Short Stories
~ Saved ~
Today I gave my life to Jesus, and the word says that I am born again. That I am SAVED. It doesn't feel like I am born again. Oh well, I guess I'll just have faith and believe it. One thing I do know, "I know for sure that I am saved."
You see about six months ago I was homeless, hopeless, and addicted to drugs and alcohol. I was the biggest con-artist and theif in the city of Newark. My entire life was controlled by drugs and alcohol. I felt dead and like a slave in bondage, wrapped in chains made of barb wire, ripping threw my soul and spirit. I was never happy, I was always looking to steal or take what was not mine and I didn't care who I'd hurt in the process. I had one goal every day, and that was to find someone to rob, con, or hurt just to have money for my drugs. It's true what they say, "Hurt people, Hurt people because people that are hurting want to see other people hurting too." And I didn't care who I'd hurt.
Day after day, night after night my entire life was crumbling right before my eyes. My body was slowly deteriorating and disintegrating right befor my eyes from my everyday use of drugs and alcohol. I even smelled like I was dead because I had given up on myself and didn't care to shower. I just wanted to die, never mind to become Born Again.
One day I was panhandling by a church called `Trinity`. It was a cold day and I was very sick from withdrawls of drugs. You see by this time I was at my bottom and a full blown heroin addict. I've always known that church people were easy targets for cash and handouts. I also knew there was no way church people could say no, if I lied and told them I needed money for something to eat.(So I thought.) So I got my con game going, stood outside the church, put a sad face on and began to play the role of a hungry begger. Standing by the front doors of the church and acting like the fool that I was, I came across someone by the name of Terry. I didn't even have to open my mouth to this Brother, he came straight towards me and began to speak to me. He began by telling me he was the local preacher of Trinity Church. At that very moment I was thinking of walking away because the last thing I wanted to hear (as sick as I was) was to hear a preacher preaching to me.
"So tell me Brother, how you feeling today?" Replied Terry with the bigest and brightest smile .
"Sir I'll be feeling a lot better if I had something to eat! See I'm really hungry. Can you please give me a few dollars for some food sir?" I replied.
"Ohh" replied Terry. It's money that you need! Well let me see here, I got fifty cents and it's all for you my Brother. Here you go."
"Fifty cents! What the hell can I buy to eat with fifty cents!" I said sarcastically .
"Well" Terry said as he looked straight into my eyes. When I was a slave to drugs and alcohol, fifty cents could get me a bag of chips and a little Debbie's cake. This would be my lunch and dinner."
"So Yo" I said with fury in my eyes. What are you trying to say, that I'm some kind of homeless junky, alcoholic. Man ain't you suppose to be some kind of preacher or something? You don't know me like that."
So he looked at me like he could see right threw me, like he could see right threw my stupid sad act. What he said to me next was the exact things I did not want to hear but the exact thing I needed to here. He told me the truth. His words cut me deep because no one has ever talked to me in that manner. And you know that sometimes the truth really does hurt but also the Truth will set you Free.
He went on talking about his life. How he was a homeless addict in Philly and how Jesus set him free from all that. He spoke about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit but Tery didn't preach to me, he kept it real. He said it was his testimony or something like that. At that time I just didn't know what a testimony was but as he spoke, it felt like he was telling me my own story.
My heart was deeply touched while listening to Terry speak about how Jesus saved him from all that. I began to feel Something I had never felt before; I began to feel a sense of hope. As he told me about the priceless blessings Jesus blessed him with like peace, happiness, and serenity; I wanted to be Saved too. I wanted to stop hurting inside and wanted the same peace he had. I just didn't know how and what I had to do to get it. So I did something I never ever did before, I asked for Help! I asked Terry if he could please help me find that happiness and that kind of peace. I asked Tery if he could help me find Jesus and be saved.
"First of all" Terry replied gently.
"Jesus is and has always been close to you. He loves you so much that he died for you so that you could be free, free from all the bondages of sin, free from everyday pain and suffering. For our Lord suffered and died for us so we wouldn't have to suffer. He paid the price of death (we were suppose to pay) three days later he rose and was alive again. He did that to show us that he was truly God, and how much he truly loves us, Jesus showed us to be truly saved we must all repent and die from our old ways of living. Then we will surely be filled with peace and joy. "
"REPENT! I said. What's that?"
"You see, Terry answered. "Jesus died and rose into a beautiful manisfastation of a man, a new creation and that's exactly what it means to repent. Repent simply means to change our old ways of thinking. In other words, to die from our old ways and be born again in the ways of Christ Jesus."
"Wow! I exclaimed. And I always thought Jesus was some guy who drank wine, ate bread and partied with his twelve friends. But I'm beginning to see things a lot more clearly now."
"That's right. said Terry with a giggle. "Your starting to see with your inner man now."
"Inner man. I said. Who's my inner man? You just keep coming at me with stuff I've never heard of, Tery."
"HA, HA, HA. Tery began to laugh loudly. That's right your inner man. You see, God gave us all inner eyes. We as Christians call this spiritual vision. See when you begin to have faith (believe) in the word of God your spiritual vision begins to clear up."
"But how can I get this Faith?" I replied.
"Let's look at what the word of God says, replied Tery. Romans 10:17 says, Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. You see God says we cannot come to saving Faith unless we either read the Bible or have someone read it to us and we come to recognize that our Faith will grow only as much as we FEED on God's Word in the Bible."
"Hooold up, Tery. Your trying to say I need to eat the Bible too."
Again Terry began to crack up laughing. Listen Beloved, the same way we all need food to keep our physical bodies alive and healthy, we also need the Word of God (the Bible) to keep our spiritual inner man alive and healthy. So when I said feed on the Word, I really mean't read the Word in the Bible and the Word is but the truth and the truth is but God."
"Wait, Wait, Wait Terry. Your starting to freak me out. Your starting to sound spooky Bro. All I need to know is how can Jesus save me because the only truth I've known for many years has been pain and misery."
"Again Beloved, replied Terry. Let's see what the word of God says in (Roman 10:9-10). If you can confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus died for you and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. You see, for with the heart one believes unto the righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto Salvation."
"O.K. take it easy Terry. Here we go again. What the hell is Salvation? Do I need that too. I replied.
"Yes, you do, answered Tery, and Hell is exactly where you'll go without Salvation."
Then at that very moment when Terry finished telling me about Salvation, he did something that changed my life. He looked right into my eyes, came up to me and gave me a hug. Then said
"Jesus loves you and so do I." Man I tell you, I began to weep like a little child. I cryed on his shoulder like I never cryed before. You see throughout my life, I have felt ashamed of myself and never ever felt loved by anyone. At that very moment, I felt this peace inside of me that I had never felt before. I was moved by Tery's sincerity, passion and love for Christ. I was touched by the honesty and love he showed for me. Right there and then, I knew that I was in the presence of God and that God's spirit was working threw Tery as he was preaching the Good News to me.
From that day on, I humbled myself to God and made Jesus my passion. I went to a Christian Rehab. at the Salvation Army, became a member of a spiritual based twelve step program at Trinity Church called Pressing Towards the Mark. ( which is held at church every Wednesday night at 7:30 pm.) This allows me to learn about my desease of addiction and also allows me to speak of the goodness of God. Six months later, I became a member of Trinity and here I am at church excepting Christ as my Lord and Savior because I realized if it wasn't for His grace and mercy I would not be alive today. At first I was a slave, then Jesus freed me and today I am SAVED! And all the Glory goes to GOD! Amen!
This was a fictional story written for the single purpose that there is truly Hope and Freedom through Salvation.
Story by Marcelino R.
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