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viltglance007
Guest
Tim.Kimberley - Iowa.USA
"All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath." (Ephesians 2:3)
It really began to hit me when I was in high school that I was going after the cravings of my sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. I knew deep down that I was living a life contrary to the one God wanted me to live.
I had grown up going to Church every Sunday with my family, but by the time I reached high school none of us were really getting anything out of it. I viewed Church as a boring social event, and didn't really see how God, if such a being existed, was able to fit into my life.
In high school I began to gratify the cravings I had by falling into numerous life-dominating sins. At this point of my life I began to consciously become aware of God. For some unknown reason I began to sense that I was hurting and disappointing someone. How could I have been disappointing someone who wasn't there? I knew that there must be a God and that somehow he was letting me know He didn't like what he was seeing.
The life-dominating sins I was committing continued to escalate. The more that I tried to stop, the more that I felt I was addicted to these sins and it was just part of my sinful nature. So for about three years I denied my eyes nothing, and begged God for forgiveness. You would think that this behavior would have made me a raging scumbag. However, I was a very clean-cut person on the outside. I was popular in high school, an officer of National Honor Society, and a homecoming candidate. Deep down inside when I got home at night and laid down to sleep, I felt that I was an enemy of God. I knew that I was living my life everyday contrary to His desires. But there was a major problem; I couldn't stop. I had tried countless times to give up every one of the major sins I was committing, but I was always too weak and would fall back into doing them. I felt that I would never be able to clean myself up enough to be admitted into Heaven.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
I began to attend a Church in high school with my girlfriend, and there I first heard about the Bible verse above, Romans 5:8. I really loved attending this Church because I thought that maybe God would somehow be able to teach me how to clean myself up. However, I was only able to attend the Church a couple times before I graduated high school.
I then went off to college at the University of Northern Iowa and continued in my rut of sin that I thought I would never be able to dig myself out of. Living in the dorms really fueled my addiction to Internet pornography. It seemed that all 60 of the guys on my floor spent at least an hour a day viewing Internet porn, so I began to justify my behavior thinking I was just like everyone else. God once again began letting me know this was very wrong; causing me to feel incredibly guilty. I thought that if I ignored God long enough, maybe He would go away and leave me alone.
During my Sophomore year of college my girlfriend came up to UNI and we began to attend a Church together. A new Pastor came to the Church and preached with a passion that reminded me of the Church I went to a couple times in high school. I was really touched the first day Pastor John Fuller spoke at the Church. He talked about how he lived a wild life in college and really felt terrible for how he treated people, but then he told us how his "internal" life changed completely when He put his trust in Jesus Christ. So during my sophomore year of college I prayed trusting Jesus to save me. I had been trying unsuccessfully to clean myself up and get myself right with God for the last 4 years. I learned that Jesus had instead lived a perfect life for me and by dying on the cross He had already paid the full penalty of my sins. It all made sense to me, Jesus had died for me while I was a sinner. Jesus wanted me to trust Him just as I am, I didn't have to first get all my sins under control. I didn't have to clean myself up, all that I had to do is believe in Jesus and trust Him to save me from my sins.
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
It has been about 6 years since I first prayed that prayer telling Jesus that I am trusting Him as my Savior. I am still trusting Jesus today. He has transformed my life 100%.
"All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath." (Ephesians 2:3)
It really began to hit me when I was in high school that I was going after the cravings of my sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. I knew deep down that I was living a life contrary to the one God wanted me to live.
I had grown up going to Church every Sunday with my family, but by the time I reached high school none of us were really getting anything out of it. I viewed Church as a boring social event, and didn't really see how God, if such a being existed, was able to fit into my life.
In high school I began to gratify the cravings I had by falling into numerous life-dominating sins. At this point of my life I began to consciously become aware of God. For some unknown reason I began to sense that I was hurting and disappointing someone. How could I have been disappointing someone who wasn't there? I knew that there must be a God and that somehow he was letting me know He didn't like what he was seeing.
The life-dominating sins I was committing continued to escalate. The more that I tried to stop, the more that I felt I was addicted to these sins and it was just part of my sinful nature. So for about three years I denied my eyes nothing, and begged God for forgiveness. You would think that this behavior would have made me a raging scumbag. However, I was a very clean-cut person on the outside. I was popular in high school, an officer of National Honor Society, and a homecoming candidate. Deep down inside when I got home at night and laid down to sleep, I felt that I was an enemy of God. I knew that I was living my life everyday contrary to His desires. But there was a major problem; I couldn't stop. I had tried countless times to give up every one of the major sins I was committing, but I was always too weak and would fall back into doing them. I felt that I would never be able to clean myself up enough to be admitted into Heaven.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
I began to attend a Church in high school with my girlfriend, and there I first heard about the Bible verse above, Romans 5:8. I really loved attending this Church because I thought that maybe God would somehow be able to teach me how to clean myself up. However, I was only able to attend the Church a couple times before I graduated high school.
I then went off to college at the University of Northern Iowa and continued in my rut of sin that I thought I would never be able to dig myself out of. Living in the dorms really fueled my addiction to Internet pornography. It seemed that all 60 of the guys on my floor spent at least an hour a day viewing Internet porn, so I began to justify my behavior thinking I was just like everyone else. God once again began letting me know this was very wrong; causing me to feel incredibly guilty. I thought that if I ignored God long enough, maybe He would go away and leave me alone.
During my Sophomore year of college my girlfriend came up to UNI and we began to attend a Church together. A new Pastor came to the Church and preached with a passion that reminded me of the Church I went to a couple times in high school. I was really touched the first day Pastor John Fuller spoke at the Church. He talked about how he lived a wild life in college and really felt terrible for how he treated people, but then he told us how his "internal" life changed completely when He put his trust in Jesus Christ. So during my sophomore year of college I prayed trusting Jesus to save me. I had been trying unsuccessfully to clean myself up and get myself right with God for the last 4 years. I learned that Jesus had instead lived a perfect life for me and by dying on the cross He had already paid the full penalty of my sins. It all made sense to me, Jesus had died for me while I was a sinner. Jesus wanted me to trust Him just as I am, I didn't have to first get all my sins under control. I didn't have to clean myself up, all that I had to do is believe in Jesus and trust Him to save me from my sins.
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
It has been about 6 years since I first prayed that prayer telling Jesus that I am trusting Him as my Savior. I am still trusting Jesus today. He has transformed my life 100%.
