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My Christian Testimony
I was brought up going to church until around age 9. After that I considered myself to be an atheist, mostly because of my interest in engineering and the "engineering" way of thinking. I believed that anyone that believed in a god was just weak minded needing a 'crutch' to be able to get through life. I believed that the only person you could rely on was yourself.
From the age of 10 to 34 I believed this way. During this time I became a computer engineer and thought that once I graduated from college 'life would be good'. Unfortunately after getting my BS degree there was still something missing. Even after getting my MS degree there was still something missing. After graduating from college, the only job I could find was up here in Colorado Springs so at the end of 1990 I moved and took a programming job. This was a difficult time because this was the first time I was away from where I grew up (Albuquerque) and I didn't know anyone in Colorado Springs. As before, I hoped that this job would satisfy me and fill the emptiness I felt but like before it did not. I started ballroom dancing and reading a LOT hoping these would fulfill me. Again it didn't. I was depressed and very unhappy.
Things started to change in the Spring of 1991, a few short months after moving to Colorado. I was skiing when I blew out my left knee (ACL - Anterior Cruciate Ligament). While the doctor was explaining how the knee worked, I realized how well 'designed' the human knee was and that the knee couldn't have just evolved into such a great design.
At this point though, I didn't know if the "designer" was this god people spoke about or space aliens. As an engineer, I wanted the facts. I believed that I understood everything there was to know about space aliens so I began inquiring into religion and who God was. Unfortunately I wasn't very successful, mostly because I didn't know anyone that could answer my questions.
In the Summer of 1995 (28 years ago) on a Tuesday evening a local church knocked at my door handing out literature. Since I was seeking information, I accepted hoping it would answer some of my questions. Two days later on a Thursday evening, a different church came knocking at my door. This church offered to come into my home to teach me. I accepted and for the next 4 months I learned as much as I could.
In the fall of 1995 I mentioned all of this to a coworker. She was concerned that I, a person who had no "religious" background, needed a different "religious" perspective since this church was considered by many to be a Christian cult. I was also concerned since I realized that having no religious background I wouldn't know the difference between "right" and "wrong".
This coworker called her church, Woodmen Valley Chapel, and got me in touch with an assistant pastor there. This pastor was the perfect person for me to talk to because he had two things in common with me. This pastor had come from Albuquerque (which is where I came from) and he used to be an engineer. Having these two things in common allowed me to feel comfortable asking many "dumb" questions. This pastor loaned me a VERY good book. This book was written by Josh McDowell and was titled, "_Evidence that Demands a Verdict_." This was the perfect book for me and it helped me finally believe in God and Jesus Christ.
In November 1995 (28 years ago) I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and was baptized at Woodmen Valley Chapel as a public sign of my new found faith.
After this, my life was totally changed. The depression I previously felt and my striving to find that 'something' that was missing in my life was over. I realized that what was missing was God and Jesus in my life. There was a joy and a peace that I had never felt before and I now knew what life's purpose was; to live the life that Jesus died on the cross for.
This explains the how but not the why. Check out the why page to see the reasons why I decided to become a Christian. A lot of the "why" has to do with the above testimony. |
