"It seemed like the God of the Bible was just another fantasy created by needy people..."

Lutifisk
Leftsa
Dave Nardini?

What could I have in common with these things? No, it’s not that we all leave a bad taste in your mouth. And no, it’s not that we are all something people joke about at parties. It’s that we are all traditional Minnesotan. With it’s Germanic and Scandinavian background, a great many Minnesotans have their religious background in traditional Lutheran or Catholic upbringings.

Me? I grew up in a Catholic home and went to church every Sunday. I was baptized as an infant, received my first communion at a young age and was confirmed as a young teenager. But I really had no interest in God or religion. It seemed to me like the God of the Bible was just another fantasy created by needy people, much like the Greek & Roman gods I studied about in school. As 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.” I guess I wasn’t ready to be saved yet. Instead I focused on worldly things and in my college and young adult days, I lived a very sinful lifestyle of drinking, smoking, partying, even occasionally watching Jerry Springer. But, as God so often does, he had a plan for me. My whole life I had always felt something in my heart. I can’t explain it, but I knew my lifestyle was not right. Something was missing. As Hebrews 8:10 declares in part, “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.” I could always feel it in my heart, and now know it was God trying to get through to me. But I kept shutting him out and substituting sinful behavior thinking that would make me happy; refusing to grow up. 2 Timothy 2:22 says “Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” It seems like all of these letters really were written to me.

Well, life went on and I had stopped going to church when I moved out of my parent’s house after college. I was still living my childish sinful lifestyle. I got married and had three children. Both my wife Chris and I wanted to start going to church again. About 2 years earlier we had gone to my niece’s child dedication at Northwood and enjoyed the music and service. We tried Northwood and immediately knew it would be our new home. I enrolled in Christianity 101 (it was based on Don Bierle’s Faith Search series on the evidence to support the Christian faith) and I was amazed at how little I knew and how much proof there is for Christianity. I finally understood and believed the Gospel message and knew what I needed to do to be saved. So I got down on my knees and asked God to forgive me of my sin. I asked Jesus to lead my life and help me defeat my sinful past and present. That was about 5 years ago and I haven’t stopped learning since. I have read countless books including the Bible in a year. I have had mighty struggles over that time and continue to have struggles. I think I am a poster child for all of Christianity. We are not perfect and will not be perfect. Satan continually tempts us and we fall because we try to defeat him alone. But we cannot defeat him without God. Sometimes I feel as if I am no better off then when I started this faith journey. But in his book “Mere Christianity”, C.S. Lewis put it nicely as he talked about our faith journeys and the process of becoming more like Jesus. He wrote, “Do not start asking yourself ‘Have I reached that moment yet?’ Do not sit down and start watching your own mind to see if it is coming along. That puts a person on the wrong track. When the most important things in our life happen we quite often don’t know, at that moment, what is going on. A man does not say to himself ‘I’m growing up.’ It is often only when he looks back that he realizes what has happened and recognizes that he has grown up.” As I look back over these past few years I have had some mighty failures. I believe I am forgiven for those sins. But I can also see great improvement in my life. And I thank God for that. Northwood church, and more appropriately, God’s people in Northwood church, have influenced me greatly. Simply put, I am a Christian today because of God and Northwood church. That’s what Northwood is, an instrument God uses to reach people.

It was five years ago that my journey with Jesus began. Now I am a little further down the path, but I still have a long way to go. Satan is right there along for the walk, pushing, poking, tempting. But God is even closer, holding my hand, if I let Him; picking me up when I fall, if I ask Him; and carrying me, when I most need Him. To complete 1 Corinthians 1:18 it says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God”. I need that power….I need the cross. And I thank God every day that he that He gives me that.