Testimony: John Green from Culpeper

As a youngster I remember having big time anger issues. In school, I had very poor reading comprehension. Being cool and “fitting in” used to be oh so important to me, my attitude about reading was, if you spend much time reading you must be a book worm. And being a book worm was just NOT cool.

I remember having relatives and some neighbors that loved God and the Bible.

As a young child, I remember wanting to read and understand the Bible but every time I tried to read the Bible, it was as if I was trying to read in Greek or Chinese.

At age 28, a dear friend opened the Bible, read some verses to me and talked to me about my need for a Savior. I thought I was already a Christian because I believed in Jesus the same way I believed in George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. Those were my terms. I learned that when the Bible says to “Believe in Jesus”, believe means to trust in.

I remember going home and with my new (NIV Bible) along with a Webster’s Dictionary with a goal of understanding the Bible.

I still have so much to learn, but God did begin a process to turn the lights on in my thinking and help me to make sense of what I was reading. The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Bible. Once I received Jesus as Savior and asked the Author of the Bible, the Holy Spirit, to help me understand, He answered.

The Bible became alive to me, at long last. The God of heaven was becoming very real to me. The Bible says in Luke 24:45 “Then He (Jesus) opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

We should never make the claim,”Oh I’m just not a reader” Nonsense!!! We are only limiting what God can do in making such a claim. What God can and wants to do in our lives is without limit. Let God have His Way.

I have now become what I used to call a book worm, or a person who enjoys reading.

Many of you remember me as a youngster with a short fuse (anger issues). By God’s amazing grace, I still get angry but my fuse is a lot longer.

Someone said, God is in the miracle business. No question! I believe the greatest miracle that God can do is a changed heart. This is my story. Happy New Year to All!!!

Comments

comments