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My name is James. Most people call me Jim. I was fortunate. I was born into a Christian home where the Bible was read and taught, where we all attended church regularly, and where high standards of morality, responsibility, and industry were maintained.
In my family the expectation was not if we would make a personal profession of Jesus Christ and be baptized but when that decision would be made. I made my personal surrender to Christ and became His follower at the age of 11 in November, 1945. So, I’ve been a Christian almost 58 years.
Here’s another large number that seems to be rare these days. My
adorable wife and I have been married 48 years.
My mother sensed that God would call me to the ministry and when I was an adolescent, even wrote a poem about my brother and me entitled "My Boys" in which she speculated that I would possibly become a minister.
With that God-given mother’s intuition, she went about the task of providing me with a better understanding of the Bible Not only did she teach me in Sunday School on several different occasions, she read and taught me scripture at home. She even used the Bible as a disciplinary resource. On quite a few occasions when I had done something wrong, she took me into her bedroom, closed the door and read scripture to me - a selection apropos to my offense. I’m sure that method of discipline
could have negative results with some children. They’d rebel against the Bible if it were used for disciplinary purposes. But, my mother knew when to use the Word and when to use the switch. I much preferred the word - whether hers or the Lord’s. After she would read the appropriate passage, she’d ask me, "Do you understand what that means?" If I said "No" she’d read it again and again as necessary. Well, I’m no dummy. Eventually, I learned to say yes, I understood it. Mother was no dummy either! She’d say, "Explain it to me." If nothing else, I learned to listen, but I must also say If I have any skills in exegesis, I got it at my mother’s feet.
Even though I wasn’t a bad boy when I committed my life to Christ, my life changed. I was alive, spiritually. No longer did I wonder whether I was "good enough" to go to Heaven. I didn’t understand all the theology of justification, but I knew that God’s remedy for my sin was sufficient and sure.
Right from the start, however, I began to realize the benefits of being a believer. Some of those benefits are delineated in Romans chapter 5: Justification, Peace with God, Access to Grace; Hope of Glory; Joy in Tribulation; The Love of God; The In-dwelling of the Holy Spirit; Deliverance from Wrath, and Joy in God.
I believe that my purpose of life is to go to heaven when I die, and take as many people with me as I can. Even though I’ll soon be 69 years old, I am still in the active ministry and I don’t consider the decision to retire to be mine to make.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...."(Acts 16:31).
J. C. Wauford, ThD |
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