Lenten Reflection - Day 11: by Bill Nasworthy

READING: Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16

Have you ever felt that someone is moving your feet and it is not you? That is what happened to me when I was about 8 years old. As most of you know, I was raised a Baptist and one Sunday morning at Hillcrest Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga., beside my feet moving, a voice whispered in my ear, “Accept me and have eternal life.” Without thinking, I let my feet move and I walked toward the front of the church to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. During that time, I promised that I would always do whatever I could to show Christ in my life. I am not going to say that it has always been easy, but I have tried to put Christ first.

My faith was tested when Evelyn and I were planning on getting married. We both had agreed that it really didn’t matter which faith we belonged to as long as we worship together as a family. When I spoke with my pastor, he stated very bluntly, ‘If you are not a Baptist, you are going to Hell!” I thanked him and left his office. It was at this point that my wonderful mother-in-law suggested that I speak to the pastor of their church, Bill Waddell. I’m so grateful to both. Pastor Waddell took me under his wings and spent multiple weekends providing me with the basics of the Lutheran doctrine. It was his passion for Christ and the faith that no matter who you are, what church you belong to, as long as you believe, Our Savior Jesus Christ will open his wonderful arms and welcome us into his fellowship.

I have now been a Lutheran for over 41 years and feel so at home in the faith of our church. At the time I accepted the Lord as my Savior, I promised him that I would serve him in whatever way he wanted me to do for him. Unlike the Bible passage Genesis 17, 1 – 7, 15 – 16, I was not as old as Abram, when the Lord spoke to him and He did not tell me that he would make me ancestors of many, but I did promise to obey him and do what is right.