I was your typical teenager and did things I shouldn't have. My parents
took me to church most of the time.
All my experiences with church left a really bad impression on me.
It was filled with old people singing old music and with old ideas. I always believed I was a Christian simply because I went
to church.
During the week I would break into schools and homes, cheat and lie all
the while thinking that Jesus would forgive me because I thought I believed.
I got caught breaking into the school
gym. When taken into the office I said something very unkind to the Principal. When I was kicked out of High School my parents
said its a job or the service,
so I chose the Navy. Right after bootcamp I was sent to the U.S.S. Shreveport in Norfolk
Virginia. My job was to scrape, paint and swab. A Baptist sailor (Wendell) for the first time I can remember
told me about
what it really means to follow Christ.
The Holy Spirit convicted me and I became a genuine Bible Believing Christian
that day. By far the best thing that has ever happened to me.
Well, God chose the best place for my basic training.
I went from Navy Basic Training to Christian Basics Training. There were Christians from a few different departments onboard
that would play a part in my training. To mention a few, there was an Electrician
(Robert) that contributed the most to
my training and a Marine Lieutenant (Jim) that taught me many things as well.
Well, this Robert fella was not like
any Christian I had ever met. In fact he was not like any human I had ever met. He often had a silly grin on his face and
was always on a MISSION FROM GOD. We
moved into a house that we could go to after work and while we were in port. There
were several Christians in this house.
We were a house full of Protestants and Catholics and actually got along. In
fact somehow everything that needed to be done got done and without
any notes posted all over the house. Robert and I would
talk for hours about the Bible and the Lord.
At first I had a problem reading the Bible. After reading a verse or two
I would fall asleep. At first I was really disheartened by this.
So I prayed that
God would enable me to read and study the Bible without falling asleep. The answer to my prayer was almost instantaneous.
Now I could study the Bible for hours on end, and what particularly interested me was the unique claims of Christ to be God
and the only saviour of the world.
Robert and I would drive around in his car listening to loud and lively
Jesus music. At first I could not believe my ears. Christians have some really good music.
We listened to Larry Norman,
Second Chapter of Acts, Barry McGuire, Daniel Amos and many more. These were the happening Christian Musicians of my early
days as a Christ One.
We would go places and Robert would share J.C. with anyone and everyone. He did it with such
ease and flow. One time we went into a record store or something and there was this guy that ran the store
that looked
like an alien (extraterrestrial). Just looking at him frightened me. Still, Robert just walked on up to this guy, intitiated
a conversation and they talked for hours. This alien looking guy was bringing up arguments that I had never heard before and
Robert knew the answers. Robert was not an arrogant man. In fact he was very humble but still had a knowledge of the Bible
that astounded me.
One time when we had a few days off we drove to Savannah Georgia. We were headed to a house called
Shiloh House. As soon as we walked in the door I knew that God was there. The Christ Ones there were very loving. That evening
we were all praying and I looked upwards. The Holy Spirit enveloped me with a peace, boldness and Love that I will not ever
be able to adequately describe. I knew I had experientially met God himself and was humbled. A Boldness came over me that
was similar to what the apostles experienced in Acts chapter Four.
It says, "And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what
power, or in what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people,
and
elders, if we this day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made
whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified,
whom God raised from the dead, [even] in him doth this man stand here before you whole.
He is the stone which was set at nought of you the builders, which
was made the head of the corner. AND IN NONE OTHER IS THERE SALVATION: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that
is
given among men, wherein we must be saved. Now when they beheld the BOLDNESS of Peter and John, and had perceived that
they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS. And
seeing the man that was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it." (Acts 4:7-14)
The boldness that
came over me was like this. I was ready to speak for Christ and if necessary die for him. Similar to the apostles above this
Holy Ghost moment convinced me that, "in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven,
that
is given among men, wherein we must be saved."
As we lived those days in the Navy I found that Christ and His Word
(Bible) have all the answers to all the questions and arguments that the world could ever have. Since those days the Lord
Jesus continues
to build on these experiences to emphatically declare that He is the Way and the truth and the Life and
there is salvation in none other.
Since then I have been to Hare Krishna Temples, invited Mormons and
J.W.'s over to my house, debated with a Jewish Chaplain on the
divine inspiration of the Bible. This is nothing more than
doing what I believe God has called and enabled me to do. I have been far from perfect in my evangelism and
in my walk but at least had enough conviction and desire to get better through obedience and his continued
guidance.
"Looking unto Jesus the author and completer of our faith." (Hebrews 12:1)
BJ Maxwell
