My Testamony

[Clay M]

God calls us to give an account of who we are so I will do my best.

I was born in a religious family, and raised Methodist.
I hated going to church, and felt like it was boring and a waste of time.

I quit going altogether as I got older, much to my fathers chagrin.

When I went off to college, I live a pretty wild life of partying.
me and my roommate went out drinking one night(always to excess).

He wrecked his car coming back home, and I had no seatbelt on.
I was almost killed in that wreck.
Only God didn't want me dead.

I had another roommate about that time who had been wild, and got converted to Christianity.

We all laughed at him and made fun of him, but he was always patient, and caring.

About that time another friend I had that was not particularly religious invited me to attend the Episcopal church with him.

We took communion and I went home and fell deathly ill.
I had a fever of 104 and felt like I was dying.

I had my old Methodist Bible so I opened it and began reading.
The Holy Spirit lead me to 1st Corinthians Chap 11 vs 27.

Boom, it was like a bolt of lightning. I was sick and the Word of God told my why.
I prayed right then for God's forgiveness, and within and hour my fever was gone.


I had no church but my old friend that I use to make fun of invited me to attend his.

It was there I later met my wife..and she was sent by God for me personally, and has been my mainstay through all the hard times of life.

About ten years later I felt the call to ministry, and rejected the call.
Like Moses I made every excuse not to do it.

God said go, so I finally agree with Him two years later.
I understood I was not prepared, so I enrolled in New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

It was much harder work than I ever anticipated, but I graduated in 97 with a MDIV degree.

I served local churches up until 2013.


I also feel impress by God to give an account on what I believe to be true according to the scripture.

I have friends who have been junkies, gays, black, Jews, atheists, and people so poor they could not buy a meal..

One thing I know for sure is you can never use hate to draw people to God.

I never try to change or condemn people, that is God's job.

I love all these people, and because of they know that I have influence with them.

I do plant seeds as the Holy Spirit leads.

I nominate them and God elects who He will.

I always loved the story of the Prodigal Son ,because that was me.

Two things that stand out in my mind is 1st Corinthians 13, and the scripture of Jesus dying on the cross when He said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do"

"Judge not lest you be judged, for the same measure you use to judge others will be use on you"

I can look in the mirror everyday and find enough faults of my own that need correcting.

I once embraced hatred long ago,
and it killed me spiritually, and almost killed me physically.

Now I am just an old man, with heath problems.
I dare not drink the bitter hemlock of hatred, for I am certain it would kill me.

Jesus said, "and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."


Today I am free from that poison.


As Christians, Jesus calls us to love others.

Will we be fed to the lions for it?
Maybe, the early Christians certainly were.

Your sphere of influence in this world will depends on how well you love others.

The Holy Spirit convicts and therefore influences a person to change their life according to God's plan.

Nothing anyone ever said to me would have changed my life.
It was all the work of the Holy Spirit and the seeds that were planted for many years.

Are the people who repeat a magic incantation saved?
Only God knows that, and you may be able to see the fruit years down the road.

God has used me many times as an agent of change, but I personally have saved no one. God alone does that.

This is my story, and I feel like I have said what God told me to say.

[Preacher Jim]

great testimony i can relate to all. i was 37 when my rope ran out.

[Pine Baron]

Thank you Clay M for your testimony. God is always there and working through us. All glory is His.

[Blackwater]

What a great story, Clay. Thank you. These things matter, because I suspect many of us have had similar paths to belief in our lives.

I never could stray too far, though I tried my best at times. I still look back at some of my wilder younger days, like the time I got my nose broken because I was too sharp tongued and too drunk to fight back. I just do it now with a wry sense of humor that grows from recognizing it as foolishness.

And I doubt there's a one of us who haven't had at least some experience on "the other side." Now, we just look at it and smile, because it's part of what brought us finally to belief and understanding.

Boy! It's amazing how willfully dumb I once was, or at least tried to be. I just couldn't be willful enough to ever quite deny what I always knew to be true. It was just frustrating because I didn't understand HOW it was true. And back then, I HAD (or thought I did) to know the REASONS for everything.

Now, I'm content to accept that some things are just above my pay grade. And ironically, I'm happier and more content now than when I was quite so driven to "understand everything." And ironically, as I've found the complacency to leave to God that which is rightfully God's, I've started finding more answers to questions I'd long pondered with near zero results! And that's often been a pattern - kind'a like finding something you've lost when you suddenly quit looking for it?

Life is full of ironies and paradoxes, and I think all we mortals CAN do is simply accept them, and have enough faith to know there's SOME reason for it all, even if we don't quite understand just what it is or how it works.

This instills a sudden and unexpected appreciation of the real value and power of simple faith - enough to "let it be" as it simply is. Suddenly, answers start almost jumping out at you! How that works, I do not understand, and am mystified and not a little amused at. Some things, I just have to point to, because I really can't explain them all, even when I know they're real and true.

But .... what would life be without some mysteries, challenges and real tests of us? We'd probably wind up being the sorriest lot humanity has ever known without these things!

Thanks to God for being SO much smarter and loving and forgiving than we'll ever be! And it's amazing how much we find that makes us truly happy and satisfied, even when severely challenged, if we just let Him do the driving. If anyone can understand it, you're smarter than I am, for SURE!

[buckwheatpaul]

Clay, What a great testimony. Thank you for sharing and continue to spread the word....AMEN

[floydboy]

Very uplifting and very well wrote. I agree with every word. Thank you and God bless.

[Pine Baron]

Heavenly Father, please bring your healing and comfort to Clay M, his wife and especially his daughter. He is strong in his faith and accepting of your wishes. Please allow him to continue his work for you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

[Boaz]

Thank you for the sharing of your testimony . Prayer for you and your family .

[Clay M]

Thank you for the sharing of your testimony . Prayer for you and your family .

Thank you Boaz,
I had a blood pressure crisis last night. I was just playing music with my band and felt sick. I checked and my blood pressure was 170 over 110.
It usually runs normal during the day, and since I no longer drink any alcohol, I guess it is just stress worrying over my daughter and her health.

Thank you for your prayers, and may God bless your life.

[EMC45]

Excellent testimony. Thank you for the sharing of it.

[tnaz]

Thanks for sharing, Amen.

[w5pv]

Amen to all

[Clay M]

As Christian we all have to opportunity and responsibility to plant seeds in peoples lives.
If a person becomes truly saved, chances are God has been working in that persons life for a long time. Our influence is like a piece of a big jigsaw puzzle that God uses for his purpose and plan.

I remember one cold night a young black man knocked on my door and told me he had a flat tire.
He didn't know how to change it.
So I went down and changed the tire for him.
I also told him , I do this for you because of the love of Christ, and His love for you.

I said nothing else.

Did God use that? maybe, maybe not...but it was a seed I planted.

Your influence matters, and when God changes a persons life you may very well have had a part in Gods overall plan .

God saves who he will, and we can't be the judge of who that may be.

As Christians we are called to love others. In that way we have influence in God's plan.

[Blackwater]

Another great story, Clay. Thanks. And it's amazing how little it really takes, sometimes, for us to make a difference. The paradox is that when and if we try too hard to win someone to faith, they often erect barriers to what we have to say or tell them. But little asides, as a normal course of what we do, sometimes gets their attention when it's just laid out and not pursued, and gets them to wondering, and that's sometimes the vital first step for many to simply focus on faith, or their lack of it. It's also a good way to demonstrate that it's not just "man helping man," but man doing what Christ instructed. That's a big and very significant difference. Most non-believers are locked tightly into a certain disbelief, and usually bat away any attempt to reason with them. A gentle and casual aside like yours, and they have no real defense against it. The little things DO matter, and ironically, sometimes do what the big ones can't. Is it not amazing how Christ and his advice works in this world? So full of paradox and irony. We think that the way to get something is to pursue it hook and nail. But Christ sometimes advises us to LET things come to us, rather than us going to whatever the goal is. I suspect we'd all benefit, and many others would too, if we took that little anomaly closer to heart sometimes.

I've come to think that many today respond MUCH better to simply being SHOWN the value of faith, rather than TOLD about it. They tend to get the message much better that way. And that places the onus on US to ACT the right way, and just say the little things that matter, and let God do the rest. People are inveterate immitators. Dad brought back an old saying from his 7 yrs. in China before WWII. It was, "monkey see, monkey do." If we simply live and act like we're supposed to, and show sober devotion and happiness, that alone will intrigue people enough, and if they ever ask us why we're so peaceful and satisfied, and how our faith can do that for us, they've just opened a path to understanding if only we can answer their questions honestly and in a way they can understand. If we try to pound things WE understand into them, it seems to never get past the scalp. If we can simply explain some of the more easily understood reasons we believe, that can prop the opening to faith open, and maybe leave it there long enough to get some good stuff through that "hole" and into their minds, so it can gestate a while and linger long enough to bring them to faith, even if it wasn't what they were looking for.

Saving souls is the province of God, but we're his tools for getting that job done. We have to be strong and faithful, and it has to show. Nothing else does nearly as much as this. And we all struggle to do this. I'm probably the worst offender at times, but it's a worthy pursuit, and over time, especially, makes a big difference to others. The difference between eternal life and death. And we're the only real tools Christ has for getting this done. Kind'a humbling, isn't it?