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Pastor Jason’s Testimony

On June 18 1989, I gave my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (which simply means I have chosen to live life God’s way instead of just ‘my way’). God came into my life in a very real way and now my life has been and will be changed forever.

Before I made a commitment to God, I used to be a real 'party-head'. I loved discos and I used to work as a DJ at 18ths, 21sts and other private functions. (Now there’s a scary thought, me a Lebanese DJ!)

From the time I was ten years old, all I wanted to do was play AFL footy. I began playing with the Albury Tigers Football Club and quickly moved up through the ranks until at the young age of 16, I played my first Seniors game. Then in 1986, I was told that scouts from the Collingwood Football Club were coming to watch our game against Myrtleford. I was so excited because I saw this as my opportunity. We won the game and I was named as one of the best players. The Collingwood scout spoke to me after the match and invited me to come and play in a ‘Thirds’ match against Carlton that same year. I went to Melbourne and was named amongst the best players in that match.

In October of 1986, I was given the good news. My old football and running coach, Ray Thomas, told me that I had been selected for the Collingwood’s senior list of 50! Some 500 men had tried out for that senior list, and I still don’t know how I got on it! When I got to Melbourne, the Collingwood Football Club gave me a car to drive, full-time employment with Puma Sportswear and paid accommodation including cooked meals. I got some media coverage, my portrait was being sold on souvenir stands and people wanted my autograph. There were presentation dinners, and I was in the big team photo. The Club was very good to me. In some ways, I couldn’t believe all this was happening. The best thing of all though, I was playing good footy. At one point, Leigh Matthews told me how much he enjoyed watching me play(I don’t think he would remember that now though!)

What I had dreamed of as a boy was no longer a dream, but a reality. I had most things an 18 year old could want. Everything was going well on the outside. However, there was something unusual going on the inside… One night, I was sitting in bed trying to work out why I felt so incredibly empty. I’d been thinking about how well things were going and couldn’t work it out. That was when I realised that footy wasn’t what I really wanted. As good as it was, it didn’t fill the void in my life permanently. So much of my life experiences only offered temporary satisfaction. I lost the desire to play football, because I knew in my heart that footy wasn’t the answer for my life. From that night on, things went down hill – fast!

I was dropped to the Collingwood ‘Thirds’ and played even worse footy, until finally I was called into the club by the General Football Manager to be told that my services were no longer required, and I wasn’t even upset about it.

When I first committed my life to the Lord Jesus, life was going well. I wasn’t in the depths of despair. It was just that nothing on this planet could satisfy me on the inside. I can recall on five different occasions in my life where I set big goals in my teenage years and achieved them, and yet it didn’t give me the inward satisfaction that I was looking or hoping for. ‘U2’ wrote a song, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” But when God first came into my life on that awesome day, I had finally found what I had always been looking for.

I believe that all of us have a deep desire to satisfy ‘the inside’. Mankind’s greatest need is not the pursuit of happiness alone; mankind’s greatest need is love, forgiveness, and acceptance and to be truly valued for who we are. Today I can guarantee you something. That is, if you pray the prayer below (from your heart) then I guarantee that you will sense cleanness and purity on the inside like never before.

You will feel good because God is good. It is a prayer of forgiveness. Jesus will forgive us of all the wrong we’ve ever committed and give us assurance of eternity in Heaven! The Bible tells us that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness or wrong doing" (1 John 1.9). The bible also tells us in Romans 5:20, that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. In other words, where sin is strong, grace is stronger, where sin is high, grace is higher and where sin is deep, grace is deeper. The unconditional love and grace of God is what makes all the difference.

Pray this prayer from your heart and God will touch your life:

Dear Lord Jesus,
I come before you today.
I admit that I have not always been perfect, in everything I’ve said or done.
I’m sorry about the things I’ve done wrong in my life.
I believe that you died for my sins and on third day, You rose again.
Today I ask, that you would forgive me of all my sins and that you would come into my life.
Please be Lord and Saviour of my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.
Help me and guide me from this day forward to be person you want me to be.
Thank You Lord Jesus. Thank you for loving and accepting me just the way I am! Amen.

If you have just prayed this prayer and would like to talk to someone about it, please fill in the visitors slip or contact us on the numbers provided and know that the best is yet to come for you!