I first came to Heartland when my family moved here in 1996. I was eleven at the time so I basically grew up here. I finished grade school, graduated Heartland Christian College in 2006, and since then have been working here full time.
I’ve never been one to really get in a whole lot of trouble. I grew up in a good home with God-fearing parents, but I was still in desperate need of salvation. With God we’re all on a level playing field, good or bad, rich or poor, doesn’t matter; He looks at the heart. His concern is the condition of our souls, and whether or not we belong to Him.
I was good at being a good person, and so many people are. I didn’t think I needed a relationship with Jesus because I could hold it together pretty well on my own. But, sin is sin. Sometimes we like to think that one sin is not as bad as another, but that’s not how God sees it. Sin is sin, and it’s all ugly and it separates us from God.
I knew I needed something to change, because I felt so empty and disconnected. I needed Jesus to come and make me new, to forgive my sin and give me new life and that’s what He did; it’s not something I could have done on my own. Our good behavior, or good deeds in themselves will never be enough to reconcile us with the Father. Jesus came to do that for us. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
My prayer is that as you’re reading through these pages of testimonies of God’s goodness, that you too come to a point of decision, so that you can say you belong to Him as well.
