On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to a joint session of Congress calling the previous day, December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor “A day that will live in infamy”.
Those words were made personal for me on June 15, 1981.
On the Saturday following my yard sale, Ronna drove me to the bus station in Bend, OR where I began a four-day journey back to Charleston after eight long years.
The last time I saw her was from the window of the bus as she got in her car and drove away.
My heart ached for both of us, but I knew it was the right thing to do.
Mid-June was not the ideal time of year for bus travel. It was hot and the A/C system was not adequate. The smell of sweat and body odor permeated the bus cabin.
We pulled into Omaha early in the morning. I needed a break and decided to get off the bus, find a place to sleep, and continue my journey the following day.
I found an old, but suitable hotel close to the bus station, and after a long shower, I caught up on some much-needed sleep.
It was still daylight when I woke up, so I decided to walk around downtown. I found a small bookstore near the hotel.
As I looked through the sections, my eyes were drawn to a book with a picture of Jesus on the cover.
I don't remember the exact title, but it was something like “Who is the Real Jesus?”
“Wow”, I thought. “That’s exactly what I want to know.” I bought the book immediately, not knowing anything about what approach the author was taking toward this question.
The date was Monday, June 15, 1981. A day that was forever etched into my heart and mind.
This was the day that God had chosen to reveal Himself to me and show me “The Truth” just as He did to Saul on the Damascus road. (ref. Acts 9:1-18).
A day that will live in infamy, in my heart at least.
It was late afternoon. As I was walking back toward the hotel, a man walking toward me was intently staring at me. As we approached each other, our eyes locked.
He asked me a simple question, “Do you know the Lord?”
“No, but I sure would like to”, I replied.
He handed me a little pamphlet entitled, AMAZING GRACE, and said, “Read that and you will” Then he kept on walking.
Standing there watching his retreating form, I looked at the pamphlet he gave me. I don't even remember walking back to the hotel, I was so excited.
As soon as I was in my room, I sat down and read the pamphlet. It was the story of how a slave trader by the name of John Newton was saved.
“There was that term, again”, I thought.
The Gospel message was very clear. It started with the lyrics to the famous hymn, Amazing Grace, which I had heard, but never read.
Then it explained how John Newton was once “lost, but now was found”.
It talked about how we all “have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that sin separated us from God.
The thing I finally understood was that we are all sinners. No one was excluded. I had always believed that some were worse than others, which made a difference with God.
That sounded hopeless to me until I read the next part,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)
I know I had heard that verse before, but now it took on a whole new meaning for me.
As if God was reading my mind, he answered the question of how. “For he made him (Jesus), who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus exchanged our sin for His righteousness.
He offered His righteousness as a gift. Our only obligation was to take the gift “by believing”.
It went on with several other scripture verses:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24)
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
I remember thinking, “It's a gift. A gift is something someone else buys and gives to us. How simple is that? ”.
In that instance, understanding of the truth was made crystal clear.
The pamphlet ended by inviting me to “Confess my sin to God, telling Him that I wanted to turn away from my sin, asking Him to forgive me, telling Him that I wanted to receive Christ as my savior, and thanking Him for the gift of eternal life.
The memory of doing that while watching the Billy Graham Crusade when I was 12 came flooding back. Then I didn't understand it. This time I did. There was no doubt whatsoever.
That was it. For the first time in my life, I finally understood that I had indeed “found the truth”.
With God, alone, as my witness, I got on my knees right there in my hotel room, in downtown Omaha, NE, and asked God to save me from my sins and give me the eternal life that He promised.
It felt as if a brand new body had been dropped into my skin and that I was a new person (something I later learned was exactly what happened)
“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
This is exactly what happened that night.
I knew immediately that I was different, but at that time I had no idea how to describe what had happened.
The joy and relief of finally “finding the truth” was overwhelming. I sat and cried, pouring my heart out to God, thanking Him over and over and over.
The next morning, I boarded the bus for the next leg of my journey home.
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