Redav's Testimony
Lets take a break from Rice for the moment and you can listen to Redav
If you had asked me what church, soccer and saviour meant to me 15 years ago, I’d have said boring, everything and my father. Come Sunday mum would wake my siblings and I for church and I used every excuse in the book to be late. In fact each Sunday I religiously tried to avoid church and as mum can confirm, a hyperactive little Cookie and sitting still in Sunday school just didn’t work.
For me church was all about singing old, slow hymns and being able to resite the creeds and prayers word for word. After a while, soccer moved from Saturday to Sunday and my dad, who was my saviour, would take me away to heavenly green soccer fields. So I was off the hook.
Most of my childhood was filled with soccer and friends. Whilst I didn’t fall into to the traps of teenage drinking, sex or drugs, I wasn’t living a life pleasing to God. In fact, soccer had become my god. Club and school games, representative teams, carnivals and training filled my life and I loved it. At that point in time, I acknowledged God but didn’t have any time for Him.
A friend once said that my nick name Cookie came from being hard on the outside and soft on the inside but through high school it was a different story. I was hard both inside and out as I let nothing in and even less out. All I cared about was playing soccer.
The irony is that I followed soccer away from church but it was through soccer that Jesus found me. I left school with few friends and started doing my own thing. One day I found out that one of the guys had broken his back. I visited him a bit and the following year we played soccer for the same church. It worked out well as others in the team were from our school team and I was happy that I could play soccer with friends again.
After training one night, my mate Tim asked me if I would come to his church as they had a guest speaker that Sunday talking about creation / evolution. I said yes and he picked me up. It was a lot different to what I was used to and proved to be an interesting night. I continued to go after that even if sometimes it was just to be social.
Over a year or so I watched the evening service grow from fifty to over a hundred people, which was great, but I wasn’t growing. The only growth I could feel was in questions like I believed in God and Jesus, but did I have faith? I called myself a Christian, but did I follow Christ? Shortly after I went to a Convention in Warwick with Tim and his family. Camping in the cold at Easter with friends sounded like fun.
And fun it was. There were plenty of people, soccer, cards and listening to speakers. Unfortunately, I had to leave early due to a family wedding and on the way home I heard Bon Jovi’s new song, ‘It’s My Life’ and I was stoked. Those who know me know I’m a big Bon Jovi fan and I was thrilled to hear their new song. I liked it, but something dawned on me - it wasn’t really my life.
The wedding went well but throughout the day, all I wanted to do was go back to Warwick. Once the newly weds had left the reception, I drove back. I got some funny looks when I returned but I think they could sense what I felt. These people already had something that I’d only just realised and I wanted to be around them and learn more.
A while ago Billy spoke of a transformation to Christianity being likened to baking a cake. To him there wasn’t a specific point where things changed; it was more like an ongoing event. In my case, stuff was there but I had missed an important ingredient. I knew God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, I knew Jesus had died for our sins and I knew that there was a gap between us and Him but through my arrogance, I hadn’t handed myself over to God. With that realisation, my heart softened, I accepted what He had done for me and Jesus revealed himself to me.
Since then Christian Youth Camps, Pathways to Purpose and Beach Missions have reinforced one thing; there’s nothing I can do to save myself, it is what Jesus has done for me.
Whilst I don’t really have a favourite passage, I have found Psalm 126 verse five profoundly encouraging; “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy”. Jesus never said that walking in the light was easy but those words help when I’m faced with opposition.
I’ve never been a fan of public speaking and I’ll admit that it has held be back from being baptised - but no longer. Here I am putting my hand up for Christ. Why? It’s obedience and I want to follow His will. For me part of it is also thanks. I’m thankful for my upbringing where seeds had been planted, I’m thankful for Tim and his family for their wisdom and encouragement, I’m thankful for my friends and the blessings bestowed upon me by being a part of their lives and most importantly I’m thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice and promised salvation.
Thank you for reading
By REDAV
If you had asked me what church, soccer and saviour meant to me 15 years ago, I’d have said boring, everything and my father. Come Sunday mum would wake my siblings and I for church and I used every excuse in the book to be late. In fact each Sunday I religiously tried to avoid church and as mum can confirm, a hyperactive little Cookie and sitting still in Sunday school just didn’t work.
For me church was all about singing old, slow hymns and being able to resite the creeds and prayers word for word. After a while, soccer moved from Saturday to Sunday and my dad, who was my saviour, would take me away to heavenly green soccer fields. So I was off the hook.
Most of my childhood was filled with soccer and friends. Whilst I didn’t fall into to the traps of teenage drinking, sex or drugs, I wasn’t living a life pleasing to God. In fact, soccer had become my god. Club and school games, representative teams, carnivals and training filled my life and I loved it. At that point in time, I acknowledged God but didn’t have any time for Him.
A friend once said that my nick name Cookie came from being hard on the outside and soft on the inside but through high school it was a different story. I was hard both inside and out as I let nothing in and even less out. All I cared about was playing soccer.
The irony is that I followed soccer away from church but it was through soccer that Jesus found me. I left school with few friends and started doing my own thing. One day I found out that one of the guys had broken his back. I visited him a bit and the following year we played soccer for the same church. It worked out well as others in the team were from our school team and I was happy that I could play soccer with friends again.
After training one night, my mate Tim asked me if I would come to his church as they had a guest speaker that Sunday talking about creation / evolution. I said yes and he picked me up. It was a lot different to what I was used to and proved to be an interesting night. I continued to go after that even if sometimes it was just to be social.
Over a year or so I watched the evening service grow from fifty to over a hundred people, which was great, but I wasn’t growing. The only growth I could feel was in questions like I believed in God and Jesus, but did I have faith? I called myself a Christian, but did I follow Christ? Shortly after I went to a Convention in Warwick with Tim and his family. Camping in the cold at Easter with friends sounded like fun.
And fun it was. There were plenty of people, soccer, cards and listening to speakers. Unfortunately, I had to leave early due to a family wedding and on the way home I heard Bon Jovi’s new song, ‘It’s My Life’ and I was stoked. Those who know me know I’m a big Bon Jovi fan and I was thrilled to hear their new song. I liked it, but something dawned on me - it wasn’t really my life.
The wedding went well but throughout the day, all I wanted to do was go back to Warwick. Once the newly weds had left the reception, I drove back. I got some funny looks when I returned but I think they could sense what I felt. These people already had something that I’d only just realised and I wanted to be around them and learn more.
A while ago Billy spoke of a transformation to Christianity being likened to baking a cake. To him there wasn’t a specific point where things changed; it was more like an ongoing event. In my case, stuff was there but I had missed an important ingredient. I knew God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, I knew Jesus had died for our sins and I knew that there was a gap between us and Him but through my arrogance, I hadn’t handed myself over to God. With that realisation, my heart softened, I accepted what He had done for me and Jesus revealed himself to me.
Since then Christian Youth Camps, Pathways to Purpose and Beach Missions have reinforced one thing; there’s nothing I can do to save myself, it is what Jesus has done for me.
Whilst I don’t really have a favourite passage, I have found Psalm 126 verse five profoundly encouraging; “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy”. Jesus never said that walking in the light was easy but those words help when I’m faced with opposition.
I’ve never been a fan of public speaking and I’ll admit that it has held be back from being baptised - but no longer. Here I am putting my hand up for Christ. Why? It’s obedience and I want to follow His will. For me part of it is also thanks. I’m thankful for my upbringing where seeds had been planted, I’m thankful for Tim and his family for their wisdom and encouragement, I’m thankful for my friends and the blessings bestowed upon me by being a part of their lives and most importantly I’m thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice and promised salvation.
Thank you for reading
By REDAV
posted by Ric33r at 12:46 PM
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