Craig's Personal Testimony for Baptism

Good morning, it's an awesome day for me to be here among God's people to share with you how I came to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  So much in my life has changed so quickly as result of my decision to walk with Christ.  Although it wasn't until recently that my life demonstrated my commitment to Christ, there have been many people that God has put in my path over time to bring me where I stand today.  I need to take a moment to acknowledge those who made a difference.

First and perhaps most importantly, I need to say "thank you" to my Mother and Father for their self sacrifice and for doing the best they could with what they had to raise me and teach me about the Lord early in life.  I'm glad that they are here with us in church today, so, Mom and Dad, with everything that I am in Christ Jesus today, I say to each of you, "I love you and I thank you."  I also need to thank my Uncle Bob and Aunt Sharon for their demonstration of faith in Christ Jesus by how they live their lives.  My dear Uncle has been a pastor for various American Baptist churches for as long as I can remember, and played a big part in my marriage to my wife Stacy, including pre-marital biblically based counseling, and serving as the pastor on our wedding day.  Recently, my Mom Mom has also been a great teacher of the scriptures to Stacy and I as we've struggled to understand the bible's teaching and how to apply it in daily life effectively.

More than anyone, however, I need to thank a wonderful evangelist and someone who has become a dear friend in the past few years, Jim Wilen.  I met Jim on the job a few years ago, and ultimately, he discipled me back to Jesus Christ.  You see, like many families today, as I grew into my teenage years, church took a back seat to the demands of daily life.  Despite that fact, I distinctly remember asking Jesus Christ to come and live in my heart during junior year of high school.  Late one night I was having a particularly heated argument with my Mom and I was very upset, so upset in fact that I remember pounding my fists against the wall when we were fighting, and I knew after that brief moment that I needed to know the peace and forgiveness of Christ Jesus in my heart.  And so I laid there on my bed in prayer, and asked Jesus to come and live in my heart.

Still, my life didn't really demonstrate any newfound faith at that time, in fact, not until several years later did I even really think hard about Jesus Christ and his place in my life until I met Jim Wilen.  Now, I cannot really pinpoint any one thing about Jim that influenced me, except to say that he "lived" the Christian life and had such a love and peace about Jesus Christ, and most importantly, professed it openly, that I found myself wanting what he had!  At the time I met Jim, I thought I had it made, my career was on fire, I was going where I thought I wanted to be, and I had it all under control, or so I thought…Soon I left that job and, although Jim and I kept in touch from time to time, I still felt I had things under my own control, so why change?

I remember from one of Pastor Bills sermons a few months ago when he spoke about God and his ability to "tap us on the shoulder" to kind of remind us of what's really important, in hopes that we would turn around and run back to God after we realized just how futile and unrighteous our deeds were.  Pastor said that when God chooses to do so, you will know it without a doubt.  And so I believe this is exactly what happened in my life, more specifically in my marriage, which until recently was always under shaky ground.  Thankfully, as I look back now, I realized what God was trying to tell me all this time!  That my control over everything was just an illusion, and the simple solution was always staring me in the face the whole time.  Repent of my sins, recognize that Christ Jesus died for me that I may have eternal life through trust in him as my personal savior, give him the control, and everything else will fall into place.

I MUST tell you that the reason Stacy and I are standing here today, without a doubt, is solely because of Jesus Christ and what he has done for us in our marriage and in each of our humbled hearts. 

On this page resides my personal testimony about how I came to believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior!  I'm publishing this statement to encourage anyone who reads it to consider a personal relationship with the living God if you don't already have one.  Please feel free to click here and email me if you have any questions or comments about my testimony.