Paul Baily: "In His Words"

I was born in Seattle, Washington in 1949. I was raised by my mother after she and my father seperated. I never remember meeting my father until I was a young adult.

From my earliest memories I have always gone to church. I went to church for a lot of reasons. My mother made me go when I was little. I went to play my instrument in the church band as a youth. I went for the girls when I was a teenager. As a young adult I went to church more out of habit than anything else.

When I was certain that I would be drafted into the Army during the Vietnam Conflict, I joined the Navy. I turned completely away from the teachings of the church and "did my own thing." One day, while my friends were in a bar, I went for a walk. I heard singing that reminded me of the many churches that I had gone to as a boy. As I drew closer, I saw a pretty young lady playing an accordian and singing. Now, I had two reasons to stay; the music and the young lady. I went with them when they left and was taken to Lane's Hospitality Home near San Deigo, California. I visited there often after that even though I found out that the young lady was married, I still liked the music.

One day, the youth leader asked me if I had ever given my life to Jesus. I thought about that for a long time. I had said the sinners prayer before, but had I actually given my whole life to Jesus? I knew I had not. It took me a while to realize that I really needed to be "saved" just like all the "sinners" I had seen go to the alter as a child. It finally hit me that I was a sinner! It surprized me! I had been going to church all my life. Singing the Christian songs all my life, praying the Lord's Prayer all my life, and I was a sinner! That day I prayed again and told Jesus that I wanted to give my life to Him.

I would like to tell you that bells rang, and people sang, and that the sun itself stood still, but none of that happened. In fact, life went on just as it had before. I went to Lane's and to church. I served in the Navy. I read the bible again. I prayed some more. But nothing I could notice was any different for me. Life went on. I made mistakes, I sinned, and I repented again and again.

You see, salvation isn't ONLY a one time thing. Yes, when you confess that you are a sinner, and turn away from your sin, you are forgiven. But that isn't the end, it's just the beginning! The years have come and gone. I am still making mistakes, still sinning, and still repenting. I expect I will continue to do so until the day the Lord calls me home. I have learned these three things I would like to share with you:

3.) God loves you and I too much just to leave us the way we are.

Knowing these three things, I know that even though I will never be perfect, never be "religious", never be what some would consider a "saint", but I will always be a project that God is working on. I once read a bumper sticker that I still think of from time to time. It said:

"Please be patient with me, God isn't finished with me yet."

You may visit with Paul at http://sonlight.org or  e mail Paul at paul@sonlight.org

Paul Baily operates the independant SonLight.Org and Draw.org web sites as well as holding the position of  Director of Public Relations for the Lighthouse Sanctuary Youth Foundation, Inc and Youth Of America.  http://youthofamerica.com