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My Testimony....
DUNCAN "HOOFER" BROWNNUTT
I was born into a very privileged situation, both my parents were Christians, as were their parents and my Aunts and Uncles. This meant I had a close family who all went to Church together and an extended family who at least believed the same things we did. As a child it is difficult to appreciate just how important that support can be.
I was taken to Church as a child and always taught about God, Jesus and the Bible. I cannot remember a time when I ever didn't believe the things I learnt but I didn't always have a personal relationship with God. This came when I was about 11 years old and I spoke with one of the Youth Leaders at my Church, we prayed together and I asked Jesus to save me.
I was so excited about being a Christian rather than just being a Church-goer that I threw myself into helping with anything to do with the Church. I wanted to do as much as I could for Jesus and I was never afraid to talk to my friends about my beliefs.
When I was 19 years old I moved away from home to go to University. I was the stereotypical student; lazy and only interested in having fun. I enjoyed my degree and I enjoyed meeting people and making friends but while doing that I forgot all about Jesus, who had done so much for me. I never stopped believing in God or believing that Jesus had saved me but I stopped thinking about it. I stopped going to Church and I stopped caring about anyone except myself.
As I thought less and less about God and more about myself my behaviour changed and I became someone that even I didn't like very much. I drank a lot, I got involved with people I really shouldn't have and my language and general consideration for others was appalling. This would always get me into trouble but as I only really cared about myself I just continued and got worse and worse.
In life we all at some time face difficulties and as a Christian it is possible to turn to God for strength during these times. The Bible doesn't say that we will never have hardships but it does say that God will give us the strength we need if we ask. When my time cam to face problems I was too stubborn to ask God to forgive me and to support me so I just turned further away.
When I was 24 I was engaged. The relationship ended and I blamed God. I thought it was so unfair that he let me suffer in that way rather than accepting that I had got myself into the situation in the first place.
Two years later, having not learnt anything, a girlfriend told me she was pregnant and I faced the decision of whether to have a child and whether to live together with his mother. Again I refused to turn back to God and instead resented that he had allowed this to happen.
Finally my sons mother stopped me from seeing him and in this desperate time of need I spent the next two years drinking and complaining. It wasn't my fault; I'd done nothing to deserve it, why was God letting these things happen to me?
There is a verse in the book of Romans which says �What benefit did you reap from those things of which you are now ashamed, those things lead only to death.� This was true of me in that for so long I ignored God and acted only for myself and gained no benefit. I had to come back to God and ask his forgiveness and ask for his support in difficult times. As I said before Christians still face hardships and temptations. I still do not see my son and that's still a hard thing to accept but now I ask God to help me with that rather than resenting the situation.
God doesn't promise to make life easy for us but he does promise that when this life ends, however that may be, if we are Christians we will go to Heaven to be with him. This life will be difficult a lot of the time but the promise of Jesus, in my opinion, makes those difficulties worthwhile.
(If you would be interested in hearing more about being a Christian and talking about the Bible speak to Gareth CJ or any of the other leaders of the team and we would be happy to arrange something)