Post by Shane Gaydon on Dec 22, 2005 13:05:41 GMT -5
For anyone that is interested I will post my testimony here. It has taken awhile for me to gain the courage to post it due to how open and truthful it is regarding my past. I revealed some things that not many people know about me but I felt these things strengthen the case for Christ and how low He is willing to reach down to save someone. God spoke to my heart to post it and I hope it will reach some poor, weary, lost soul. God Bless.
To my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ,
I did not grow up in a Christian home. Following the divorce of my parents my grandmother took over custody of me and raised me. My grandparents were believers but at some point before I was born had fallen away from church. So I grew up without Jesus and I eventually got in with the wrong crowd as a teenager. I was heavily involved with drugs until I met my wife in January, 2001 at the age of 24. Meeting her lead me to do away with selling and using drugs but as you will see, it took the Lord’s hand to completely cure me. I am not proud of my past and I am in fact disgusted with many of the things I did. However, I feel that revealing what I used to be is an important part of my testimony and is a great way to show others what a difference Jesus Christ can make in their life.
I met my wife in January 2001 and she was brought up the complete opposite of how I was raised. She not only attended church her whole life but her father is a preacher. I fell deeply in love with her and we were married on October 26th, 2002. I now realize that her decision to marry an unbeliever was a risky one and it went against what the Bible teaches but I feel that if she hadn’t I would have never went to church and been forever lost. I thank God everyday for giving me a good, God fearing Christian woman to spend my life with. After we were married I was amazed at the transformation that had taken place in my life. I got my driver’s license back after having it revoked for nearly 4 years following 2 DWI charges. I had a beautiful wife and a new home to live in. I had a stable job. It would seem that I had it made. But no, I was still drinking heavily on a regular basis and this was causing major problems in my life. I could not seem to break free from this lifestyle. I would risk everything to go have a good time. I would frequently miss work due to hangovers and I came close to losing my job. I also risked my life and the lives of others every time I would drive drunk. I risked my marriage. Once I would set my mind on going out and drinking there was nothing that was going to stop me. To add to this already dangerous habit I had, I also began to use anabolic steroids during this time. I was on the road to self destruction. Several times a week I would go get plastered and with my fuse being short I would get myself into many confrontations. I’m surprised somebody didn’t shoot me or something. I would then come home and let my wife have it. I never hit her or anything but I could say some horribly hurtful things to her sometimes. Of course I would rarely remember any of this and I seemed to have the attitude that if I didn’t remember it, it didn’t happen. I needed help.
From the time we started dating my heart was very hard to the Gospel. I would attend church with her every now and then but I generally did not care much about going. She attended an old fashioned independent Baptist Church and to be honest the old hymns and preaching did not do much for me. I can remember groaning as I got up on the Sunday mornings that I had promised to go with her and wishing I could go back to sleep. I can remember sitting in the service hoping that the preacher would hurry up and close so I could go eat. I can remember listening with deaf ears when the pastor would preach against sin. I can remember the anger I felt when he would preach about those who were lost and going to hell. Oh how blind and foolish I was!
Now I would like to tell you about my conversion. I would like to tell you about my transformation. I would like to tell you about the day when a sovereign God rolled up His sleeve and reached down from Heaven and placed His glorious scarred hand upon my life. I woke up one morning in the spring of 2005 with a hangover so horrible I could not get out of bed. I called work again and told them I would not be there. It seemed like just another day of missed work with a hangover but this time it was different. I was fed up with being a slave to the bottle. I was tired of putting my wife through all of this agony. I called her and told her I wanted to go to rehab. I was prepared to change my life. But after a while I began to realize something. I didn’t need rehab. I needed Jesus! I realized that I was a hell bound sinner and I was lost without God. I can remember trembling as got out of bed and tears began to stream down my face. I went to the computer and posted a message on the Christian Powerlifters Forum and requested prayer. A wonderful man named Doug Parrish responded and as I read through tear filled eyes the encouraging prayer he posted for me I realized even more that Jesus Christ was the answer to everything that was wrong in my life. Something was happening to me that I will never forget. JESUS was happening to me! JESUS was happening to me! Praise God JESUS was happening to me! The great omnipotent God of Heaven had issued a warrant for my arrest and the Holy Ghost was convicting me. I have never been the same since.
On May 15th, 2005 I went to that same church that used to be a thorn in my side and I walked down the aisle to the altar and received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I will never forget that day. I walked through the doors that morning a lost sinner and I walked back out a washed in the Blood born again believer. My sins have been forgiven. Through the almighty grace of God I have been given a clean slate. I no longer have the desire for liquor and beer. I have the desire for God. My life has been forever transformed. I no longer dread going to church. In fact I look forward to it! I didn’t use to have any desire to pick up my Bible. Praise God now I can’t put it down! In fact the burning desire within me was so hot for the Word of God I enrolled in the Greensboro Bible Institute in Greensboro, N.C. last August so that I can further equip myself to serve God and be a fruitful and productive Christian. I use to live for Satan. Now bless God I live for Jesus! Do you? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour? Are you lost without God? God loves you and He wants to save you. He does not want you to go to hell. Hell was created for the devil not you. Friend don’t reject Jesus any longer. He is the way, the truth and the life. If you drink from the fountain of His glorious mercy, love and grace you will not thirst again. Bow your head, close your eyes, ask Him to save you and He will. If you don’t know what to say try something like this. Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner. I know that Jesus Christ came and died for my sins on the cross of Calvary. I know that He arose on the third day after His death and He is alive today by the right hand of God. I repent of my sins and ask for forgiveness. I accept the atonement of Jesus Christ for my sins and I accept Him today as my Lord and Saviour. Lord come into my life and guide me in the light of your righteousness. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. If you prayed this payer we would love to hear from you!
God Bless,
Shane Gaydon
2 Corinthians 5:17
To my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ,
I did not grow up in a Christian home. Following the divorce of my parents my grandmother took over custody of me and raised me. My grandparents were believers but at some point before I was born had fallen away from church. So I grew up without Jesus and I eventually got in with the wrong crowd as a teenager. I was heavily involved with drugs until I met my wife in January, 2001 at the age of 24. Meeting her lead me to do away with selling and using drugs but as you will see, it took the Lord’s hand to completely cure me. I am not proud of my past and I am in fact disgusted with many of the things I did. However, I feel that revealing what I used to be is an important part of my testimony and is a great way to show others what a difference Jesus Christ can make in their life.
I met my wife in January 2001 and she was brought up the complete opposite of how I was raised. She not only attended church her whole life but her father is a preacher. I fell deeply in love with her and we were married on October 26th, 2002. I now realize that her decision to marry an unbeliever was a risky one and it went against what the Bible teaches but I feel that if she hadn’t I would have never went to church and been forever lost. I thank God everyday for giving me a good, God fearing Christian woman to spend my life with. After we were married I was amazed at the transformation that had taken place in my life. I got my driver’s license back after having it revoked for nearly 4 years following 2 DWI charges. I had a beautiful wife and a new home to live in. I had a stable job. It would seem that I had it made. But no, I was still drinking heavily on a regular basis and this was causing major problems in my life. I could not seem to break free from this lifestyle. I would risk everything to go have a good time. I would frequently miss work due to hangovers and I came close to losing my job. I also risked my life and the lives of others every time I would drive drunk. I risked my marriage. Once I would set my mind on going out and drinking there was nothing that was going to stop me. To add to this already dangerous habit I had, I also began to use anabolic steroids during this time. I was on the road to self destruction. Several times a week I would go get plastered and with my fuse being short I would get myself into many confrontations. I’m surprised somebody didn’t shoot me or something. I would then come home and let my wife have it. I never hit her or anything but I could say some horribly hurtful things to her sometimes. Of course I would rarely remember any of this and I seemed to have the attitude that if I didn’t remember it, it didn’t happen. I needed help.
From the time we started dating my heart was very hard to the Gospel. I would attend church with her every now and then but I generally did not care much about going. She attended an old fashioned independent Baptist Church and to be honest the old hymns and preaching did not do much for me. I can remember groaning as I got up on the Sunday mornings that I had promised to go with her and wishing I could go back to sleep. I can remember sitting in the service hoping that the preacher would hurry up and close so I could go eat. I can remember listening with deaf ears when the pastor would preach against sin. I can remember the anger I felt when he would preach about those who were lost and going to hell. Oh how blind and foolish I was!
Now I would like to tell you about my conversion. I would like to tell you about my transformation. I would like to tell you about the day when a sovereign God rolled up His sleeve and reached down from Heaven and placed His glorious scarred hand upon my life. I woke up one morning in the spring of 2005 with a hangover so horrible I could not get out of bed. I called work again and told them I would not be there. It seemed like just another day of missed work with a hangover but this time it was different. I was fed up with being a slave to the bottle. I was tired of putting my wife through all of this agony. I called her and told her I wanted to go to rehab. I was prepared to change my life. But after a while I began to realize something. I didn’t need rehab. I needed Jesus! I realized that I was a hell bound sinner and I was lost without God. I can remember trembling as got out of bed and tears began to stream down my face. I went to the computer and posted a message on the Christian Powerlifters Forum and requested prayer. A wonderful man named Doug Parrish responded and as I read through tear filled eyes the encouraging prayer he posted for me I realized even more that Jesus Christ was the answer to everything that was wrong in my life. Something was happening to me that I will never forget. JESUS was happening to me! JESUS was happening to me! Praise God JESUS was happening to me! The great omnipotent God of Heaven had issued a warrant for my arrest and the Holy Ghost was convicting me. I have never been the same since.
On May 15th, 2005 I went to that same church that used to be a thorn in my side and I walked down the aisle to the altar and received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I will never forget that day. I walked through the doors that morning a lost sinner and I walked back out a washed in the Blood born again believer. My sins have been forgiven. Through the almighty grace of God I have been given a clean slate. I no longer have the desire for liquor and beer. I have the desire for God. My life has been forever transformed. I no longer dread going to church. In fact I look forward to it! I didn’t use to have any desire to pick up my Bible. Praise God now I can’t put it down! In fact the burning desire within me was so hot for the Word of God I enrolled in the Greensboro Bible Institute in Greensboro, N.C. last August so that I can further equip myself to serve God and be a fruitful and productive Christian. I use to live for Satan. Now bless God I live for Jesus! Do you? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour? Are you lost without God? God loves you and He wants to save you. He does not want you to go to hell. Hell was created for the devil not you. Friend don’t reject Jesus any longer. He is the way, the truth and the life. If you drink from the fountain of His glorious mercy, love and grace you will not thirst again. Bow your head, close your eyes, ask Him to save you and He will. If you don’t know what to say try something like this. Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner. I know that Jesus Christ came and died for my sins on the cross of Calvary. I know that He arose on the third day after His death and He is alive today by the right hand of God. I repent of my sins and ask for forgiveness. I accept the atonement of Jesus Christ for my sins and I accept Him today as my Lord and Saviour. Lord come into my life and guide me in the light of your righteousness. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. If you prayed this payer we would love to hear from you!
God Bless,
Shane Gaydon
2 Corinthians 5:17