I came to know Jesus as my savior as a senior in high school at West Rome Baptist Church, Rome, Georgia on Labor Day Sunday, 1981. While I was not raised in a Christian, church-going home, my parents were very ethical and moral people and taught us right from wrong. I had only been in church a handful of times prior to my salvation. Most of those times were weddings and funerals.

Although not in church, I believed in God and prayed to him most nights. My mother died when I was 12 and I can remember praying often and asking God to take care of her in heaven.

I had gods on this earth that I worshipped, however. Three to be exact: my car, my job and my money. I was fortunate enough to have had a paying job since I was 13. While this was truly a blessing, it filled me with pride and made me all too self-sufficient, needing and asking for nothing from anyone. I bought my own clothes, paid for my own school lunches and even paid the water bill a time or two cause it made me feel good. I was a self-made man before I could even drive!

As for money….I worshipped it. It gave me freedom and esteem that nothing at that time could give. Just prior to my conversion, I had over $800 in my checking account and about $1,100 in savings; a small fortune for a high school senior.

And finally, my car. It was a 1972 Buick Skylark. Blue with a white vinyl top and custom Buick wheels. I literally loved that car! Mostly cause I paid for it and it was gorgeous. It was never seen dirty and took up a great deal of my weekends to keep it that way.

All this came to an end the day after school ended for the year when I was in the 11^th grade. I went to work that night (Thursday) on the 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift as usual (I had been doing this two or three nights a week my entire Junior year). As it came close to go home at about 6:30 in the morning, my supervisor told me someone had called in sick and did I want to pull a double shift and make some extra money filling in. I was greedy and didn't have to think about it long so I said sure. All went well, but by 10:00 that morning I was dragging. I had done this a few times before and new how much extra money I would make so I thought nothing of it, shook it off and went on.

3:00 p.m. came before I new it and I was on my way home. It was about a 23 or 24 mile drive from Lindale, GA where I worked to our home in Cedar Bluff, Al. I had to drive right through downtown Rome, GA to get home and with the afternoon traffic, it made for a slow journey. I had the sun (and the soothing afternoon heat) in my face the whole way. I made it to the Alabama state line okay but after that I don't remember much. Not because of the impending accident, but because I was already getting way too sleepy.

I had the accident about a mile and a half from the house. I don't remember looking at the usual landmarks for the last two to three miles. I had to be carried by ambulance 20 painful miles back to Rome and I spent 3 days in traction with a dislocated right hip. I also had several stitches in my upper and lower lip because my face impacted the dashboard. Remember, this was 1981 and seat belts were not in vogue.

I was out of work for over six weeks and it devastated me. AlI my gods were gone. I lost my car in the wreck, most of my money during my recoup and time on the job, which was my sole source of ego nutrition.

That was spring and before summer was over, I had gotten back to work and gotten another car (a hideous white Monte Carlo), but I never regained the small fortune I had accumulated.

Where is Jesus, you ask. Be patient, he's coming!

Labor Day weekend, my brother Jody and his wife Lisa had come down for swimming and skiing. They invited me to church like they had many times before. This time, instead of turning them down as was normal, I accepted the offer, thinking if I went they wouldn't bug me again for awhile.

We got there and the pastor, Dr. Jerry Vines, was preaching through the book of Revelation. He was in chapter 20 and was talking about the Lamb's Book of Life and the Great White Throne. Here is what it says:

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

When the sermon drew to a close, Dr. Vines gave an invitation for people to accept Jesus. Right then and there, the Holy Spirit convinced me my name was not in the Book of Life. All my goodness and hard work couldn't change that. I needed to accept Christ to have His righteousness and be forgiven and cleansed of my sins. That is God's only plan for salvation and eternity in Heaven.

Would you like to know you'd spend eternity in heaven? Take a look at these verses, take them to heart and ask Jesus to come in and take over your life and you can.

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Last updated: August 07, 2001