"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new." II Corinthians 5:17
I was raised in a typical middle class home, I had parents that loved me and gave me every opportunity to better myself. I was just a knucklehead and wanted to run my life like I saw fit. We went to a Catholic church, so I had no idea that I needed a relationship with Jesus, or that I had to ask Him to be the Lord of my life in order to spend life in Heaven with Him. I was just the typical country boy. I drank and did drugs every occasion I could. At the age of 18 I heard the Gospel for the first time at a Christian camp and asked Jesus into my heart. But when I went home, I did not ground myself in a Bible teaching church, I kept the same friends I grew up with, and only occasionally went to church. Some years went by and I was getting into using crystal meth more and more. I had gone to several rehabs and been going to A.A. and N.A. meetings for years, but could never stop my drug use. I always knew that what I neeed was to get right with God, but had a hard time doing it. I needed help. Through a friend I found out about U-Turn for Christ. Since coming to U-Turn for Christ I have learned to cast my cares upon Jesus instead of trying to do it myself. Ever since I surrendered and started serving God, I have had the privilege of living in several different states, and have even spent some time in Mexico. God has given me a heart to go to the mission field and I have had the privilege of going to the Philippians and Thailand. It has been a tough battle, but as long as I kept my faith in the Lord and in His promise that He will never let me go through any temptation that I can not handle, and that He will always give me a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13), I have been able to endure numerous trials. Even to the point of being put in jail as Paul was for the sake of the Gospel. God does not always give us everything we want, but He does give us the desire of our hearts. He has never let me down. I have never felt alone since I gave my life totally up to Him, and His blessings keep coming everyday.
Pastor Jimmy
The Lord so dramatically restored my life, that what began as going for two months to please my wife and get everyone off my back turned into a lifetime commitment to serve Jesus. I was one of those on again/off again believers who kept dabbling in a variety of sin for years. Compromise and my "right to be a man" and to "do what I want" was how I justified stupid behavior. I had been caught up in a variety of destructive behaviors including substance abuse, casino gambling, and lying to my wife. All this time I was under psychiatrist's, psychologist's, and counselor's guidance. Thus I was taking three different "psyche meds' meant to help stabilize my behavior. The real problem was that I was trying to run from the Lord and disqualify myself from the call God had on my life and was looking to anything else as a substitute to find some relief and peace. Of course none of these things worked and I came to U-Turn For Christ in February 2007. While in first-phase I accepted His forgiveness, was washed of my shame once and for all at the cross, and surrendered my life to serve Jesus. He then worked through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to bring me back to a balance and joy that only He can give. I am now serving in Payson, AZ helping those who would come to Jesus Christ surrender their lives to His service and live a life of grace and peace. Through Jesus, my wife, children, grandchildren, and I are closer than we have been for many years. I now have a future and a hope that I thought was once lost forever. Praise You Lord for Your love that never stopped reaching out to me and drew me back. I am now free of the shame as well as the guilt of my past. And by the way, I no longer need the meds because I am no longer double-minded, unstable in all my ways as it speaks about in Jame's letter chapter 1.
