My name is Philip Martin and this is My Life:
It wasn’t a hard decision. It had its difficulties, but I’m glad I made it. The decision changed my life. I remember when I made it. It was the summer of 1991. Nirvana had yet to explode on the music scene. The reunification of Germany wasn’t even a year old. The USSR had officially dissolved and Yugoslavia is about to be thrown into a bloody civil war as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia declare independence.
On the other side of the world, outside the little town of Weir, KS I was at church camp listening intently to the preacher. Everything that he was saying about sin finally made sense to me. I had grown up going to church, my father is a preacher and so is my grandfather. Yet, I did not know the truth, until that Tuesday in June.
Growing up in church lets a person know about the afterlife. Oh, I knew the answers to the Bible trivia questions. I knew that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. I just did not know why he had done that “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). I sat toward the back of the building on the edge of my seat waiting to find out how to be set free.
The preacher spoke of sin and if man were not to confess Jesus as Lord then he will not make it to Heaven. I thought I was a good person, I believed that I would go to Heaven. I was wrong. “And said, ‘Truly, I say to you unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven’” (Matthew 18:3). When the time came to go forward, I didn’t even hesitate. I went up.
I found an adult and we went around the building and talked. He asked me if I knew what I was doing and if I really wanted to be a Christian. I said I knew what I was doing and I wanted to be saved. I prayed and accepted I was filled with joy.
Then they guy dropped a bombshell. He asked me what I wanted to do with my life now that I was a Christian. You know if I wanted to be a preacher, missionary or musician. I didn’t have an answer. I was nine; a nine-year-old doesn’t even know what he is doing the next day let alone the rest of his life. The guy said since I did not know that then I was not saved. As the poem says, “There was no joy in Mudville.”
This man was wrong. For the Bible says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9). I did not know that. I was crushed, absolutely crushed. But God kept working on me. I knew that I was sinner. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). I knew I had to repent of my sins and that I needed to come to the Lord. On Friday, the last day of camp, I went forward again. I confessed my sins and I knew for sure that it was real. The joy returned along with it came peace.
What has happened to me since that time is only a part of the grace God has for all humankind. I have been able to travel around the world, going to nine different countries. Each time I sought out an opportunity to share my story with others. During these travels I was able to go to a former Soviet Republic, Belarus. During my time there another American our translator and myself were threatened with starting a jail ministry from the inside. We went to a school without permission, I thought we had it
The principal was not happy with us, he was going to check our visas and see if we had a teaching visa. We only had tourist visas. We prayed constantly that we would not be put in jail. Our prayers were answered. Jesus interceded on our part and we were able to do what we were there to do.
Later, that same week the United States went to war against Iraq. We were not welcomed in that country anymore. We had our lives threatened. A young man said he was going to be waiting for us the next morning before we left. Again, we prayed, again Jesus interceded and sent the taxi to our place of residence 30-minutes early.
Do you understand what it is that I am telling you? I had a void in my life and I needed it filled. I did not understand that being a good person would not get me into Heaven. By the time I was nine, I had lied, stolen little things like pencils or paper, and hated. This makes me a liar, a thief, and a murderer. Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22 that whoever hates another is guilty of murder. That was three strikes against me at the age of nine.
What about you, have you done these things? If so, do you believe that you will be allowed into heaven or will you receive punishment? “I tell you, no, unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3) Do you feel like you have come to know Christ yet, or are you still on the way?
