Rejoice Always!
About Me
So who am I and why is this web page up? That's what this page is about. My name is Chad and my story is I am a believer in Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior! That's why this site exists. I'm hoping that I will be able to help people who are interested in learning about God and specifically about what Jesus is all about. I'm not talking about the Jesus that you see in murals or pictures or in plays and video's I'm talking about the real Jesus. He loves you personally and wants only the best for you. Here is how I know.
I was raised in a home where both of my parents believed in God and had a personal relationship with Jesus. They taught me from a very early age about God and Jesus by taking me to church and Sunday school. I was taught that God was loving and holy, perfect and righteous. He was the maker of the universe and He sent His son to die for me to take away my sins. This all sounds pretty impressive, but to put it bluntly it didn't mean much to me. I didn't really live any differently then other kids I knew, I wasn't a bad kid but at the same time I wasn't holier then thou or anything. I guess I really realized what Jesus was all about when I was in Sunday school on Sunday when I was about 8 or so.
I was sitting in Sunday school and looking at a picture of Jesus on the cross. It showed how he had nails in both his wrists, and a nail piercing his feet. The picture made me physically ill because I couldn't believe that this man who was God had died to save me. I didn't understand why I was important and didn't want to acknowledge that He should be important. After that Sunday I started asking questions an trying to figure out why Jesus did what He did. I knew everyone told me that He loved me and that He would have died to take away just my sins, even if no one else was on the earth. I was floored. I finally came to understand that Jesus did love me personally and wanted to have a relationship with me. Imagine that, the God of all the universe wanted to know me! I talked with the pastor of our church and He walked me through the simple process of asking Jesus to come into my heart and be my Savior. I was baptised a few Sundays later and that was that, right?
Not even close. I basically continued to live the way that others did and didn't try to differentiate myself from others. I grew up and once I became a teenager I started to question why God was important and why Jesus had never done anything for me personally. I talked a lot with friends about this very topic in trying to figure out what was the whole point of being a Christian. I traveled with my youth group to Centrifuge in North Carolina one year and God got my attention. I was standing in the service after praising God and listening to the pastor teach all of the youth there about how God sees us for who we really are. He used the example of a plastic cup that he held up for each of us to see. He said that the cup looked clean and perfect, but that on the inside things could be different. He tilted the cup towards us to let everyone see that on the inside of the cup there was dirt and mud. This particular point hit me really hard. I knew that I was just like that cup. On the outside I was clean looking and no one really could see how I was inside. God knew how I really was and only he and I knew that I didn't really care when I was at church. That night I also saw a guy kneeling at the stage praying, he wasn't praying to be showy or anything he just was talking to God. He prayed as though he was talking to God as a friend who was right there next to him. I was humbled and amazed. God really wanted to get my attention and He succeeded. I silently prayed right then and there that God would let me be more of the Christian that He wanted. I asked Him for a peace and a true love for Him. I have never felt such peace and joy as I did that night. I could feel God flood me with His love.
Since then He has lead me through trials and many problems that I never thought I would be able to get through, but without fail every time He has been there for me. I've been through being engaged and the engagement breaking off and thinking that I would never be okay. Through all of that God lead me on, I didn't have enough strength to do anything beyond each day, but many times that is how God works. He has given me just enough strength and courage to get through each day nothing more nothing less. I am now only 4 months from marrying the love of my life and she and I are seeking to do God's will together. I guess that's how this page came about. Please check out the other pages and feel free to contact me if you want to submit questions for the questions and answers page.
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Contact me: ch1274@yahoo.com