"I was morbidly depressed. I was sorrowful. I lost my brother in a car accident seven years prior.
I was searching for the reason and the meaning of my life. A Christian man lived next door to me. One day he came running over with a little pocket size Bible, called the Christian Life, and gave it to me. There is a scripture about God wiping away all of your tears, Revelation 21:4. I realized that the theme of the book Revelation was the return of Jesus Christ. Really, it was the judgement of the world before Christ returns. I had never been taught about repentance (turning away from sin). I had never been taught anything other than the baby in a manger, which is what we are indoctrinated with here in America. Christmas comes along, we talk about baby Jesus and the whole Christmas story. I had seen the majestic side, but this particular time I saw another side of Jesus, the judgmental side, Revelation 21:8. He wasn’t just a savior that died on the cross for my sins. He was a savior that required repentance, for me to understand and know Him. With tears in my eyes, the fear of God began to fall on me, I was terrified. For the first time in my life, I knew that I was going to hell. I didn’t know what to do, I started to panic, I felt like I was losing my mind. I felt like I had gone off the edge. I didn’t know how to escape this reality. I started to seek the Lord and ask God how I could get out of this. I cried out for His mercy and forgiveness. God started to break these lies/strongholds. I was forgiven, I had been born again. This huge weight had been lifted off of my back. I started to have joy. The depression, sorrow, pain, misery, and the anxiety seemed to slip off me, almost like water. I began to have hope. The Lord found me in 2014. Don’t listen to all rumors that you’ve heard about who God is. Seek Him with all of your heart and you will find Him. In John 14:6, Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” My name is Ryan and I surrender."
Play the audio clip below to hear Ryan’s full story:
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