Hi, here is my testimony. The title is : "Converted With the Help Of a Make-up Remover Pad !"
My conversion to the Lord started one evening, in my bathroom. Before going to sleep, I used to clean my face applying some cleansing lotion (yes, men can take care of their face too ! ).
At the time, I lived in Paris, a town famous for its high pollution level. This particular evening, I was impressed by the quantity of dust on the make-up remover pad, and I showed it to my wife. Her response was the beginning of a long argument, because she said : “Dust you are, and to dust you will return, so why are you surprised ?”
Indeed, surprised by this affirmation, I answered back: “Wait a minute, don't tell me that you believe literally in the Bible ? And now you'll say that all the miracles written in the Bible really happened?”
OK, let me explain something first... Actually, I was a Christian (or I thought I was...), a practicing Catholic. Like many other Christians, I didn't believe the Bible literally. In concrete terms, everything has to be interpreted, the Bible was written to deliver messages, lessons, through parables and “legends.” I had a religion, which was almost a philosophy. I believed in a distant God, concepts that we should follow, but not something very important. My faith stagnated. Actually, it was one of the reasons why I was interested by something else.
So, let's get back to our business. My wife and I had a very tough discussion. I said things like « I will never let you say to our child that the Red Sea was divided, that Jesus truly multiplied bread.... » . Then, I said to myself : « I actually never read the Bible completely (I only listened to the readings at Church) ; so I will read the Bible from the beginning to the end, and read it as if I believed truly in what is said.
Actually, I was sure that I would find a lot of contradictions, especially between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
So I started reading the Bible, with this way of reading. First, I was very surprised by the Old Testament, as I discovered how many interesting messages there are, even in books that I was afraid of (Leviticus, Numbers...). I found a God who was very patient, full of love, and I was amazed by the values in these books (knowing how long ago this was written). And I was very impressed by the precision of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, given such a long time before!
Above all, I noticed that – unlike what I believed – the New Testament reinforces the Old, instead of sweeping it aside. For example, about adultery, Jesus gave a stronger warning than in the Old Testament, saying just a look with lust is already adultery! And finally, I realized that reading the Bible this way, I didn't find any contradiction, everything became coherent!
At the same time, I went with my wife one Sunday out of two to the Evangelical church, and one Sunday out of two we went to a Calvinist church. After a while, I was surprised because I realized that I was disappointed when it was the Calvinists' turn, as I preferred going to the Evangelical service! For information, the first time I attended an Evangelical service, I left saying, “Never I will be an evangelic Christian!”
There's something else that led me to subscribe to Biblical inerrancy: it was my discussions with brothers and sisters at the church, for I was amazed by their testimonies about miraculous healing, about how deeply their lives changed. Furthermore, I met men and women with a faith which can make a mountain move, who really try to apply the Word !
I didn't convert only because of the miracles or the blessings, but I thought that if they were wrong, how could I explain that the Word reflected in their lives?
This played a large part in a deep revolution: I moved from a religion to a relationship! I started to believe in a living God, who takes care of me, who can act, here and now! My prayers metamorphosed: they became a dialog, with so much more authenticity and intensity. I began to really understand how important I salvation is—the “new birth.” A few months afterwards, I was baptized in water!
God knows how to use very special ways to bring people to Him, and His sense of humor doesn't fail Him!