THE BIBLE CHANGES LIVES - HOW THE BIBLE CHANGED MY LIFE

HOW THE BIBLE CHANGED MY LIFE: I became close friends with a fellow drug user who had lost his father at a young age. We often stayed up talking late into the night.  On some of those nights, he opened up and talked about how much he missed his father. Having grown up knowing about the hope of a resurrection, I soon found myself telling him about Jesus-that he raised the dead and that he promises to do so again in the future.  (John 5:28, 29)  "Imagine seeing your  father again,"  I would say.  "All of us could live forever in Paradise on earth."  Those thoughts touched my friend's heart. 

At other times, my friend brought up such subjects as the last days or the Trinity doctrine. I would grab the Bible and show him various scriptures that revealed the truth about Jehovah God, Jesus, and the last days.  (John 14:28; 2 Timothy 3:1-5)  The more I spoke about Jehovah to my friend, the more I found myself thinking about Jehovah.

Slowly but surely, the sees of Bible truth that were dormant in my heart-seeds that my parents had tried hard to plant-began to grow. For example, sometimes when  was at a party taking drugs with my friends, I would suddenly start thinking about Jehovah. Many of my friends claimed to love God, but their conduct said otherwise.  Not wanting to be like that, I realized what I needed to do. I needed to return to Jehovah.

Of course, knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things.  Some changes were easy to make; I quit taking drugs without much difficulty. I also broke off my old friendships, and I began to study the Bible with a Christian elder.

Other changes, however, were much harder.  It was especially  difficult to control my anger.  Sometimes I would do well for a while and then suffer a relapse. I felt bad afterward, thinking that I was a failure. Discouraged, I approached the elder who was studying the Bible with me. Ever patient and kind, he proved to be a true source of encouragement.  One time, he had me read an article in The Watchtower about the importance of not giving up.  We discussed steps that I could take when I felt angry. Gradually, with the article in mind ans with much prayer to Jehovah, I was able to bring my temper under control. Finally, in April 2000, I was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Needless to say, my parents were thrilled. 

Next time:  HOW THE BIBLE CHANGES LIVES-HOW I HAVE BENEFITED

From the Watchtower magazine, 2012