Delivered from Bondage and New Age Deception

I would like to share with you the testimony of one of the Kenyan students in our discipleship training school called Doulos Training School. She recently came back to the Lord following nine years of backsliding in sin after she initially came to the Lord in 2002. Here is the testimony in her own words:

The Testimony of Mwendwa
Born in the early 80s, my childhood was traumatic -- riddled with chaos, sadness, torment, and despair occasioned by living with an abusive alcoholic father. My father committed suicide when I was 17, while my own first suicide attempt was at the age of 15. I struggled with severe clinical depression, low self-esteem, rejection, self-hate, OCD, social anxiety, fear, suicidal attempts and ideations, and sexual bondage from my early teen years to my late twenties. 

I first got born again at age 20 alone at home, in 2002 after an abortion which left me guilty and filled with torment. I backslid two years later however without a foundation of the truth of God and always feeling not good enough and rejected even in church. I got pregnant at age 22. At age 29 after years of severe sexual sin, depression and constant suicidal ideations, I cried out to God in repentance in my bedroom as I could not go on any longer as I had been and he set free instantly from all my sin. I got active in a local church in worship team and teaching Sunday school, and also had my own ministry to the poor slum women and feeding street boys.

Sadly, five years in 2014 later following a series of bad experiences with cults and false churches with false teachings, and being dismissed from the church I served as a leader in for questioning some of the things being done, I was tired and disillusioned and kissed formal religion goodbye opting to follow Jesus away from organized Christianity. However, isolated, wounded, and alone I found myself an easy prey to the devil. I got sexually manipulated by an apostle who took advantage of my vulnerable state, and this filled me with deep self-condemnation and I stopped reading the bible and praying, and eventually found myself back to the sins of my past worse than before, effectively opening the door to Satan's deceptions.

I began accepting and embracing new-age spiritual beliefs which seemed to offer me some semblance of a relationship with God since I no longer identified as a Christian. Over the next 9 years, these new age beliefs had taken deep hold of me and I became a 'spiritual' teacher in the metaphysical, law of attraction, and new thought community. I published 3 books and had clients and a growing following on social media. My new beliefs were a mixture of Gnosticism, Hinduism, Buddhism, eastern philosophy, and mystical Christianity. I had embraced beliefs such as non-dualism, reincarnation, Christ-consciousness, and oneness, and believed all paths led to God. I thought I had found the ultimate truth but was deeply deceived.

As a ‘spiritual’ teacher I had also gradually developed a drinking problem and by 2022 was a full-blown alcoholic unable to save myself despite years of trying everything I could. My spiritual beliefs could not save me. I knew only Jesus could help me, and I cried out to him for help over and over. Finally at my lowest point when I felt I would surely die and gave up on all self-help, the Lord Jesus set me free instantly and miraculously in rehab. In rehab I began to study the teachings of Jesus in the bible daily, desiring the truth. The spiritual deception took longer to be free from because I still believed I was on the right path. However, Jesus was slowly opening my blinded eyes.

By April 2023 the word of God and the grace of the Lord Jesus had done their work and opened my eyes it seemed almost overnight to see how greatly deceived I had been. Through a convicting work only the Holy Spirit can perform, I was shown the depth of my deception for those 9 years and how I had turned to other gods. It felt like I had woken up from a deep sleep. I truly was the prodigal son. I had wasted all I had in prodigal living. Jesus said that the prodigal son "came to himself", and said, "I will arise and go to my father." Jesus opened my eyes, set me free from years of sin and deception, and revived my first love for him which had been lost. (Revelations 2:4)

Through godly sorrow and repentance, I knew I had to leave my old life behind completely. It was clear I could not maintain my old life and a walk with Jesus. In obedience, I left it all behind to follow Jesus (Luke 5:11). This included pulling down my books from Amazon, my old social media accounts, and all my articles on my website. I also made a public confession to my followers on social media and to my clients making it clear I could no longer teach what I had been.

It was not easy and there were many consequences to this change-financially, socially, and emotionally. Sin and rebellion always have consequences. But Jesus promised to be with me always if I obeyed him and he has.

Jesus has changed my life. I now truly understand the Grace of God. The old self-righteousness and works-based Christian life that always led to condemnation, frustration, and backsliding was been exposed. I finally realized that I cannot please God through my own efforts, and my efforts cannot save me. It is all by the Grace of God, and only by looking to Jesus Christ am I sustained. My salvation is the work of God. It is he and he alone who opened my eyes when I was greatly deceived, it was all him and none of me. I am grateful for his mercy, long-suffering, and kindness. He did not allow me to die and perish in my pitiful state. I was dead and now am alive again, was blind but now I see. All my life I felt not good enough and had adopted a performance mindset even with my relationship with Jesus, but now for the first time I feel truly accepted in the beloved without the need to DO things to be loved by the Father, but instead overflowing with good works as a response to his love, and not to gain his love.

END OF MWENDWA'S TESTIMONY

Closing Words

I trust that this testimony has blessed you by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you have been in a similar situation to hers, I strongly encourage you to repent and ask the Lord to forgive you and set you free, trusting Him to do so in a very powerful way.

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to read The Truth Set Me Free, My Overflowing Joy in Knowing Jesus, and Lifted Out of a Slimy Pit, which are the testimonies of myself and two of my other children. Also see the Home page of this blog for more testimonies. You are invited to view my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org. 

A Spirit Led Strategy for Evangelism

This is an amazing, true testimony of Spirit-led soul winning. Brother Max in Uganda, one of our First-Year students in our Doulos Training School (DTS) of discipleship, formed a Life Transformation Group (LTG), which is one of the requirements for our DTS students. Max formed the LTG with his two friends Jimmy and Pascal. Max (pictured left below) states:

"Both Jimmy and Pascal were my friends before they became my LTG group members, but brother Jimmy was first, who indeed had been an opium smoker. Before I joined the DTS, we built a team in 2013 to share the gospel, and the Holy Spirit led us to share from John 3 the story of Jesus and Nicodemus. We kept praying and reaching out to share the love of God and win souls one-on-one.

The first person by the name of Mugisha, gave his life to Jesus through a brother named Eric, who went to be with the Lord in 2017. Mugisha went to his other friends and started to share his testimony. He shared the same message, and told those friends some people met him with that message. He told them that as he prayed he felt different and he didn't want to go back to the old life. Then he asked those who would pray like him to receive Jesus, and out of those who prayed, Jimmy was among them. This was 2014, and when we were told we got a hold of Jimmy, we started training Jimmy to learn the Word and start to obey God. Graciously he did so, until he could then share the story too, and win souls. 

Now Jimmy shared the gospel with Pascal and his friends three years ago, and among them Pascal became teachable along the years. He is from a Catholic background, but now he is a born-again soul winner, serving in his local church. 

When I learnt of DTS, I was hungry to know the Word and continue to raise true disciples to the Lord Jesus. I started an LTG group together with Jimmy and Pascal, as I learned to do through the DTS training. Also the Lord would add to our knowledge and make us better disciples for Him, so that we can help many. And through DTS, we are just learning new things that continue to bless us more. 

I began to observe that throughout the season that I have just described, the Holy Spirit made it simple for the hearers of our message to re-tell the message they heard from the conveyers, which are members of our team, because we engaged home-to-home, door-to-door, and market-to-market everywhere we went. I can't say why we were led to evangelize that way, but I believe that only God's Spirit could have put it in our minds for that season, for we all wondered at it, too."

Praise the Lord for the way He led brother Max and his team to evangelize this way. Now here are the testimonies of his two LTG partners, brothers Jimmy and Pascal. Let's begin with the testimony of Jimmy (pictured left below):

"I grew up in Protestant family and was a religious person, but I involved myself in the use of drugs like opium, and drank alcohol for ten years. But one day someone shared with me in the Bible book of John 3:1-21, and I prayed the prayer of confession and welcomed Jesus into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior, and my life is changed. By God's grace, I am doing the work of evangelism, and I have a ministry, of which I am the vision bearer, called the Revival Cross Network Ministry. Our purpose is mainly to make people know that religion is a barrier to salvation. Many people are getting saved, and we are establishing churches and training youths for missionary work."

Here is Pascal's testimony:

"I am from strong Catholic background. Before I got saved, l was a drug addict, smoking marijuana and cigarettes, eating Marungi, and deep into alcohol. I would go to nightclubs, but then on Sundays I was in the Church. On December 3, 2019, a brother called Jimmy came to our home, sharing the gospel of John 3:1-21. 

I realised that I was a sinner and that what I had been doing was not right before God, so I gave my life to Christ. He took me and baptized me by immersion in water. After baptism, I started going out to share my testimony with my friends. Everything about my life changed, I stopped drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, cigarettes, and other things. My life is changed, and I am running with the message that has changed my life."

Closing Words

Dear friend, I hope that this testimony has encouraged you to reach out and evangelize those who don't know Jesus. They are lost without Him and in need of the Savior. Without Him, they will perish. You have seen how the Lord guided brother Max by giving him a wonderful and effective strategy for evangelism. And he carried out that strategy well, going from door to door and market to market, reaching them one at a time. It may not seem very effective to some people, because of the slow progress. 

But just consider how the Lord multiplied disciples this way. Max got together with Eric to discuss the leading of the Holy Spirit, and they often went out to share the gospel together, covering different areas, and holding each other accountable, as they followed up with those who were serious, and they prayed for God to multiply disciples through them. Together they focused on the ones who gave themselves to hear the Lord through them, and they watched over those who did so, giving more time to them, so they could be trained. Max guided the team, focusing on those who were faithful, available, and teachable (FAT). 

Eric, before he died and went to be with the Lord, led Mugisha to Christ. Mugisha in turn shared his testimony with his friends, and some of them, one of which was Jimmy, accepted the Lord Jesus into their hearts. The Lord set Jimmy free from all the bondages to the things he was addicted to, and his life was forever changed. Then he, too, obediently shared his testimony with others, as he was taught to do. He shared from John 3 about Jesus and Nicodemus and the fact that you must be born again. And the Lord used him, too. One of the people who came into the kingdom through Jimmy was Pascal, who was also set free from bondage like Jimmy was, and Pascal's life was forever changed by the Lord. Now Pascal, too, is sharing his testimony with others, as he follows Jesus on his journey.

Most importantly Jimmy and Pascal are both in a Life Transformation Group (LTG) together with Max, growing together in Christ, as they read the Bible each week, pray for the lost, and hold each other accountable, as they seek to be a witness for Christ through their words and actions. Moreover, they are all in the Doulos Training School (DTS), where they are now learning to be disciples of Christ, so they can get closer to Him and help even more people. Lastly, since their testimony is now posted online, it is reaching even more people than ever, all over the world. All that began with the obedience of brother Max. Just think what the Lord could do through you, if you let Him. Below I will provide you with some tools to do that and also invite you to pray about applying for enrollment in our DTS.

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to read The Truth Set Me Free, as well as Life Transformation Groups, How to Start an LTG, Rescue Souls!, Share Jesus Without Fear, and Doulos Training School (DTS). Also see the Home page of this blog for more testimonies. You are invited to view my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?

If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org. 

Former Child Soldier Delivered from Alcohol

This is the amazing story of a man named Martin, who was forever changed by the saving power of Jesus Christ in the year 2000.

Martin's Testimony

I grew up in South Sudan (at the time, Sudan). Just after I was born, my father left. Four years later, I lost my mother. When the war in South Sudan broke out, my older brother and sister died, and the government forced me to become a child soldier. I spent two years on the frontlines before I escaped to Egypt. There, a Canadian church (MCC) led me to Christ.

It was just another day, or so I thought. Little did I know my entire life as I knew it was about to change forever. Let me explain…

It was that time of year of 2000 when the Easter Fest came in Cairo Egypt.  As I was not yet a born again Christian, it was a time of enjoying music, food, and most of all…beer. I could drink all I wanted, and had a “good” reason for it. My friends had come up for the weekend, so we could go to a disco place together.

Then I had left just before noon on Saturday to go down to the party, and I began drinking as soon as we got there. We returned home hours later to get everyone else to go back down to the disco hall. I never missed a beat – I just kept on drinking. Later that night, I was so drunk that I did something in which I really embarrassed myself. Everyone I was with began to laugh at me. They thought it was funny, but I was overcome. It was at that moment I knew something had to change; I couldn’t  continue to live this way.

I HATED what I had become—a drunk. On the following day, which was Easter Sunday, some students from VBI reached out to us in our area of Maadi Arab Cairo. One of them was preaching, and he said, “The Bible tells us in Proverbs 23:29-30, 'Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine.'"

It was at that moment I knew something had to change; I couldn’t continue to live this way.

That entire week, I prayed that God would show me whether or not I was truly saved.

I was invited by the youths who reach out to our area to their college. During my visit, there was fellowship.  However, as the pastor preached, it was as if no one else was in the church except me. It seemed as if the whole message was pointed at me.

God began to show me my sin and to show me that I was not saved. God had answered my prayers! Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

When the invitation was given at the end of the service, I wanted to jump over the pews to get to the altar.  That was 2000; I surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus Christ. I repented of all my sin and put my faith in Jesus and what He had done for me, taking my place on the cross. It was indeed “the day of salvation” for me and the beginning of a new life.

Everything began to change, from the inside out. It wasn’t a reformation; it was a life-transformation. My drinking—the thing I had struggled with for so many years—stopped. I no longer had a desire for it. In fact, I haven’t touched a drop since that day. Without me even trying, I noticed my foul language changed. I have a love for the Lord and a desire to share Christ with everyone I know. I now have peace and assurance of my salvation.

After the Canadian church in Egypt led me to Christ, they awarded me a scholarship to Victory Bible Institute. I met my wife, Rita, in Cairo. She shared my calling, which is to serve displaced and abused South Sudanese women and children.

When Egypt became unsafe for refugees, we fled to Israel. In 2010, I and my wife Rita returned to South Sudan to begin the Children of Light Mission. But when war broke out again, we moved our work, ministry, and family to Uganda. 

Right now we offer spiritual care for women and child refugees in the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement and in Kampala. Our vision is for people of different tribes to live in peaceful coexistence through the example of Christ. 

END OF MARTIN'S TESTIMONY

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Praise the Lord for that amazing testimony!

Perhaps you are bound by alcohol and you would like to be free. Jesus Christ can set you free, if you will give your life to Him. He said, "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed." (Joh 8:36). He can not only set you free, but give you an abundant life that is full of love, joy, and peace, such that it will overflow into other people's lives. Like He did for Martin, He can use your life to touch countless others with His love. I invite you to repent and give your whole heart and life to Him today.

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to read The Truth Set Me Free, My Overflowing Joy in Knowing Jesus, and Lifted Out of a Slimy Pit, which are the testimonies of myself and two of my other children. Also see the Home page of this blog for more testimonies. You are invited to view my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org. 

The Lord Healed My Backsliding

I’d like to share with you about the unlimited grace and mercy of Jesus Christ in the life of my nephew, Denis.  I had the privilege of leading him to the Lord twenty-six years ago, and was so blessed to see him recommit his life to Christ not too long ago.  He states in his testimony below:





How I Came to Know Christ Initially
I was raised a Catholic, so I knew some information about the Lord Jesus, but I didn’t know Him personally.  I had never heard the gospel message of salvation or how to be saved. I was a typical youth in high school, into the party scene and living for myself.  I was not seeking the Lord at all.

Then in May of 1986, my uncle Len, who was serving in the military, returned home to NH on leave for 30 days before being deployed overseas.  He had recently given his life to Jesus, and as he began to share his newfound faith with me, I could easily see he was a changed person. You can read his testimony on “The Truth Set Me Free.”

The Lord convicted me of my sin, and my need for Jesus, so I repented and gave my life to Him.  During Len’s 30-day leave period, I spent a lot of time in the Word with him, learning about the Lord and what He expects of us. I joined a local church, where I attended regularly for worship.  I was baptized in water, baptized with the Holy Spirit, and I began to attend the youth group, where I eventually became a leader.  At first, I was full of joy and willing to lay it all down for the Lord. After graduating from high school, I even got married to a young lady from the church, and we went to Bible school, where I began preparing myself for full time ministry as a youth pastor.

I Had No Roots
But things fell apart there in Bible school.  My wife had different goals and the marriage didn’t work out.  I was crushed when she left me.  The hurt from that experience was overwhelming to me. 

Jesus described the seeds of the gospel being cast upon four different kinds of soil.  And you could say I was like the seed planted on rocky soil.  Jesus said, "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.” (Mat 13:5-6).  That may be the best way to describe me.  I was full of joy and quickly sprang right up, running ahead with my plans to serve God.  But I had no roots, and the trials I encountered in life were more than I could handle. 

Drifting Away from the Lord
That’s when I began on a long journey that would take me away from the Lord for over two decades.  In fact, for me it was a period of significant rebellion against the Lord and backsliding. After a while, I didn’t want to hear anything about the Lord.  I lived for myself and did whatever I wanted. 

I won’t go into the ugly details of all that I did during that time.  But I stopped praying and reading my Bible.  I caved in to all media temptations excessively  (secular music, television, and Internet), and had absolutely no regard for financial spending.  I stopped attending church and tithing.  With no more joy or peace in my life, I turned to heavy drinking and drug use (prescription and illegal). I became more of a sinner than I had been before I ever knew the Lord!

I then attempted marriage again, this time to a non-believer, and that didn’t work out.  It only caused more hurt and bitterness inside of me.  I didn’t realize that the problem I was running from was inside of me, not primarily with someone else. 

I began living together with another non-believer, whom I later married, and she is still my wife today.  Needless to say, all of this sowing of bad seed in my life began to bring in quite a harvest.  I really began to reap what I’d sown all those years.  As the Scripture says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Gal 6:7-8)

How the Lord Got Me Back

Denis Lacroix

I thank the Lord that He didn’t give up on me.  Like the good shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep to seek after the one lost sheep, I can see clearly now how He was seeking me out in so many ways that simply cannot be dismissed as mere coincidences.  For example, He provided me with a job as a dispatcher at a small trucking company, which was owned and operated by an older, married couple. They were very precious, born again believers, who cared for me and prayed for me.  And so did Len, who always treated me with love, even when I was away from the Lord.  I may not have liked it when he tried to tell me that I needed to return to the Lord, but I knew it was true. 

There were a few times when the Lord allowed me to “coincidentally” run into Len at Walmart, and we would stop to chat briefly together.  On another occasion, when I decided to go to church one Sunday, Len just happened to be led to visit that same church that morning with his family, rather than attending his home church as usual.  I recall how he and his family sat right behind us in church that day.  He would also phone me from time to time, and remind me that the Lord still loved me, and that He was waiting for me to return to Him. 

Looking back, I can see God’s grace in my life.  Even while I was away from Him, in my state of rebellion, He delivered me from an unplanned suicide attempt I made while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.  Had I succeeded in killing myself, I would have perished eternally. And then after He rescued me from death, He healed me from my injuries. What a loving Savior! He was calling out to me, as the Scripture says, “Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” (Jer 3:22a)

I guess I just felt like I had fallen so far away that even if God was willing to forgive me, I couldn’t forgive myself.  I knew I deserved hell for my rebellion against the Lord. I was just waiting to die and face my certain judgment.  I came to understand first-hand what the verse to the Hebrews means that says, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.” (Heb 10:26-27).  Let me assure you that you don’t ever want to experience that like I did. 

There were a couple times over the years, when I did attempt to return to the Lord.  Aside from that time I attended church one Sunday, I also repented and prayed to give my life back to the Lord. I was finally crying out, “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the Lord our God." (Jer 3:22b). But the strongholds were so entrenched in my life that I was never able to follow through on my commitment.

Len recommended a couple churches for me, and I said I would check them out.  But for years I kept putting that off for another day, until recently.  Finally in 2011, on Easter Sunday, I finally decided to attend a church, where Len was preaching.  I asked the Lord to cleanse me by the blood of Jesus Christ, and forgive me from the darkness and sin that I allowed to bind me in chains.

He's Healed My Backsliding
Since then I have continued to serve in a local church, and watched the Lord heal my backslidings.  As the prophet Hosea says, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him." (Hos 14:4).  He has loved me freely and turned away His anger from me.  I am so grateful for His love and mercy toward me.

Just to show you how He has healed my backsliding, here are some of the areas that God has delivered me from, and continues to work in my life through the Holy Spirit. I have joined a home group through the church. He’s also been using the weekly Bible studies and Sunday morning services to restore all that the worms have eaten in my life.  He has restored my communion with Him, and I once again enjoy an active, daily prayer life, as well as daily time spent in His living Word. He has set me free from alcohol and illegal drugs completely!  He has broken my addiction to video games, which once consumed over fifteen hours of my time each week. He also set me free from my addiction to Facebook games, although I continue to pray for complete deliverance from this as well. He has delivered me from two of the prescription meds I have taken for over 10 yrs.

He has also healed me of the anger and bitterness inside my heart, as a result of all the evil in my past.  The change in my behavior has been like night and day.  Though I still fall sometimes, He has really been faithful in this area of my life. He has helped me to put Him first in my finances. He has given me spiritual boldness to share the Gospel of Christ with my immediate family, and given me a burden to pray for my unsaved extended family and friends.  And He has put within me a desire to do more, in terms of sharing Jesus with those I don’t know. 

Sharing Jesus with My Loved Ones
As a way of helping my friends and family to focus on the real meaning of Easter, and to invite the un-churched ones to worship with me at my home church for Easter services, I sent out a shortened version of this testimony back in the spring of 2012. I sent it as an email, which I believe went to nearly all 250 people on my distribution list. Though I probably lost a few people on the list, who didn’t appreciate it, there were a few who thanked me for being so open about my life as it was both before and after I was saved. And of course, as a result of the Holy Spirit moving through what I shared, my mother, two sisters, and brother-in-law, as well as my nephew and niece attended the services. The Lord has been working in their lives since then, drawing them to himself.

My mother got water baptized at my church, and so did my younger sister, along with her significant other, who have since just recently been married.   My other sister shows an interest in the Lord and openness to the gospel.

The Lord has allowed other changes to occur in my life that I may not have listed here. And I also realize that these changes are not because of who I am or what I have done, but because of who Jesus is, and what He has done for me. I truly believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and if it were not for His birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and intercession on my behalf before God, I would be damned to Hell for my sins. I repent daily for any darkness that I have allowed into my heart through my eyes or ears. I ask God that He would allow the Holy Spirit to purge me from the things that He detests and hates, so that I too would detest and hate them as well. I know that I am nothing but dust that the Lord has chosen to breath life into, and all I have comes from Him.  I pray this testimony will be a blessing to you, and those who may be facing the same deceptions and evil traps from the enemy.

Denis Lacroix

[END OF DENIS'S TESTIMONY]

Praise the Lord for making Denis to be a testimony of the saving power of Jesus Christ!

My Personal Invitation to You
In closing, please let me say that if you are backslidden -- you were once saved, but are now away from Jesus Christ,  He is calling to you today to return to Him.  He leaves the ninety-nine other sheep in the flock to pursue you -- that one lost sheep.  Return to Him with repentance and weeping.  "Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him, 'Take away all iniquity And receive us graciously, That we may present the fruit of our lips.'" (Hos 14:2) He will forgive you, and heal you.  But don't ever go back that way again!

There is nobody on earth more miserable than a backslidden Christian.  It's a terrible place to be. You might fool yourself into believing that your having fun, but the truth is that deep down inside your soul is aching. You have no peace.  The only answer is to cry out to the Lord for mercy and turn your back on sin.  Separate yourself from the world and consecrate yourself to the Lord once again. Pour out your heart to God in a covenant prayer something like this one.

And if you know a Christian, who is backslidden, don't give up on them.  Keep praying and loving them.  Keep telling them, "You will not miss your destiny. You will be a mighty man (or woman) of God. You will be a testimony of the saving power of Jesus Christ." Keep telling them that they need to return to the Lord.  The Lord will hear your prayers, and send His angels to move them out of that dangerous place into a place of safety where they can find a door to God.

Lastly, if you are contemplating suicide, I need to warn you that it's a trap of the devil.  Suicide will not solve any of your problems.  I don't know any other way to say this more kindly, except to say that suicide will only assure you an eternity in hell.  Your life is valuable to God, who made you, and you do not have permission to kill yourself. What you need right now is to cry out to the Lord Jesus, and ask Him to save you.  If you're desperate enough to consider taking your life, then you have nothing to lose.  And you can be sure that He will answer your sincere prayer. The new life He gives will be unimaginably better than the one you're now seeking to end.  He has a purpose for your life! And when He's finished fulfilling His purpose for you, then He'll take you up into glory to be with Him forever in heaven.

It all begins with giving your life to Him. Won't you do that today?

Len Lacroix

The Shepherd loves His sheep

He’s sad when they get lost

At times they choose to stray

Once saved at such a cost

He takes the time to train them

To listen to His voice

To follow His commands

But still, they have a choice

-- excerpt from "Good Shepherd"
by Charity V. Lacroix

The Truth Set Me Free!

My friend Alan chuckled and said to me, “You’re searching for Jesus.”

You see, I had been raised as a Roman Catholic, and even been an altar boy for many years as a child until I was a teenager, but had lived a life of sin; and now as an infantryman in the US Army, I was living only for myself to satisfy my own pleasures.  I had been abusing alcohol and drugs since the age of thirteen, and was living a wild and immoral nightlife.  In addition to that, I had befriended another soldier whose name like mine was Leonard, who was teaching me all about the religion he was raised in, which was Buddhism.  I was fascinated by Leonard's Buddhist "sphere of analysis," as he called it, which said that God was perfectly good and perfectly evil, and that Jesus and satan are brothers.  I had been sharing these things with my friend Alan, when he told me I was searching for Jesus.

“I’m not searching for Jesus,” I replied. I had gone to church all my life and been raised to believe in Jesus. I had my own Bible and at times had read portions of it. I could recite church creeds that I had learned as a child. I even prayed sometimes. How could I be searching for Jesus? I didn’t yet realize that there is a vital difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus.

Yet Alan saw the emptiness and confusion within me. He said, “Don’t take my word for it, Len. Do you have a Bible?”

“Sure I do,” I replied.

“Well, then blow the dust off of it and start reading it. But before you do, pray and ask God to show you the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.”

So I did. If what I had believed was not true, then I wanted to know it. I began reading the New Testament of my Bible, praying that God would show me the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I was sure that God would not allow me to be deceived, if I asked Him for the truth. During that time, I came to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father, except by me.” (John 14:6) I knew that I could come to God the Father only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It would not be through any other person, dead or alive, that I would come to God. It would not be through any angel. Nor would it be through my church membership or sacrifices.

At that time, I also became convicted of my sin. Though I was only 19 years old, a young soldier in the US Army, I was in bondage to addictive behaviors and substances that were destroying my life. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Yet God didn’t condemn me. Instead He shined His light on the darkness in my heart, showing me my need to be reconciled with Him.

God’s Word told me that He loved me and had sent His Son to die for me on the cross, in order to pay the price for my sin. His Word told me that Jesus rose from the dead and is now seated at God’s right hand in heaven. The Bible also told me that by believing in Jesus, I would find a personal relationship with God. I believed God’s Word to be true.

Len shining his combat boots

So I called upon Jesus, asking Him to forgive me of my sin, and to set me free from the bondage in which I was living. I turned from the way I had been living and surrendered my life to Jesus. I asked Him to cleanse my heart of the filth that was there, and He did. That was February 13, 1986, and I still remember the day.  It was like God ran to me, lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes, put my head to His chest, and said, "Son, don't you know I still love you?" He removed the shame and guilt that had been there. I invited Him to come and live inside my heart, and He did. He forgave me, and took up residence within me. I experienced true peace in my heart for the first time, and exchanged my bondage for His freedom to live righteously.

For the first time in my life, I was glad to be alive. When I heard the birds singing, I knew they were praising my Lord. When I looked at the grass, it seemed greener. The sky seemed bluer. Everything was in technicolor. I now had hope. I had a personal sense of His love for me, and His presence with me. I also knew that I would now spend all eternity with the Living God, because I had been put in right standing with Him through the sacrifice of His Son.

He began to set me free of my addictive behaviors, and I was so glad. No longer was I weighed down by the heavy burden of my sin. Instead I had a new joy in my heart that my friends could see. This was not the momentary kind of happiness that I had experienced in the past. It was a lasting joy that I continued to experience, even through trials and difficulties. In fact, I still continue to experience that joy today.

In case you don’t already know it, this is God’s plan for you too. He loves you and sent His only Son to die on the cross for you. “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Jesus paid the price for your sin, so you don’t have to pay the price. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8) It is a gift that you must accept simply by faith.

Will you turn from your sin and surrender to Him? Ask Him to forgive you for every sin you ever committed. Sin is simply anything you’ve done in disobedience to Him. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Ask Him to come live inside your heart. Do you believe that He rose from the dead? If you do, then let Him into your heart. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

If what you believe is not true, wouldn’t you want to know? Perhaps you’re questioning these things, and thinking this is just another man’s interpretation of the Bible. Let me challenge you to do as I did. Open the Bible and read it for yourself. Ask God to show you the whole truth and nothing but the truth. You can be sure that God will not lead you into deception, if you are sincerely asking Him for the truth. “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” (John 4:23).

It doesn’t matter what kind of life you’ve been living. No matter what you’ve done, there is forgiveness for you and salvation for you today. “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) I want to encourage you to open the door of your heart and let Jesus in. I did, and He changed my life. Jesus set me free!

Watch the full length video of my salvation testimony (21 minutes), or my short version (1 min).

Attribution notice: Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: I also recommend reading My Journey from Buddhism to New Life in Christ and The Lord Healed My Backsliding. You are invited to view my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.