Thursday, June 28, 2007

It's All About Me

This is the day I write about me. It’s all about me. I invite your questions . You can leave them in a comment.
Last week Margaret asked . Tell us your testimony. When did you come to know the Lord?
Starting in May 0f 2006 I wrote of my journey from atheist to believer to pastor. So I reprint one of those entries below.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
From atheist to disgustingly religious

Saying for the Day: Its's not what you know but who that really counts.

Its back to the artifact box and here we find one of those little books people sign at the end of camp. It is there to remind me of the end of my time as an atheist and the beginning of the journey that would bring me into the ministry.

The summer after I got confirmed one of my friends from confirmation talked me into going to Bible Camp.
His name was Karl Rundman .
He was not religious and the reason he felt we should go to Bible camp was because there were five girls there for every boy.
Those are great odds. I figured I could put up with the religious nonsense for a chance for romance. The way Karl described it we would swim with the girls, sit with them at evening campfires, and take evening walks to the baseball field.

So I went. The program was about as dull as I expected it to be.

But there was a Pastor.
An old Pastor who was different.

He didn’t talk about God as an idea.

He didn’t try to prove God.

He shared with us a God that was and had been for years a personal friend. This God was as real to him as the campers. I marveled at that.

There was a joy and a peace the guy had I had never seen in anybody.

I wanted what he had.

I told myself over and over that it was silly.
There is no God and so God can’t be his friend.
He can’t know what isn’t there.

But he did. He honestly loved God.

Then something happened which I can not explain. At some point during that week I stepped over the line and went from being an atheist to being disgustingly religious.

I didn’t want it to happen.
I did everything I could to keep it from happening .

I have no idea why it happened. (Boy I wish I did)
Lots of kids left that camp just the way they came but I didn’t.

Karl Rundman did . He ran into God later in his journey.

Suddenly there was a joy and a peace in my life beyond anything I had ever known. God was real and He loved me.

I still had no answer to Robert’s death.
But I did know that God had entered into our suffering and shared it with us.

Everything changed. I came home a different person.

My mother was horrified.
She hoped it would wear off.

But God was no longer an idea to be accepted or rejected.
God was a being that loved me and the journey to the pulpit had begun.
******

@@@@ News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where trains still run, dragons fly, and the Liar’s Club summer contest continues.-Yesterday Herman Manty, from Painsville , got his turn to tell his story and here it is:
You may have read the article by some leading astrophysicists that said
"If you define the black hole as some place where you can lose objects, then there is no such thing because the black hole evaporates before anything is seen to fall in," . If they are right all those wonderful space stories that have black holes and worm holes are wrong. I am here to tell you today they are wrong.
How do I know they are wrong ? Because I have a friend who has gone through a black hole to get from his universe to ours. What bothered the scientists is that if all information about the collapsing matter is lost, it defies the laws of quantum physics. That is if something goes into a black hole and never comes out everything we know about matter would be put in doubt.
My friend says they don’t have to worry. What goes in one side of the black hole is expelled on the other side. Our best instruments can’t see that because it is lost among the exploding suns and other strange phenomena.
But my friend and his spacecraft got here through a black hole. So he and I know they exist. The problem is they work only one way. That is you can’t go back through them. So he is stuck in our universe . The only life he has found is on this planet and he says w are very backward. Our science is almost primitive in his eyes. Aside from that he says we are very boring. But he is stuck here.
He says the only good thing is the pasty which you can’t get anywhere else in the universe. If he figures out how to leave he is taking a large supply with him.
Now if you don’t believe me I can take you to my farm and introduce you to him. He is busy trying to find a reverse black hole in our universe. Until he does I have him and his space ship hidden in my cow barn. I am keeping him supplied with pasties.
Herman got a 9.2 average which ties him with Allan Heyydan for first place.
*****

Today's Link-Murray Family Blog-A family with three babies and they survive. Today a survival skill. Leave a Dr. John and get an extra chance at tomorrow's stupendous drawing.
A fairly good day today. Did some more sorting of train stuff in the basement . Watched my soaps. Went shopping with Betty. And I visited most of my links. I was surprised to discover that several of the new links have been discontinued. They come and go fast now. I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

11 Comments:

Blogger Bazza said...

Nice post Dr John, I love the idea of being "disgustingly religious", and if it gives you joy and peace, who knows, even I may get reeled in one day.

5:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love how you worded your story. I hope you've shared it lots and lots because you put it so simply and clearly. The only thing I'd object to is saying you got religion. Nit-picking, I know, but to me, the "religious" are those who are bogged down in the rules. You are a walking, talking example of God's grace and love and in the circle of life I think you are now that old pastor who is different.

5:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did your mother ever get over her horror?

6:57 AM  
Blogger Margaret said...

Thank you for sharing Dr. John. I love hearing testimonies. You're right, God as a personal friend - once we see things in this light, everything just falls into place.

My original fear before being born again was the notion of lightning bolts and a mean bossy kind of Lord.

Now, I fear the Lord only because I fear loosing or disappointing a good friend. I've hurt Him many times over, but He is forgiving if I'm willing to try.

Thanks for sharing again.

8:06 AM  
Blogger Bill ~ {The Old Fart} said...

Thank you for sharing, this was wonderful to read. I agree with Stacy ~ you are now the Pastor. You show by example and you do not preach.

A wonderful day is wished for you and Betty.

9:07 AM  
Blogger QUASAR9 said...

Well Dr John,
I think the most comfounding thing
is that believing in itself is not enough, so many people believe so many different things ...

It would just be so easy if believing, and believing the right thing - led to the right result -
and not believing or doing the wrong thing - led to the wrong result

But disease, death & suffering are so random...

And yes material satisfaction or wealth is often more about who you know, not what you know - with a good dash of luck thrown in.

Ultimately I waver, between greed and selfishness is good - after all everything that exists was created by someone's greed or selfishness (including children).

The desire for a home, makes society 'strive' to provide homes with clean water, to all.

The desire for tv entertainment makes society strive to provide more than one tv per home.

The desire for laptop, pcs and communications has created the internet and the boom of mobile phones.

Oh sure, none of these provide happiness, but we all have them.

And of course the desure fot individual transport, means society strives to provide cars for all with electronic ignition, electronic tinted windows, dvds, and any number of extras now fitted as standard.

So material things may not provide heave, but ideally in heaven there is NO WANT, NO NEED, NO SHORTAGE of water, or oil, or power, or health care, or joy, or LOVE!

Are we not striving for Heaven on Earth?

11:17 AM  
Blogger The Rev. Dr. Kate said...

Thank you for sharing the beginning of your journey to faith. In my experience, telling folks ABOUT God never has much effect. Folks yearn to KNOW God - so I have always been partial to the "let me tell you about a friend of mine" approach to sharing faith.

5:00 PM  
Blogger Janets Planet said...

Looking back, how do you feel about "being an atheist" and getting confirmed?

For some reason, Herman Manty's "care" of his alien friend reminds me of the witch taking care of Hansel and Gretel.

7:05 PM  
Blogger -atomik kitten said...

Isn't it nice when churches just let God be God?

4:41 PM  
Blogger QUASAR9 said...

Love the Cross!

1:54 AM  
Blogger QUASAR9 said...

Alas, what can it be
what shall I say
go thru the first door
or go the other way

I think the only thing we can do is live our lives, and we shall each discover what's behind the door. It seems life holds different things for each of us despite all the advice, so who knows what awaits each of us behind the door.

There is no one cure for everything
There is no one answer for everything
There is NO ONE TASTE to satisfy All
I think we have to enjoy our coffe when others drink tea, and/or viceversa

1:58 AM  

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