In the late sixties my friends and I made the transition from the age of innocence to the age of rebellion. By the time I had reached fifteen I had already experienced many of the things that parents warn their children against. First there was alcohol, then marijuana, and eventually the most dangerous drugs. As the consequences of this kind of life style became more evident, one of my friends began to search for an alternative. Eventually he introduced us to his new friends who called themselves the Jesus People. One of these young men began to tell us about Jesus, and even appeared to look like him, long hair, beard, and all. The new things I learned made a big impression since I already knew what I had been doing was wrong. Therefore when I was offered the opportunity to have Jesus as my Savior I gladly agreed. I went home that night feeling that my life had been changed, even looking in the mirror to see if my appearance had changed also. But the very next day a friend asked me to smoke some marijuana with him, and though I knew that it was wrong, I agreed to do so. I clearly remember that sense of relief experienced the night before being replaced by the numbing feeling of a drug high. That sense of God's presence did not return to me again until I was twenty six years of age.

Much had passed in my life by that time; the despair of divorce, the moral chaos of the seventies, and the rise and decline of my dreams. The emptiness of these experiences had at times shaken me deeply, but rather than recognizing my need for God I simply plunged deeper into the old life style. My past plans for education had long been discarded for the short term pleasures of the moment. I was now unable to remain faithful, even in those relationships I cared about. In most ways I had become very cynical, and when asked by a friend what I thought of God I simply responded by saying, "I don't even believe there is a God."

Then in May of 1980 the explosion of Mt. St. Helens awakened my sleeping world. When I first heard the news of this startling event I wondered what it might mean. Someone told me that I could see the volcano's plume from Bothell so I walked outside to look at what I expected to be a distant sight, but it appeared to me that the volcano was at the end of the highway and the black cloud was towering up and over everything. Immediately a question came to my mind, "I wonder if there really is a God?" Then it was as though God spoke directly to my heart, "Be still! And Know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10). Soon after that I began attending the first church I was aware of, in which the Pastor taught about David, "A man after God's own heart." I knew this was not what I had been living and that I needed a change of heart. As I began to learn more about the holy and loving life of Jesus, a strong desire arose in my heart to find out more about who he really was. I read every book I could find about him, but I was frustrated by my lack of power to follow his example, which I now felt was the way, the truth and the life.

Then one day, as I read the New Testament, I came upon Hebrews 10:26,27 which says, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." In a moment I saw that it was my sinful rebellion that had kept me from knowing who Jesus was -- He was the LORD. His holy and loving life had drawn me to him, but now my sins could separate me from him -- for eternity. There was only one choice; I asked God to forgive me and submitted myself to him as my Savior and Lord.

Immediately after that I had the power to overcome those particular things that had previously mastered me. I finally had a sense of assurance that I knew Jesus personally. I didn't realize how important this would be to my future happiness, but I decided to tell Dorothy what God had done for me and ask her forgiveness for not treating her as she deserved in our long past relationship. When we finally met I remember seeing her as though for the first time; her personal beauty, but especially her inner beauty which I had really never seen before.

Now we were able to re-establish our relationship based on a mutual faith in Christ with him as the Lord of our lives. We learned, through the scriptures, where we had gone wrong in previous years and committed ourselves to following Jesus into the future. God's forgiveness allowed us to have a truly new beginning and it was then that I learned that Dorothy's name meant "a gift from God." We were encouraged to seek counseling, and allow some time, and then God blessed us with marriage in our home church.

God has given us two wonderful children and a very happy marriage, and I am thankful to say we are growing together in our faith in Christ. Just as I know there are times when my God given gifts have been used to strengthen the faith of my wife, I have also learned that God's creation in Dorothy has been used to strengthen me in ways I never realized I needed. There have been times over the years that I have doubted my personal strengths and abilities, even in those areas in which I was highly motivated, but now Dorothy is able to encourage and challenge me to seek the limits of God's gift's and purpose for our family. There have also been times when Dorothy has doubted the value of her personal qualities, even when affirmed by so many, but now I can express to her what I have been allowed to see, "All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you." (Song of Songs 4:7) Together we set the family goal for me to return to the university to complete my study in the sciences, but now with the purpose of teaching about the creation and the Creator.

The only regret I have ever felt about my decision to follow Christ is that I did not choose to obey him earlier in life. There are many ways in which such regrets can weigh down the heart, particularly when considering the lost opportunities that will never return. However, God has used these feelings for a good purpose by motivating me to work with youth as an encourager of the benefits of following Jesus Christ as Lord at the beginning of one's life. I can now say that I have never experienced any reason to regret my decision to yield to the Lordship of Christ in my life. The Apostle Paul has explained this experience by saying, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Today there are many who positively affirm Jesus with fine sentiments, but when extended a call for personal response they will turn away from the Jesus who claims to be Lord. There are many reasons given, but they usually fall into one of the following categories: the hypocrisy of a certain leader, the supposed irrelevance of the Christian message, or various philosophical problems. It is my personal conviction that these concerns should be honestly addressed by those who confess the name of Christ, and to this end I have invested a great deal of energy. I believe that if we claim to follow the one who called himself "the truth" (John 14:6), we should encounter every situation looking expectantly for that truth to be borne out in the real world. Christians should engage all the domains of learning honestly without fear of finding something that will undermine their faith. The sphere of engagement must encompass all knowledge, whether it is acquired through science, reason, or history. Through my efforts, to varying degrees, in each of these areas I have become convinced that the laws of science, the constraints of reason, and all historical evidence are fully in accord with the Christian world view. Once again, I can honestly say that I have never encountered any reason to doubt the claims of Jesus Christ as Lord of the universe.

Christians believe that the Lordship of Jesus was ultimately vindicated by his resurrection from the dead. I believe that all of the Hebrew scriptures, in one way or another, speak prophetically of the one "who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 1:4, see Acts 2:27-32 & Psalm 16:10) Further, I have found the historical evidence for this claim to be consistent and convincing for anyone who will use the same standards that are normally applied to other great historical events. For me, the evidence is decisive and has led me to believe that the resurrection of Jesus is the single most trust worthy fact of history. Though I have found great assurance through discovering the evidence that supports this most foundational claim of the Christian faith, there is a far more practical reason that I can believe in the resurrection of Jesus. I am thankful to say that I can believe in Jesus' resurrection because he raised my life from the dead.