I Made God My Priority

As I grew into my teenage years I continued to attend the services and young people’s meetings. I knew that I was a sinner. I knew that Jesus was the only Saviour, but I would not respond to the call for me to repent. Eventually, my dad and brother became Christians, were baptised and became members of the church. I though, continued to resist the gospel. This continued until I was 18 years old. When I attained that ripe old age, I began to prepare to go to Loughborough University to study Economics with Accountancy. In light of this, my youth group leader formally recognised that I was to leave the group, by giving me a book written by John Blanchard, called, “Right with God” on 29th September 1985. Out loud I said, “Thank you”, but inside I said, “I will never read that!” As the time to leave for university neared, my heart was intent on leaving behind the Christian teaching that I had been given over the previous 10 years. I wanted to live my life without the “shackles” of going to Church and doing what pleased ME. To me, the university held a life of freedom to enjoy whatever I wanted. So with that in mind, the day before leaving for Loughborough, I started to pack my;

When I was younger I really enjoyed going to Sunday school. Now that I am older I like to sit in the service, listen to the preaching, and write some notes: these notes help me to remember what I have heard. I have lots of friends at church and I like to talk to them after the service. It is my pleasure and delight to befriend new people when they come to church; I try to make them feel very welcome. I think this is one of the gifts God has given me. Jesus is my friend and I pray to him at church and I pray to him when I am on my own. If things are worrying me I pray to Him. When my uncle Martin was very ill I prayed for him. When my cousin Matthew was ill I prayed for Him a lot. My praying for others has helped me to understand that God is the one I must trust for everything. Whenever I thought about being baptised I was too nervous to go ahead. Then I went to baptismal classes and became sure that I wanted to be baptised, even though I was still nervous, I was also excited to witness in this way. To be baptised publically is my way of telling everyone that;

I am a retired Navy officer and I had a cancer in my urinary bladder in 1998. It was healed after several operations and a few other check-ups within one year. In 200 May, I was shown by the doctors that my bladder was absolutely healed. But a few months later, the doctors found a contrasted eternal cancer in my colon and I was operated on. I was given chemotherapy which was taken 6 months to complete. In between I used to have regular medical reviews. I believed deeply in Jesus Christ. I built up my faith in him and trusted that he would look after me and that he would surely meet my needs. Thank God and praise to him that I am healed completely. I was led through some more check-ups to make sure that I was healed. The results of those tests showed that I was fine. Thank God and praise to his name. God has done a great miracle which I would like to share with you all. I along with my wife were travelling to Angamaly, which is my home town. As we approached, the traffic signal in front of the junction at Kalamassery seemed like a RED means to stop the vehicle and wait for the next signal to move. I stopped my car;

One lunchtime at school I was sitting at a table in the canteen just minding my own business when a group of 5th year lads came and sat with me. I was quite shy and embarrassed and just wanted to get up and leave as quickly as possible. I’d never spoken to any of them before but they were friendly and good fun to be with so I began to sit with them regularly. As time went on we became quite good friends and one week they invited me along to House Fellowship run. The day was mostly spent playing various sports, which have never been my favourite activity, but thankfully that didn’t put me off and I continued to go along each week. In the evening we would split up into groups for Bible study, then later Mr Smith would preach a sermon. This was the first time that I’d really been confronted with the message of the Bible. I listened to what was said and began to read the Bible for myself and pray each day. I genuinely enjoyed the meetings and wanted to learn more about God. However looking back I can see that this was just an outward change, I was trying to please God by becoming religious, I hadn’t understood that it was impossible for;

I come from Hungary. I am 46years old. I am married to Natalia and we have two sons, Daniel who is 14 years old and Dominic who is 7. My parents live in Budapest. I have been in the UK now for 15 years, but I still keep my Hungarian accent. As a young man I represented my country in many fencing world championships, Europeans and two Olympic Games in 1992 and 1996 when I came 4th and 5th. I was seven times Hungarian National Champion in foil. Before I heard the message about Jesus, I was so tense and impatient. I didn’t know where I was heading in my life. I was constantly looking for my place in the future. Sometimes I was confused and depressed, especially when my family members passed away in a very short period. I come from a different culture and country, and sometimes it is difficult to cope and to understand the challenges, problems and stresses in my life. Believing in Jesus makes everything much easier: He gives me the strength and makes me calm. His confidence is helping me in all kinds of stages. Now I am more relaxed and I’ve a harmony, because I trust in God. Any time I am in trouble I know He can help me and Jesus shows;

Born in 1961, I grew up in a typical family situation and enjoyed many of the things most children got to enjoy at that time; great birthdays, great holidays, and great Christmases. My brother Gary and I had loving parents, but sadly Mum and Dad went through increasing turmoil in their marriage. At first much of it was hidden from us as young boys, but throughout our early teenage years, the hurt and anguish that Mum had been going through became increasingly obvious. Ultimately, their marriage couldn’t survive and sadly ended in divorce some years later. In those days it was not as acceptable to have parents that had separated, and my brother and I certainly felt the shame of not having a family life like others seemed to have. I can distinctly remember many nights of hearing Mum crying in her pillow, trying not to wake us up. I think it is fair to say, that Mum did incredibly well to bring up two boys on her own with little money, in a social climate where being without her husband was looked down upon. Though Gary and I had acutely felt the insecurity of our broken home life, Mum did everything she could to make sure we wanted for nothing and had the love of a thousand parents. All;

Working away on a bare factory floor No real friends had I got no future in store Nobody liked me, I can’t blame them you see I was selfish and immature, I cared only for me I could win fights with words, no problem at all Finding peoples weak point, that was my goal I got my kicks from all this, why, I haven’t a clue I think I wanted to be hated between me and you. I would hold my head high when people looked on, Defiant and cocky, I knew I had won I didn’t need friends, I was a loner till the end And to be alone in my life, I was willing to spend But I swore I would change my outlook on life As it wasn’t worth all this trouble and strife But I couldn’t, I was stuck in a rut, and I couldn’t get out. Alone in my world, I wondered about life and what it was about I knew a guy at work, he was a Christian of the deepest intent He was morally upright and he said what he meant I’d see him taunted by his conviction on the shop floor He’d smile and walk courteously out of the door Unlike me, I would have gone for the kill I had trouble;

On going to church for the first time, I realised that my knowledge of the Lord was very limited. I continued to go to church regularly and enjoyed learning about God, his character, his ways (laws), and His dear Son the Lord Jesus Christ. I started reading the bible on my own and praying to God regularly; prayer gave me a deep feeling of knowing that the Lord was listening to me. Then came the opportunity for me to be baptised and I seized it with both hands. Oh, how precious was that time, when I publicly confessed my commitment to the Lord! This was a most wonderful experience for me. Now, my husband has died and my daughter, who also has kept the faith, is looking me after. I am so blessed that I have such a good daughter to look after me. I thank The Lord for all his goodness to me I feel blessed that I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour. Even though I cannot manage to go to Church now, I know that I am part of the local family church and that I am loved, prayed for, and helped whenever I need it. I love reading the bible and like in particular the books of Mark and John in the New;

Today I’m leaving all of the darkness behind me as I renew my faith and love of the Lord Jesus. Now I know the answer to who will free me from the desolate dungeon of darkness. The simple truth is that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who will set me free. Doing the research and academic studies during my time here has greatly strengthened, stimulated, and enriched my spiritual life. Personally, I need to have evidence to give me a greater understanding of the culture and historical context of what has happened. Nothing is now undermining my faith in the trustworthiness of the Gospels and what they teach us about the Lord Jesus. All the historical evidence has rekindled my commitment to Jesus Christ as the Son of God who loves us, who died for us, and who sacrificed Himself for the sins of all mankind. There’s nothing complicated in understanding what the Lord Jesus did for us. It’s simple. Before coming here to Trinity Grace, I had a very simple view of what a church is – just a building where believers congregate to worship God.  I had a very simple view of what a sinner is – someone who does desperately wicked things. I had a very simple view of what a saint is – someone who;

My story of finding Christ starts at a very low ebb in my life: I was leaving home, that is to say I was leaving my wife Maureen and my two daughters Catherine and Sarah. Why was I leaving home? The true and honest answer is: alcohol. Having worked myself up to a very senior position with a chemical company called BASF I found the pressure too much and started drinking, and in the end, the job with BASF became too hard for me and I had to resign. Life at home with my wife and two daughters became very difficult and although I managed to find a job as a postman, the day-to-day pressures of married life took its toll and I found myself having to leave the family home. I found a rented home with a man called Jim; later on, I discovered that Jim was a Christian. I enjoyed living in this rented home with Jim and a few other lodgers. Then Jim invited me to come with him to the church, but I said “No”. Then Jim asked me again to come to church and again I said “No”. Eventually, for the sake of peace, I decided to go with him to church! I went to church, and then I went again and again, eventually accepting;