It has been a part of my personal testimony regarding how I first came to Jesus, which I have always delighted in sharing with anyone who was curious to hear, because it demonstrates the manner in how the Holy Spirit begins to lovingly deal with us after we have committed to yield our hearts/lives to the Lord.

I was barely twenty years old living out in Arizona trying to make sense of a very confusing world at that time in my life, desperately in need of direction...but unsure where to find it. ‘Trusting my gut’ seemed like a risky dice roll when it came to mapping out my life and I was needing something a little more reassuring. Hence, my being ‘ripe and ready’ to consider drawing close to God and seeking His guidance. I remember thinking to myself at the time, having been ‘raised in church’ yet void of a serious relationship with God other than having a generic ‘belief’ in Him...that if I could not trust Jesus with my life...then who could I trust? So it was in the early spring 46 years ago this month that I prayed a simple prayer of ‘surrender’ and asked God to come into my life andto lead me in the path He had for me.

Can I just tell you now, in hindsight that I really had no idea what I was ‘signing on’ for at the time? It just seemed like a really good idea to draw near to the one who created the heavens and the earth, including myself...and ask Him for direction. (Proverbs 3:6; Acts 17:24-30)

I won’t retell today what happened to me within the first ten hours of that afternoon/evening and how God truly ‘opened my eyes’ to reveal that I lived in a world that had a ‘spiritual component’ to it , much of it being dark and evil, and that I would do well to sit up and make note of it (1 John 5:19; Acts 26:18). And trust me, God got my attention immediately and in dramatic fashion. But it was in the days and weeks following that I want to focus on here today. I was keenly aware that ‘something had transpired’ within my heart and there was a new awareness that something had changed for me. I began to hunger for God’s word and the more I read it, the more I could sense this ‘transformation’ wanting to increase. You might jot down 1 Peter 2:2-3 and 1 Thess. 2:13 as a source of encouragement for yourself as to what begins to take place when we spend time in His word.

I should also mention that I had a close girlfriend at the time whom I had known for a while and she was becoming a tad uncomfortable with what she was witnessing take place in me. Much to my confusion and disappointment...she seemed very uninterested in hearing me ramble on all the time about what I was learning and experiencing when it came to my being ‘born again’. But we did continue seeing each other...and this is when it got... interesting. We were, like many couples...physically ’intimate’ with one another, yet not married. It had never been a problem or issue for either of us, nor even a question of being ‘right or wrong’. I do remember thinking at one point in terms of the 10 Commandments and that one about not committing ‘adultery’ came to mind, but I figured we were ‘in the clear’ because that had to do with married people.

And this is where things got uncomfortably ‘different’. Our times ‘together in that way’ became awkward for me and was followed up with these feelings of ‘guilt’. I also was aware of an absence of that peace and joy that I was coming to know and experience and walking in during those early days of coming to Jesus; and I had no idea why this was happening. I was also noticing in my daily reading of the Bible a certain word that kept ‘popping up’, a word that I was unfamiliar with; so one day I just happened to ask my girlfriend if she knew what it meant. The word was ‘fornication’ and she did indeed know what it meant and told me, with a look of concern on her face, curious as to why I was asking. And that’s when the ‘light’ came on for me.

I was committing the sin of ‘fornication’, having sexual relations with someone I was not married to, and the Holy Spirit was trying to ‘enlighten’ me that this was creating a problem since it was ‘sin’ and God was not pleased with this ongoing activity in my life. And it was through His word, followed up by the convicting power of His Spirit that was getting my attention on this particular matter. It also became quite clear that I had a decision to make; and can I just tell you this was no small decision either. I found myself ‘balking’, taking a serious pause as it dawned on me that this walk with Jesus was requiring something of me that I had not foreseen nor anticipated being a part of becoming a ‘Christian’. Call it a ‘fork in the road’ or what have you, but I knew that I could not continue on with Jesus if I chose to also continue practicing this particular ‘sin’. You can probably appreciate the dilemma I found myself in, especially since my girlfriend had shown zero interest in becoming a Christian herself at the time.

I don't remember being aware yet... of the story of the rich, young ruler who had expressed an interest in following Jesus, but he balked when he heard what was going to be asked of him (Matt. 19); and I could certainly equate my situation with his. Fortunately for me, I chose to lay this sin down in order to continue on with this walk of faith that I had come to know, love, and rely on. But it was still very painful and challenging...for ‘all the reasons’. Yet, I sat down with her and awkwardly tried to convey to her that we could no longer have sexual relations...because we were not married. As to be expected, in only deepened the divide that was growing between us and I knew it was only a matter of time before we’d end up going our own ways. I remember her asking if/when we might be getting married, which I promptly sidestepped for the time being.

Let me just say that I remained steadfast in this decision to ‘choose God’s way’ over my own, and while the days/weeks/months following that decision had its challenges....God blessed my choosing His way. And in dramatic fashion He proved Himself...as He moved upon my girlfriend’s heart when I least expected it...and she surrendered her life to Jesus as well. This past January, we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary.

But the point in re-sharing this story has more to do with what it means to ‘repent’, to turn from sin and in the process...with the leading and help of the Holy Spirit...we ‘put to death that which belongs to our earthly nature’....including ‘fornication...covetousness...anger and malice and filthy language (to name a few)...” (Col. 3:5-8; Eph. 5:3-6; 1 Cor. 6:9-11).

This is exactly what it means to be ‘led by the Spirit’ which is what the ‘children of God’ do, according to Romans 8:13-14).

When we ‘repent’ of any sin, and ‘put that nature to death’, it means we - No. Longer. Practice. That. Sin. (Gal. 5:24). And what did Jesus say would be the outcome for any and all who failed to ‘repent’? (Luke 13:3,5). Those are His words, not mine.

Following Jesus along this narrow pathway that leads to life...is not for the faint of heart; yet it is the only path that leads to true, everlasting life (John 14:6; Luke 1:79; John 5:40; Matt. 7:13-14). Choose wisely, but know that it comes with a price (Luke 14:25-33; Matt. 19:17-22).