Saved.One.by.Grace
New member
I quit my job over a disagreement with the plant manager. About three weeks later, I was offered a position in my old home town working for a company at about 30% increase in salary. This would allow my girlfriend (soon to be my wife) and I to get married. My parents offered to let us stay in my grandfather's home, since he was just put in a nursing home, until we could find a house to buy. After a few weeks, I started receiving subtle hints that my parents wanted us to move out so they could get the house ready to sell. We were married about 6 weeks after we moved, still living in my grandfather's house at that time.
Within four months, we found a house neither of us objected to and moved out. Even though I was not a believer in the strictest sense, my wife and I were married by a minister in a local protestant church in Illinois. We actually threw our own wedding paying for everything. I did our own wedding pictures with my SLR on a tripod, and a little help from my uncle L. And we threw our own reception in the Church basement. Some of my Roman Catholic relatives refused to attend or even acknowledge the wedding. They were praying for my return to "The Church". I think it bothered me more than my wife.
As I may have mentioned before, my wife and I lived together for a year before marriage. As Christian believers, we do not recommend this practice. And besides, it didn't help us in our first two years of marriage. We have both asked God for forgiveness for that improper behavior. We had a lot of stress; buying a house, changing jobs, changing states, tight finances, family, etc. We couldn't afford a honeymoon so we counted our one and only vacation we took before we were married as a honeymoon. We went to Chicago, Niagara Falls and Toronto. We loved Niagara Falls from the Canadian side and we toured a company plant in Toronto. (I got to write off one day as a business expense and the Plant Manager offered me a job. I turned him down but it's nice to be wanted.)
A short time later, my wife reconnected with her Protestant faith and started attending a non-denominational church being held in a vacant store in a strip mall. I went with her once but was not impressed with the pastor, the teaching or the worship.
After never having an argument the year we lived together, married life seemed like one big long argument. We argued over the big three; religion, money and sex. No need to go into detail, but I asked her to leave and go home to her mother's farm. Three weeks later, "under the influence", I asked her to come back. Our second year of marriage was more peaceful coexistence: she didn't preach at me; and I was reasonable civil and loving to her.
My wife and I took a long weekend with my then brother-in-law and sister-in-law to Branson, MO and Silver Dollar City. While going from one potpourri shop to candle shop, my sinuses just couldn't take it. So I broke from the group and went into a sporting/leather goods shop alone. I meandered around and was in the back of the store looking at who knows what, when the conversation at the front counter caught my attention. The shopkeeper was showing a customer at the front counter the workmanship he put into a beautiful black powder rifle. From my vantage point at the rear of the store, I could see it was beautiful. (Note: at this point in time, I had no interest in firearms of any kind and did not own one.) The gunsmith told the customer that this was the first gun he made. The customer then asked the gunsmith how he came to be at Silver Dollar City. He then proceeded to give his testimony.
The gunsmith spoke softly but I heard every word as if I was 3 foot away instead of 30 - 40 feet away. He was a biker in and out of trouble with the law. He had no interest in Christianity or Jesus. He had abused his body with drugs and alcohol and was dying in an ER. As he spoke and gave his testimony my ears started to burn like they were on fire. I also could not move from my spot in the back of the store. His heart was stopping and the ER staff were shocking it (him) back to life. Each time his heart stopped he was in Hell. It was horrible, beyond imagination. When he was shocked back to life, he heard God's voice saying to repent and live. Each time he refused, argued with God, and he died again. By the third or fourth time he was shocked back to life, the ER staff told him to do what the Voice said. They heard the Voice too! So he relented and repented, his life was spared and no more "hellish" trips. As I listened to him, I knew in my innermost being he was speaking truth.
The customer asked him what he was doing now besides making black powder guns and wood furniture (for guns), he said he had been speaking at a number of churches, but when his belief in the literal word of God differed with some denominations theology, he wasn't as well received. He refused to compromise on God's word. Asked about his future, he said he didn't know why God put him in Silver Dollar City, but wherever God wanted to send him, he'd go. By the time he was finished, my ears where still burning. When I met up with our group, I tried to explain to my wife what I heard. But my wife was a bit distracted and didn't put together what I heard and how I reacted to it.
My wife had a Dake KJV Study Bible she used for study and church so I started surreptitiously reading it. Finis Jennings Dake's commentary brought out the meaning of the text so well, my scientific mind could not reconcile the literal truth of the Bible and science. She was so happy when I told her I wanted to start going to church, and I asked her to buy me a Dake KJV Study Bible of my very own. To finish off my story, I was saved before I started going to church with my wife and water baptized (full immersion) shortly after.
Well that's about it. One thing we should take away from this is that we never know who we may be influencing by giving our testimony. In this case, the gunsmith never spoke to me, and yet this was the final step in my conversion process that God had ordained. This is not really true. I will meet these people and I hope some friends I've made at Theology Online, Christian Forums and elsewhere - in the place Jesus is preparing for us. It must be really spectacular. He's been working on it for 2000 of our years. God made the Earth in just six days through Jesus. Something to think about.
Within four months, we found a house neither of us objected to and moved out. Even though I was not a believer in the strictest sense, my wife and I were married by a minister in a local protestant church in Illinois. We actually threw our own wedding paying for everything. I did our own wedding pictures with my SLR on a tripod, and a little help from my uncle L. And we threw our own reception in the Church basement. Some of my Roman Catholic relatives refused to attend or even acknowledge the wedding. They were praying for my return to "The Church". I think it bothered me more than my wife.
As I may have mentioned before, my wife and I lived together for a year before marriage. As Christian believers, we do not recommend this practice. And besides, it didn't help us in our first two years of marriage. We have both asked God for forgiveness for that improper behavior. We had a lot of stress; buying a house, changing jobs, changing states, tight finances, family, etc. We couldn't afford a honeymoon so we counted our one and only vacation we took before we were married as a honeymoon. We went to Chicago, Niagara Falls and Toronto. We loved Niagara Falls from the Canadian side and we toured a company plant in Toronto. (I got to write off one day as a business expense and the Plant Manager offered me a job. I turned him down but it's nice to be wanted.)
A short time later, my wife reconnected with her Protestant faith and started attending a non-denominational church being held in a vacant store in a strip mall. I went with her once but was not impressed with the pastor, the teaching or the worship.
After never having an argument the year we lived together, married life seemed like one big long argument. We argued over the big three; religion, money and sex. No need to go into detail, but I asked her to leave and go home to her mother's farm. Three weeks later, "under the influence", I asked her to come back. Our second year of marriage was more peaceful coexistence: she didn't preach at me; and I was reasonable civil and loving to her.
My wife and I took a long weekend with my then brother-in-law and sister-in-law to Branson, MO and Silver Dollar City. While going from one potpourri shop to candle shop, my sinuses just couldn't take it. So I broke from the group and went into a sporting/leather goods shop alone. I meandered around and was in the back of the store looking at who knows what, when the conversation at the front counter caught my attention. The shopkeeper was showing a customer at the front counter the workmanship he put into a beautiful black powder rifle. From my vantage point at the rear of the store, I could see it was beautiful. (Note: at this point in time, I had no interest in firearms of any kind and did not own one.) The gunsmith told the customer that this was the first gun he made. The customer then asked the gunsmith how he came to be at Silver Dollar City. He then proceeded to give his testimony.
The gunsmith spoke softly but I heard every word as if I was 3 foot away instead of 30 - 40 feet away. He was a biker in and out of trouble with the law. He had no interest in Christianity or Jesus. He had abused his body with drugs and alcohol and was dying in an ER. As he spoke and gave his testimony my ears started to burn like they were on fire. I also could not move from my spot in the back of the store. His heart was stopping and the ER staff were shocking it (him) back to life. Each time his heart stopped he was in Hell. It was horrible, beyond imagination. When he was shocked back to life, he heard God's voice saying to repent and live. Each time he refused, argued with God, and he died again. By the third or fourth time he was shocked back to life, the ER staff told him to do what the Voice said. They heard the Voice too! So he relented and repented, his life was spared and no more "hellish" trips. As I listened to him, I knew in my innermost being he was speaking truth.
The customer asked him what he was doing now besides making black powder guns and wood furniture (for guns), he said he had been speaking at a number of churches, but when his belief in the literal word of God differed with some denominations theology, he wasn't as well received. He refused to compromise on God's word. Asked about his future, he said he didn't know why God put him in Silver Dollar City, but wherever God wanted to send him, he'd go. By the time he was finished, my ears where still burning. When I met up with our group, I tried to explain to my wife what I heard. But my wife was a bit distracted and didn't put together what I heard and how I reacted to it.
My wife had a Dake KJV Study Bible she used for study and church so I started surreptitiously reading it. Finis Jennings Dake's commentary brought out the meaning of the text so well, my scientific mind could not reconcile the literal truth of the Bible and science. She was so happy when I told her I wanted to start going to church, and I asked her to buy me a Dake KJV Study Bible of my very own. To finish off my story, I was saved before I started going to church with my wife and water baptized (full immersion) shortly after.
Well that's about it. One thing we should take away from this is that we never know who we may be influencing by giving our testimony. In this case, the gunsmith never spoke to me, and yet this was the final step in my conversion process that God had ordained. This is not really true. I will meet these people and I hope some friends I've made at Theology Online, Christian Forums and elsewhere - in the place Jesus is preparing for us. It must be really spectacular. He's been working on it for 2000 of our years. God made the Earth in just six days through Jesus. Something to think about.