Page 3535 - 1970S

and easily carne to admit my wife

was right.

J

spent a solid six months

in virtual night-and-day study de–

termined to find the TRUTH. The

TRUTH which God did reveal to me

is not what 1 then

wanted

or was

searching for. But in the search I left

no sfone unturned.

Six-Month Study

This intensive six-month study was

only the beginning. lt still continues

today

in

my 85th year. But it took

that first six months to bring me to

see the basic TRUTH- to see that

1

had been wrong!

To find , for tbe first

time, God's TRUTH. And, as I have

said, in the meantime God was soft–

ening me up for the final blow–

humbling me, taking away that ex–

alted SELF-confidence aod vanity.

He was bringing down my morale.

I found that I had to replace SELF–

confidence with the NEW CON–

FIDENCE which is FAITH.

Now carne the greatest inner

battle ofmy life.

To accept the TRUTH meant- so I

supposed- to cut me off from all

former friends, business associates

and acquaintances, and all ties to

business.

It

meant GlVING UP a ll

T

had my heart set on since age 16.

lt meant a TOTAL CHANGE of Jife.

Jt meant a CHANGE from the "GET"

way of this world to the "GlVE" way

ofGod- to God's way ofLOVE.

But then, at the same time, I had

been beaten down. I had been bro–

ken in human spirit, frustrated. 1

had come lO decide that I had

entirely overrated myself all

these years.

T

was not the superior

person my employer had made me

think 1 was at age 16. 1 carne to

acknowledge, "I'm nothing but a

burned-out hunk ofjunk not worthy

(Continued from page 1)

sight." I asked this man if he kept

God's commandments.

"No!" he said emphatically. "The

commandments were done away."

40

to be thrown on the junk piJe."

Now carne my real conversion- or

the first beginning phase of it!

In desperation,

J

threw myself on

God's merey. My life was worth

nothing more to me; and 1 said to

God that

J

knew l had nothing to

offer Him, but if He would forgive

me, take me as HIS, give me by His

grace His Holy Spirit, I would GIVE

MYSELF TO HlM for the remainder of

my life. If He could put to any use

this worthless dreg of humanity, 1

would accept Jesus Christ as per–

sonal Savior, and give what was Jeft

of this worthless self to Him!

1 was in dead earnest! 1 MEANT IT!

And l still MEAN IT!

Next carnean intensive study into

biblical teaching about water bap–

tism. 1 was brought up in a Protes–

tant church that does not believe

in

water baptism. But I found that 1

had to be baptized and that there

was no PROMISE 1 would receive the

Holy Spirit until water baptism.

I will cover that and the facts of

my receiving the Holy Spirit in the

next issue of

The Plain Truth.

Questlons To Be Answered

Does a sudden physical sensation

accompany the receiving of the

Holy Spirit? Must one "speak with

tongues" (that is, in sorne unknown

language) to prove he has received

the Holy Spirit?

What about all these questions?

And once "saved"- having accepted

Christ as Savior- are you ALWAYS

saved, no matter how you live there–

after?

I repeat the question: Is con–

version a sudden EXPERIENCE, or is it

a lifelong PROCESS?

I have not yet answered those

questions.

r

have not yet told you of

1 talked to him awhile but did not

pray for him- for that matter he did

not ask me to- but said that if he

would like, I would call again. This I

did , and he ridiculed God's com–

mandmeots , and still did not

request that I pray for him. 1 had

given up on him.

Then one day months later, when

I was driving past his street off Fos–

ter Road, 1 wondered if I ought to

my EXPERIENCE Of receJvlllg the

Holy Spi rit. There is MUCH MORE TO

COME in this series.

o