There’s a lot to be said about what it means to start fresh. We’ve all experienced times in our life when we move somewhere new, start a new job, or even when we were the new kid in school. The excitement of new chances and opportunities give us hope in the temporal future. As Christians, because of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice, the sins of all who believe are forgiven and a new eternal life given to us. A new beginning! A fresh start where we are set free from our sin, and given what we can’t earn on our own… a new everlasting life with God! (Romans 6:22, paraphrased)
My story is one similar to many other men in our nation and around the world. I struggled with sexual sin and lying from a young age. The lying was a significant part of my sexual sins, as I continually used it to hide my sins from family and the church. Honestly, I spent my entire life going to church out of obligation. I cheated on my wife, sadly, more times than I can remember to count. A few months ago (Dec 12, 2021), at one of the lowest points in my life and realizing I could no longer try to fix myself on my own, I truly gave my heart and soul to Jesus for the first time. I spent my entire life attending church, and for the first time I realized that being free from sin meant giving everything to God, and confessing my sins to others. Consequences of all those years of sinning, lying and hiding have and will continue to be difficult to deal with. However, I have new hope in and through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13, paraphrased). There is no temptation or struggle that I can’t face and conquer with God!
I’m a very simple man. I’m not officially trained in scripture. I’m not ordained in any definition of the word. I’m not a theologian. I don’t understand the complexities of many theologies. What I am though, is saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8, paraphrased). Additionally, I’m a man who spent most of my life trapped in sins of my own choices, lying to myself and others about the sins, and hiding them. What a truly chained and trapped life that was! From now on, I want to reach as many men, young and old, as I possibly can. I want to see fewer men in the younger generations suffer and lose battles of sexual sins. I want to see husbands, wives, and families restored by and to God.
Born In His Image 
Leave a Reply