Meet Randy and Moses
I was saved at the age of 50. When the scales fell from my eyes, I spent some time thinking back to the opportunities I had to find Christ before. In my secular world, there were not many invitations. In fact I can’t think of one after the age of 20. I want to change that for others.
Furthermore, I don’t think Christ is understood well. Certainly not by the secular, but even by some Christians. The Christ of the Bible, the whole Bible, Old Testament and New, is different than the simplified “wise teacher” and the “love your neighbor” dilution of common portrayals. I wonder if I had been taken aside and told, “Look, you don’t know the real Christ, I guarantee you”… would I have spent 50 years making fun of Christians? Had I been challenged to consider the evidence of Christ would I have given Him a chance? Had I known the whole Christ, could I have fought against Him for so long?
Of course, now I can see this was my preparation time, God’s divine plan. May we walk in peace with our allotted trials, together, brother next to brother, sister next to sister, all for His Glory.
In 2007, if someone said I’d be preaching the Word of God…
We think we have control over our lives. We plan, we manipulate and we make things happen. I was pretty good at it. I made fun of Christians because I thought Christianity was for the weak, the poor, those not strong enough to make it on their own.
I was wrong. God has a way of showing us who is in charge. In 2008 He tracked me down, using a few others who were willing to be His hands and feet. I fought hard to maintain my old life, but He brought me to my knees, His Grace, and His Redemption. Afterwards, I shed a lot of tears of regret for how I lived my life before Christ. Today, I am joyous, living as best I can by His Word. I make mistakes, ask for forgiveness, ask God to change me, and get up the next day doing my best not to repeat the mistake.
It was through His Word that He first revealed Himself to me. I made a commitment to read a book I previously had sworn I would never read, the Holy Bible. I started in Genesis and read every day. It was in Leviticus He revealed Himself. In addition to the words on the page, we developed a conversation, and He asked me to change my life. Not all at once. Easy things first. Then more difficult. I did. I kept reading, listening, and doing my best to change as He led.
That continues today. My life is in His hands. And one of the activities He asked me to do was to speak. To tell my story, to be involved in the miracle of His salvation of others.
He knows who He wants you to touch as well. Your story, like mine, like the story of all of us who have been saved by His Grace, has a place in the Kingdom of God–and He has a plan to use it for His purposes. We just have to be willing to let Him work through us to share it. You can do it. Get involved, if not with us, with any other group that is willing to nurture the story out of you, and move you onto the path God has prepared for you.
I preach once a month at Chestnut Hill Chapel in New Boston, NH. A non-denominational congregation of strong Bible believing men and women. The messages I deliver are strong on scripture, mixed with stories of real life and a heavy leaning to evangelism. I think I truly understand the World after my 50 years of secular living and exploitation. I strive to be an effective bridge between the Bible and the World, using language and explanations that reach modern secular ears, while staying wholly true to God’s Word. I typically stay away from the topics that have divided churches–I believe God wants us to do our best to read His Word daily, and believe it, as it is written, and do our best to unite as a Body of Christ rather than divide. We were given a mission to accomplish, and mission critical activities should take precedence over discussions/activities that take our eye and resources off the mission.
God has clearly called us to an active faith, and action takes effort.
- Actively engaging our strength to live as close as we can to the instructions, standards and ethics He has laid out for us.
- Actively seeking Him throughout the day, for it is only through His strength that we may live as close to His standards as possible.
- Actively seeking the lost, and supporting the poor, that they may know the joy of living in the Spirit and be assured of eternal salvation.
- Actively giving and serving the Body of Christ.
May God Bless you,
Randy Loubier
