Testimony unto the Lords Path and good greeting.

[Hugh_Flower]

Hello All, this is a general rundown of my relationship with Christ. 

I was born to a single mother who was never there for me emotionally. I watched her cycle through men until she eventually married a man when I was 8. 

Before her marriage I grew blissfuly unaware of how my life was. My mom and my grandmother attended a very liberal church, Presbyterian with a female pastor. My mom was an occasional weekend warrior church attender all through my youth. God was spoken of very little in the house, and when it was, it was soft. Back as a child I became very worldy, I found provocative material at 12 and became addicted to it's lure. I was malnourished and addicted to video games as well until my 20s.  

The man she married was unsaved, and his children where very bad influences in my life. 2 brothers, one became a homosexual and the other became drug addicted and homeless. The homosexual was my friend growing up, we where close in age and had similar birthdays. But I knew something about him was wrong. My mom fully supported him. Unfortunately I knew why he became that way. The other brother did things against his will and I was a witness. Their sister made him crossdress for her when he was a pre-teen. These people brought witchcraft ( pagan rituals and uigi boards ) and I learned about the demonic realm at the age of 9. 

Our parents divorced shortly after they had a baby. This was in 2009 when the financial crisis hit. My mother was unemployed and we lived off child support and goverment funding, food banks etc. I have many memories of starving while going to sleep. And having no power. She finds herself back in the cycle of men, all these things in my life continue on while Im being force fed liberal Christianity. I had a strong prayer life. But I truly did not know the Lord. Our financial situation slightly straightens up as I enter highschool, my mother found an abusive logger to help supportbus. He never physically harming us, but emotionally and verbally abused us. Calling names, threatenings etc.

All through the time of my youth from the age of 11 till I was saved I was borderline suicidal.  My school life was no different, I felt like an outcast as I was an outcast in my own house. I didn't know how to be, so I turned to drugs at the age of 12. I smoked weed off and on for a long time. I turned to the bottle when I could at the age of 15. I alwas knew there was something better, and I looked for it starting at the age of 16. I did a lot of studying at my house ( as I never went to school ) and tried to fix my self through psychology and any other ways. I improved, slowly. I moved out at twenty, no car and with two jobs. I was far from the Lord at this time. My girlfriend broke up with me shortly after and then my grandfather died. He was the only man in my life I ever looked up to. I was distraught and I spiraled out of control, I turned to drugs and new age mystic ideas.  I had no idea what I was doing but I was doing what ever I could to feel alive. After studying many different religions, philosophies and occultic ideas. None of it tasted "right". I found the lord after being two years deep in those things. 9/28/2017

The change was immediate in my life. Ironically I found my self back at a Presbyterian church, And I can say honestly they taught me a lot about the Bible and God, and what it meant to be apart of a community. But it felt very strangely off to me, so I tried to figure out why. When I became saved I slowly moved away from my new ages philosophy and turned to theology. Heck, I was a Presbyterian Calvinist that wanted an answer for everything related to God.  Well, I read a bunch of different theologians and ideas, commentaries and debates and I became disillusioned with Calvinism. So I became Catholic. I went through their entire catachism over the course of several months, and as soon as I became catholic I stopped going. I became a lost sheep, knowing I was saved, but knowingly jumping back into my old ways of world. God was still there in the very back of my mind, sadly he most definitely was not at the forefront. This went on for about a year, until I found my self at a Ifb church and became convited in many ways, it felt like what church is meant to be. I hope I'll continue to grow and learn what it means to be a bible believing Christian.

 

Thank you for reading my message, God bless. 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2020 by Hugh_Flower

[HappyChristian]

Welcome, Hugh, and thanks for sharing your testimony.

[Hugh_Flower]

Thank you for reading it. 

[Alan]

Thank you for your testimony and relating to us your journey through this world of woe. The journey may be rough, and the way of discipleship difficult, but the fruits of salvation, and the fruits of discipleship in a good IFB  church is worth the journey. 

Looking forward to your participation in the various subjects and your fellowship in the days ahead. 

May God richly bless you. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by Alan
added church

[SureWord]

Stay in the bible (KJV) and prayer, brother. Also, a good bible believing church and find as many like-minded friends as possible.

Your testimony is similar to mine and those things in your past can creep back up and try to hinder your walk and you could end up right back in that kind of mess. It will be a constant fight so keep your eyes on God.

[Hugh_Flower]

Thank you for you and your words. I attend church 3 times a week and am daily in the word. I promised God when I was saved I would grow my relationship with him. I feel a call to being a pastor one day but right now Im being patient and waiting. I may go to bible school here in a few years.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Hugh_Flower

[Alan]

I think that all of us hope that the Lord will bless you as you develop your relationship with Christ.

Keep us informed of your thoughts about being a pastor and / or going to Bible school.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

May God bless and direct your paths in the days ahead.

[Hugh_Flower]

At the current momment Im just learning a trade and focusing into that. It seems im right where the Lord wants me... I am working on my christian life first and then in due time will put more attention into what it means to be a leader of a ministry and work from there. Of course nothing in my life is bound by what I know now, but at this time this seems like what I should do.