LIFE AFTER DEATH
THIS is the story of my journey from atheism, through agnosticism to becoming a believer in Jesus Christ. Now I face death with total confidence!
I became a Christian in June 1987.Until then I had rejected a relationship with Him for both personal and what I considered to be intellectual reasons. Before I took this step I thought the following:
There is no God.
Life on earth evolved.
Jesus was a myth.
The Bible was so old it could not possibly be accurate. History is unrepeatable so why should I believe it?
Near death experiences describing heaven and hell were derived from biochemical changes in the brain. I had no doubt that these stories were useful for controlling people!
Even as a young child, I had no faith at all. It was as a teenager that I began to think that there might be a God. I was baptised and confirmed not knowing why, and not really able to accept what the Bible teaches.
After school I continued going to church but still did not know why. I suspect that it was out of habit, nothing else. Nor could I understand what making a “commitment to Christ” was all about. I assumed it meant accepting that Jesus was a man with a beard, wearing a robe, living in Israel and that He claimed to be the Son of God. But I had great difficulty believing in God at all let alone knowing what He and His Son are really like.
A few weeks before the experience described below I began to feel strange. It felt like I was suffocating from the inside. However, there was no clinical explanation for it.
One Friday evening at the end of April 1987, I met with three Christian friends to pray. Because Christians prayed I thought I could be a Christian by praying! That is rather like being in a garage and pretending to be a car!
Then the young woman in the group began to say things about which only I knew. She said: “You did not choose me, I chose you … Salvation comes by faith not works… It is I and I alone who have saved you…” I was terrified. I gasped: “It’s true!” I concluded that there is a God and He knows exactly what I think! To Him we are totally transparent and that is how He is able to judge us.
Then it happened! There was a violent rushing wind from above. It filled the room and penetrated both my eardrums but no damage was done. My whole body was filled with this powerful but gentle wind. The suffocating stopped and I could breathe properly again. There was no wind outside. The doors and windows were closed. There was no draught within. It was like a scene out of Pentecost! Acts 2:2:
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”
After several weeks, I came to the conclusion that the Spirit of God had met with me in a very powerful way. The Spirit is to us now what Jesus Himself was in the flesh. He moves different people in different ways. Pentecost only happened because Jesus lived, died and rose again. I thought. I prayed. I read into the evidence supporting the Christian faith. Since then much more has come to light. See below “reading I would personally suggest”, especially reference (2). Also, someone once stated: “If God needed to be made He wouldn’t be God!”
All this convinced me of the truth of Christ: His life, miracles, teachings, death and resurrection. The same applies to His ascension and, one day, His public and personal return when He will judge everyone. In the light of this, no one can sit on the fence!
“Whosoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. “ – (John 3:36)
In June 1987, I made a conscious decision to turn away from being wrong before God. I made a commitment to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for me personally.
Christians claim that this decision and belief are essential for Eternal Life, and the only way to escape God’s wrath. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” – (John 3:16)
This is because “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.. ” – (Romans 3:22, 23). Of course, I am referring to those who can decide for themselves and that is most of us!
If you feel that you are ready to receive this wonderful gift, would you like to say this prayer?
Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for all of the wrong things I have said, thought and done in my life. I ask that you forgive me. I believe that you took all my sin on you when you died on the cross for me – personally. You rose again to give me Eternal Life with you. Please come into my life as my Saviour, Lord, and Friend. Thank you. Amen.
If not, take these claims seriously. Ask God to reveal Himself to you.
You are welcome to share this with anybody by absolutely any means.
Thank you for reading this. May God bless you and bring you closer to Him.
Reading I would personally suggest:
1. Creation Science by David Rosevear (New Wine Press)
2. The Origin and Destiny of Life by E.K.Victor Pearce (Eagle books)
3. Miracles and Angels by E.K.Victor Pearce ( Eagle books)
