Jesus is My Life

From Our Archives: Winter 2012

Written By Chuck Hart, Ashe County

When I was young, my family, originally from Ashe County, moved to Maryland. We went to church before we left but after we got back, we just never started going again. I got a job at Ashe County Cheese, and one of my co-workers, Mike Parsons, invited me to a revival at his church, Tuckerdale Baptist. I went. Rev. Billy Joe Blevins was preaching that Friday night. Even though I had gone to church some, I knew I wasn't a Christian. I always believed in Jesus but had never been born again. I was saved that night and, sometime later, I was baptized by Tuckerdale's pastor, Rev. Lloyd Day. There is a creek that runs along the edge of the church yard, and I was baptized in it. Tuckerdale is where I attend when I can. Working in the produce department of Walmart in West Jefferson, there aren't many Sundays off.

People Are Watching Christians

People are watching those who say they are Christians, and they are turned off. Someone once told me they weren't welcome in a church because they had a tattoo. The man who said it to me was as nice a man as l've ever known. Church isn't supposed to be that way. Going to church doesn't save a person, but it is a good start. To be honest, it's not a tattoo that keeps people from being saved. It's that they won't admit they are lost; they haven't turned their lives over to Jesus and put Him first.More people are interested in going fishing, baseball games and other activities before going to church. As the Bible says, "the natural man doesn't desire the things of God". They can't. There is a spiritual world and a physical world. I know from my own experience and what the Bible teaches that we battle between serving Jesus and serving ourselves.

I Want People To See God In Me

My greatest desire is for people to see God in me and to do the best job I can do in place that I'm in because I know people are watching. Even children know when someone is kind and patient as Jesus is. So many people I talk to are into things where evil forces are stronger than good. They are consumed with them, but God is not in their lives. I'm praying for many people who need God more than they realize. I didn't realize that I needed Jesus either, so I know where these people are. If Jesus hadn't saved me, there is no telling where I might be. I used to have a very bad temper. I didn't look for trouble but if anyone said something to me, l'd go off. Since Jesus changed me, I let things like that just go by. We don't know what people are going through and why they say and do the things they do. So, I pray for them instead.

A message my pastor has preached many times is the need to forgive. God is helping me live a life of forgiving others because Jesus forgave me. Pride can be a hindrance to being a forgiving person. The Bible tells us that if we don't forgive, our prayers won't be answered. How can we not forgive when we've been forgiven so much? People try to do things their way. I did. I went where I wanted to go and did the things I wanted to do. But God showed me that life has to be done His way, not mine. God must be first before everything else. Jesus paid the ultimate price on the cross and my life is now His. Salvation can't be earned. It was Jesus dying on the cross that made salvation possible for me and anyone else who asks Him to be their Savior.

He Saved Me To Have A Purpose In This Life

As Christians, our work here on earth is to tell others that Jesus Christ provides eternal life. He gave His life on earth, so we could live our lives in heaven with Him. I learned, after being saved, that just going to church is not it. A relationship with Jesus is on a one-on-one basis. It's not about being in a particular denomination. It's about Jesus Christ and what God, His Father, sent Him here to do. He opened my"spiritual" eyes that I needed Him. He did that on that Friday night at Tuckerdale Baptist.

He saved me to have a purpose as I live this life.