, feeling horrible about what I had done.  I hit my knees and told God that I finally got the message.  I confessed my sins to him and asked that he forgive me for breaking my fellowship with him.  Once I was off the booze, I began reading my Bible and praying on a daily basis again.  My walk with Christ quickly returned and flourished, and Christy and I began dating about 4 months later.  

            In August 2003, the Episcopal Church ordained a practicing homosexual as the Bishop of New Hampshire.  This broke my heart and the Church in two.  I continued to attend services at the Episcopal church, but the joy of attending church that I had felt since my youth was gone.  I could not believe this had happened.  Many of the church’s leaders were turning from God’s word.  I was reading 2nd Timothy one night when I discovered that God had predicted that near the end some in the church would eventually turn from his perfect word:  “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).  I knew it was my time to break fellowship with this denomination, but I wasn’t sure where I would go.   

            Christy and I began to “seriously” talk about marriage early in 2004.  I was still struggling with whether I was willing to stay with the Episcopal Church or try out other denominations.  I knew if I was going to be the spiritual leader of our future home, I could not waiver on where the Lord wanted us to worship. 

            Christy was raised in a Baptist Church and had even surrendered to the ministry as a missionary a few years prior to us meeting.  I began attending Weldon Baptist in Bernice, LA with her.  I loved the service, people, message, and SOUND doctrine of the Church.  I began considering joining their church, but I had one reserve; I knew I would have to be rebaptized.  I really struggled with this decision because I thought that it meant they were denying my salvation.  With much prayer and research, I realized being rebaptized was not about my salvation.  It was simply about me making a public profession and being obedient to Christ.  I told the Lord, “God, if being rebaptized is what it takes, I am willing to do whatever it is you desire me to do.”  I couldn’t deny what he was saying, and I submitted to his will.  On October 24, 2004, I was baptized and joined Weldon Baptist Church.

            My God is the God of second, third, fourth… chances.  It is never too late to change your heart and life and accept Christ as your Savior.  Don’t put it off any longer.  God is willing to forgive you and adopt you as his son/daughter today.  Just pray this prayer:  “Lord, I am a sinner, and need your forgiveness.  Jesus, I know you died for my sins and were raised that I may live forever.  I accept your free gift of salvation and ask you into my heart today.  Amen.”

God’s grace, peace, and love be with you all.