This is my wonderful family. My wife Melanie, who is holding our 9 month old
baby, Chloe. Anna is on the left and I'm holding Mackenzie.
This is my wonderful family. My wife Melanie, who is holding our 9 month old
baby, Chloe. Anna is on the left and I'm holding Mackenzie.
My wife and I started attending a church in early 2005. My wife had never been exposed to church of any sorts, except the occasional holiday outing. I was drug to church many times in my early years, but the Lord saw fit to bless me and cover my ears from hearing the lies of the Lutheran church. I don't know what Bible they taught from, I don't recall seeing Bibles there. Only hymn books. I don't recall them actually teaching anything, only bloviating for close to an hour, then we'd all go out for brunch.
Closer to my teen years my mother and I moved to our cabin, north of Phoenix, and made a permanent stay. We began attending a local baptist church in the small town. I went to grade school with several of the kids who attended and one of them was the Pastor's son. It was a nice church, everyone attended on Sundays, got their 'feel goods' and went home for the day. There are only two things about this church that stand out in my mind today.
With this history so far under my belt, it's amazing to me that I got saved at all! Only goes to show the
true power of a God that Loves Us!
Well, the story goes on, and on, and on... But eventually, my wife and I got married October 10, 1999.
We moved around many times, once even out of Arizona, but eventually the tractor-beam of Payson caught
up with us and we moved back. My wife moved to the Payson area shortly after my mom and I did, and we
went to elementary school and high school together. We weren't exactley high school sweet hearts, but
no one else knew that. And I told all my friends the first time I saw her that I was going to marry her.
They thought I was nuts, so I proved them wrong... Of course, that's not the reason why I married her,
but it's an interesting part of the story.
Anyway, shortly after moving back to Payson a final time, something happened to our oldest daughter,
Anna. While playing at a neighbors house, the neighbors' dog got its chain wrapper around Anna's kneck and
drug her all around the back yard. Nobody was around to see it, except the neighbors' 4 year old daughter.
Amazingly, Anna got loose and came running home. She wasn't hurt, had no scratches, only a horrific red
bruise around her kneck where the chain should have killed her.
My wife, convinced that Anna should have died, called a friend of hers and wanted to come and talk.
My wife's friend was actually a high school friend's mother, and was always happy to hear from Melanie
and was always trying to give her the Gospel. Though Melanie never listened, and generally wanted nothing
to do with the Gospel, she wanted to talk to a sane adult, someone who might help her understand
what had happened. Well, of course, this lady gave Melanie the Gospel again, and invited us to church
with them on Sunday.
We joyfully went to church that Sunday, and the first thing I noticed was a rather large podium
with a wooden plaque stating 'King James 1611'. I was immediately weary. The message preached
was pure Gospel, straight from the Bible. It was exactley what my wife needed to hear. We attended
Sunday school, the regular Sunday service, went to lunch with our friends, then returned for an afternoon
service. It was about all I could handle, except one strange thing. I felt really comfortable. My wife
spoke with the Pastor and his wife for a short period, while I was talking with some of the younger guys
my age. My wife accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Saviour that afternoon in the
fellowship hall of Payson First Baptist Church. Praise God!
That afternoon all the young couples went to the park to play volley ball. We tagged along for the games
and fellowship. Once it got dark, everyone started leaving to go home, and another couple asked us,
'Hey, want to buy us dinner?' . Not realizing what he said, and thinking he was a little strange, I
agreed, and we all went to a local pizza restaurant.
A few weeks passed by and we continued attending this local church. Finally, one Sunday we participated
in the Lord's Supper. The Pastor stood before all of us and told us that he believed there were three
requirements before one could take part in the Lord's Supper.
Pastor said, You must be born again! You must have your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and know that
it is by His Grace and through His sacrifice we are given the gift of salvation. Second, you must be scripturally baptised.
You see, baptism is not a means to salvation. When babies are sprinkled at birth, they are still safe,
the baptism does nothing but make the parents feel warm and fuzzy! Children are still protected by the
Lord, until they understand the truth, then they are responsible for making a decision, just like
everyone else. Accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour, or Reject Him, and spend eternity in a Christ-less
Hell, where there will be gnashing of teeth.
I have a new opionion about infant baptism. Babies are safe from hell. I believe the Bible teaches that we are all born with our names written in the Book of Life, but at that point in time when we 'knowingly' reject Jesus Christ, our names are blotted out. So infant baptist is just a heathen Roman Catholic tradition. But more than that, when you allow your child to take part in such an atrocity as this, you are tempting the devil. By allowing those wicked priests to perform a black magic ceremony on your child you are allowing satanic influences to attack your baby! Think I'm wrong? Go read your Bible: Mark 9:17-21