I did not grow up in church. I cannot recall going to church every Sunday or during the weekdays while living in Panama. However, I do remember my grandmother making us pray every morning and before going to bed. I don’t know why we never attended church, perhaps it was too difficult to travel with all the children or maybe my grandfather did not allow my grandmother to take us. It’s not that we never attended church; we were there on New Year’s Eve, and Easter Sunday, but never on a regular, consistent basis.
I started going to church on a consistent basis when I migrated to the USA. My grandmother made us go to church every Sunday; it was the rule in her home. It did not matter how tired or hung-over we were, we had to get up and go to church. We lived upstairs in the same church building, so there were no excuses.
I remember sitting in the back of the church making fun of the people. It was a storefront Pentecostal Holiness Church. One night my entire life changed, I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior and everything changed for me. Like the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, I was caught in my sins pretending that I knew the Lord, going to church and saying all the right things but living a lie. But on that night the Lord did not condemn me He forgave me and gave me a brand new life, and like that woman He sent me into the world with this command “leave your life of sin!”
“’No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” John 8:11 (NIV)
Walking away from a sinful lifestyle is not an easy thing to do. I would be lying to you if I said that I walked out of that church and never sinned again, however, with the help of the Holy Spirit, a good Bible believing Church, and connection to strong and mature believers, I have been walking with the Lord for 40 plus years. While there were occasions when I slipped and made mistakes in my walk, I have never walked away from the Lord. Many may ask, “How were you able to maintain your walk without going back to a life of sin?” Here is my answer; on the night I gave my heart to the Lord I consciously and physically left the life of sin. I went home and destroyed everything that tied me to the life of sin, I stopped going to parties, stopped smoking, drinking and many other things, and with the help of the Lord I left that life behind me.
It took some time and many relapses, but as I grew in Christ I became stronger and the more I read the Word of God, the stronger my walk and faith became. Let me encourage you in your walk, you must leave the life of sin, you will never grow and mature in Christ until you leave your life of sin behind you. The Lord will not force you or make you leave your life of sin, like the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, as Jesus did not accuse her, He does not accuse you, but He commands you to leave your life of sin and walk a righteous life with Him.
Are you ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and walk away from a life of sin? If yes, pray this simple prayer:
“Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, I know I am not where I want to be, and I want your forgiveness! I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for my sins. Please wash me clean from all sin, shame, and guilt, come into my life Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I ask this in your name Jesus. Amen!”
If you prayed this prayer, leave your life of sin and walk in Christ!
Be Blessed,
Bishop Jemmott