This is taken directly from our church news letter and this is exactly why I run this race. There is not much more that brings me more joy than seeing someones life change this dramatically! This story is especially close to me as he is on my discipleship team and although I have heard and read the story many times, it still brings me to tears because of the huge change in his life.
New Faith: Taking the plunge
Jumping from Atheism to Christianity
By Chris Neal
In September, during a D-Team campout, I stood at the edge of a 12-foot cliff along the Poudre River, contemplating if I would make the plunge from atheism to Christianity.
I'm a 20-year-old student at CSU. No one in my immediate family is religious; I grew up thinking Noah and the ark was a fairy tale, and we only went to church on Christmas Eve. I started hanging out with a D-Team two years ago, and they convinced me to start going to the Rock last year.
On November 6th, after the Rock, I started talking to Chris Klumph, and he asked when I'd been saved. I told him that I wasn't yet, so he asked me where I was at spiritually. I told him that over the last couple years I've been looking for answers. He told me that I should earnestly seek God so that he would reveal himself. So I went home and kept reading the New Testament that Nathan Hrouda gave me a couple years ago.
I was in John 6, shortly after one of the versions of Jesus feeding the 5,000. I was immediately struck be line 26: "Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.'" I was convinced that eating the loaves had some deep symbolic meaning that might show me that there's a way besides an obvious miracle that might convince me of the reality of God. So I asked one of my housemates, Stephen Meyer, and he said that they were just following Jesus because He basically gave them a free lunch. I asked Stephen how looking for miraculous signs could be a preferable alternative when the Pharisees had asked for sign after sign. Stephen said that the problem wasn't in asking for miracles, it was that the Pharisees were so dead-set in their false beliefs.
I had to admit that I was definitely one of those stubborn people. Even though I'd been going to the Rock, to church, to a creation science class once a week, and I'd even started reading the Bible, I wasn't being open minded at all. Whenever I heard a statement, my first thought was "Where's the flaw in that argument? What's the best way to refute that claim?" I knew then that I needed to change my outlook, but still didn't know how I was supposed to get proof without a miracle. Then I read John 7:17 - "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.'" I kept reading until John Larsen came home, then told him about what had happened that evening and what I'd been thinking. He told me that it was awesome that my stubborn mindset had changed so greatly in one night, but that taking that step had pretty significant implications. I was sobered, but still determined to make a big step that night. I then remembered that I'd jotted down the lines of one more Bible verse that I'd just read while waiting for John. It was John 9:3, in which Jesus told people that a blind man wasn't being punished for his sins; he had bee blind so that God would be glorified upon his healing. The blind man might have suffered due to his blindness, but he must have appreciated his vision all the more once he miraculously received it. So maybe God wanted me to wait until now so that I'd have the kind of testimony that I'd wanted to hear for the last few months: a testimony with a clear point at which someone had a sudden revelation that led them to believe in God. I hope when I share my story with others, they will realize that the search for truth can be a long process, but eventually, if they're simply willing to open their mind just for a few hours, maybe God could reveal Himself to them.
That is what I did, as John asked if I was ready to 'take the plunge.' I did, praying with him to accept Christ. I may not yet understand everything about the Christian worldview or God's ways, but I felt that the events and emotional impact of that night were enough for me to make the jump of believing in God and begin my search for truth as a Christian.
That is why I love this church and this movement, to see people lives changed for Christ. I will say it again and I will say it for the rest of my life. I will run this race and keep running through the high and low only to see more peoples lives changed for Christ!
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