Elevator Speech - Why I'm a Christian

I was agnostic most of my life – I went to church since I was a teen but it was mostly to see my friends.  I knew the theory of Christianity but was content to just “do good.”  I was also a “worry wart” as my mom called me when I was a kid, and I used to worry about different “what if” scenarios that would pop up in my head.  When I was in my early 40’s, my best friend’s husband died suddenly while playing basketball with his kid’s team and my friend asked, “Do you think he’s in heaven?” Knowing he was raised a Buddhist and that the Christian teaching is “the only way to heaven is through Jesus,” I was a bit stumped.  Nonetheless I answered “with my gut” that I do believe he’s in heaven.  That was the moment I decided I needed to really figure out what I believe.  I attended New Life Church because it’s close to my home, they do good work in the community and I liked Pastor Jon Harris’ style of preaching. I joined a small group and emailed Pastor Jon about my questions (mostly why would God allow injustices in the world), and he suggested reading “A Case for Faith.”  Reading through the Bible and that book, I was able to put together how the Old Testament foretold the coming of Jesus and how the New Testament shows us how to live with faith in Jesus at the center of our lives.  Before, the Bible was just a bunch of jumbled up stories to me; and now I see the linkage of how it comes together.  But most of all, now that I’m a true believer, I can see how God has blessed my life even in times of trouble and I no longer stress and worry about things that I can just turn over to Him.