January 14 2021

Today, Thursday January 14 - Romans 3:23-25 - I'll never forget the day that I became a new creation in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:17) It was on February 21, 1971. I was nineteen years old. It happened about 4pm on a Sunday afternoon in the home of Dr. Harold Rawlings, that was on the property of the Landmark Baptist Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio! I had come under tremendous conviction of my sinful condition and knew I needed to do something about it.

When I was a child, my dad had me memorize a scripture memory book that was being used by the Navigators called "Let There Be Light". One of the verses I had memorized was found in Mark 8:35-37, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" I began to honestly face the question, "Is it worth it to spend an eternity separated from God in a terrible place of punishment, in exchange for a few years of pleasure and sin on the earth?"

Today, I'm convinced the greatest, the biggest and the most important decision I have ever made, was that day when I came to my senses and accepted God's free gift of salvation through His grace and by faith! These few verses in Romans 3 begin to explain what actually happened to me the moment I trusted Christ! May the Lord help all of us to be willing to "give up that which we cannot keep, to gain that which we cannot lose!" God bless!