How God Saved Me

I was born into and raised in a Christian home. Both of my parents, and most of my extended family believe in and follow Jesus Christ. So from Day 1, I began learning about Jesus, about being a Christian. At a young age, I began to know of and believe in the God of the Bible. I also began to know of and believe in an eternal heaven and hell. Heaven was a good place to be, and hell was, well… not so much. I also began to learn that the way to get into heaven and avoid hell was by believing in Jesus.

When I was 7, I saw a TV show in which someone died in a car wreck. It hit me at that point that life was in fact temporal (I probably didn’t use those words then). I realized I could, and would die one day. And it could come really quick if I were to be in a bad car wreck like the one on tv. And then I would either go to heaven or hell. And since I knew hell was bad, and heaven was great, I wanted heaven, and thus I chose to believe in Jesus.

I didn’t understand much more beyond that at the age of 7. My faith was still mostly what my parents had taught.  My life didn’t radically change. I was a pretty good kid before this point, and remained a pretty good kid after. I always went to church before, and I still went after.

When I was 15 though, I had a very real, and personal encounter with God. He spoke to me very clearly, and very loudly. While I knew about God, and believed in Jesus, God made it clear to me that I was still living for myself. I was making my own decisions in life. God asked, “Are you going to live for Me, or for yourself?” It became incredibly clear that day that I could not live for myself AND for God. There was only room for 1 person to be in charge, and God wanted that to be Him.

“Are you going to live for Me, or for yourself?”

It was then, that everything I had grown up learning became real to me. I finally came to realize that I had sinned against God by trying to live for myself and that I had consequently broken the relationship with God that He wanted for me. And the only way I could have a real and right relationship with God was to believe that Jesus had come to fix what I broke. Through His perfect life, he offers me a perfect record before God. Through his death on the cross, he takes away the punishment that I was due for my sin against God. And through His resurrection 3 days later, He made it possible to offer me His life and right relationship with God.

I didn’t do anything here to have a real relationship with God. Jesus did everything. And if I would repent – stop trusting in myself to make things right – and believe in Jesus to do the repairing work for me, then I could have a new life with God, today and for eternity!

I now live today, still struggling and trying to put myself first at times, but ultimately for God. I am His. He bought me with the price of Jesus. Jesus alone saves me from hell and to heaven, and gives me a new life in His family, and gives me the mission of telling others about this Good News of Jesus.

Do you know Him?

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Cory Johnson

I have been rescued by the love of God through Christ. It is the love of Christ that compels me to pursue a life that says, "He must increase, but I must decrease." I am married to Stefani, the love of my life, and we have 4 children including three amazingly beautiful daughters, Makayla, Molly & Maycee and one wonderful son, Myles.

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