Why the Bible…why me? My journey of faith…

Why the bible…why me?  Seek and you shall find…

So…I have been on the precipice of writing this piece for some time now.  Well, that is an understatement, or relative depending on one’s perspective.  For me it is a case of procrastination.  Any time I procrastinate I ask what the underlying cause is, and in this case, it was a feeling of inadequacy.

I mean, who am I to write about and talk about the life of Christ or to think that I can have a ministry of my own?  That is for the pastors who have spent years studying the bible and have tons of practice delivering the messages contained therein.

But this notion kept gnawing on me so, I prayed about it (I do this when I am meditating first thing in the morning) and the answers started to come to me.  

It is clearly written in the New Testament that not only does Jesus call on us to believe in him and to do our best to live by his example, but also to spread His word.  It is not enough to merely save ourselves, but we must empower others with His word and allow them the chance to save themselves as well.  More on this later.

My Journey back to faith

Several years ago, my wife Mary and I started kicking around the idea of going back to church again.  Something was missing and we were seeking fulfillment.  So, we did what a couple who were raised catholic would do…sought out the closest catholic church.  And of course, we went when all Catholics who have taken a long hiatus from the church go…Christmas!

Well, we enjoyed the Christmas atmosphere but didn’t feel much connection to the church.  And we only went back one time.  I had no idea what God had planned for me at the time, but I kept open to the idea.  

We started attending outdoor holiday services on the beach or the park and really enjoyed them.   We would get up early before sunrise and get to wherever the service was on our bikes with our beach chairs and sit through the services.  But this was only on holidays and very sporadic.  We weren’t what you would call church goers.

My Journey of Faith was set into motion…

Enter my patient and now brother in Christ, Cesar Vergara and his wife Elle.  They invited me to their house to give a presentation on a nutrition company we were involved in.   After the presentation was over, the discussion shifted to church and to the bible and I found out that Cesar played the guitar in the church band at a local Christian church.

I mentioned that I was looking for a church to go to and within a split second, this beautiful lady named Rosalene Galgo stepped up and basically got in my face saying, “I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and you need to come to our church on Sunday and you need to come to the 11:00 service because I’m singing in the choir!”  And bam!  She handed me a business card with the name, Journey of Faith on it.

I was a bit taken back as no one ever gave me a business card to a church before and certainly not with that kind of conviction.  Well, I was ready, and she closed me on the deal.  I put out my hand and shook hers and said, “I’ll be there!”

I showed up as promised and the music and the message were amazing.  I continued to attend each Sunday for the next few years until we moved out of California.  

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that at the time the church was hiring a new head pastor and I really dug his message and presentation.  His name is Jason Cusick and he was very instrumental in my journey of faith, but it was the music that really got me.  You see I wasn’t accustomed to hearing a band on stage with electric guitars and drums and amazing singers and the whole shebang.  

I remember several times just listening to the songs being played and feeling tears run down my face as I realized I was in the right place, right where I was supposed to be.  Seek and you shall find…it happened to me.