Life is full of decisions: some of them are simple and others are more complex. Choosing to give your life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour is one of the straightforward ones, honest! Sometimes however we prefer to avoid the obvious, and wrap it up with all sorts of complications because we really want to avoid the issue.
I grew up in a good family, but we weren't Christian. Even so, I thought there must be a God because of the universe around me and something inside which remained unsatisfied. To me, it takes a lot more faith to believe we're just a cosmic accident, descended from amoeba born into a primordial soup. At the age of 11 I joined Horsham Crusaders and went to camp the following summer. As well as two trips a day to the beach and endless fun in the sun, I heard and understood the 'Good News' that Jesus came to save us from the punishment we deserve for our self-centred lives and that we could know Him personally. So it was a simple decision: reject God, live for myself and suffer the consequences, or give my life back to Him and live for and with Him forever - hmm, tricky one? I don't think so!
And so life has been a bed of roses since… Get real! Jesus promised us it would be difficult to follow Him and it is, swimming against the tide so much. Since August 1976 I've been through all sorts of struggles and failures, as well as great times with God and others, but all along He's been there to pick me up, forgive me and help me carry on. He's also placed me alongside friends so that we can support, encourage and build each other up. Do I want to go back on that? No way!
Some people think religion is a load of rules and a crutch for those who can't cope with life. Maybe it is, but the nearest I've ever come to religion is my passion for football! Thankfully, when you get to know God you find out He's not all that fussed about religion either. He wants sons and daughters to love, and who love Him and follow His ways - as He's the Creator of all things I reckon He's got a pretty good idea what's good for us.
There are plenty of religions around for all the religious people in the world. But Jesus said, "I am THE way, THE truth and THE life". Being a Christian is for those who've realised their need to be reconciled with God, through Jesus, and are prepared to be committed to following His ways in spite of the fact it's hard sometimes. As my sister said of the clergy, "the salary may be poor but the fringe benefits are out of this world".
So that's me - what about you? What do you believe and where are you going? Jesus said, "He who is not with me is against me", which means there's a decision to be made and there's no fence to sit on! Why not get in touch with us and find out more about Jesus - He wants to find out more about you.