Changed Lives
Julie Rush
I was quite an earnest child and thought much on 'religious things'.
Hello my name is Julie and I would like to share with you how I became a Christian.
My father was in the army so we lived abroad. At the age of 11 we came back to England. My mother is a Catholic and she brought us three children up in the Catholic faith. I was quite an earnest child and thought much on ‘religious things’.
At the age of 18 I moved into a flat with 2 friends. I had a job I enjoyed and a good social life. This went on for a year or so, then my life began to feel empty. I could not understand this as I was so busy and went to the Catholic church with my Nan most Sundays.
One Sunday afternoon I unexpectedly received a telephone call from my Aunt. She had started going to a Baptist church and wondered if I would like to come along. My first thought was to say no as I had done my ‘religious bit’ already that day. However, I agreed in the end.
As soon as I entered the Baptist Church I could tell the difference between it and where I usually went. The first thing that struck me was that people seemed pleased to be there! Church going had always been just a duty to me. I thank God for the invitation to church that evening as it was the first time I heard the Gospel. It was a great shock to realize that according to the Bible I was not a Christian as I did not have the Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour - I was trusting in my own ‘holiness‘ to gain God‘s approval. A seed was sown in my heart and I had the desire to go along again and again. During that time I came to realize that the Lord Jesus died for me on the cross and everything I did to appease God was not acceptable to Him as I was a sinner. I accepted the Lord Jesus as my Saviour in 1982.
It has been a blessing to know the Lord with me ever since, even in the dark times of personal tragedy and in joyous times. The Bible doesn’t say that once you are a Christian every thing is smooth sailing, but as Christians we are assured that God is close beside us guarding and guiding all the way.