WordS about the WORD - Doug Stenberg - Trinity Covenant Fellowship

I played with an 8-year-old girl around the corner. I was 8 also. She got polio and I never saw her again, except once being wheeled in a wheelchair to the car. How come her? I lived 150 feet from her house. Why not me?

Then someone close to my age at 15 died. I asked, “Why?” And I asked myself what is death? I had no answer.

In 1968, the Vietnam draft was in full swing. I knew when I turned 19 I would be going to the front lines of the Vietnam War after I was drafted into the Army. I was a hunter, I knew what it was like to kill a deer. But, what about a man? Well, I knew if I was put into a situation where someone was shooting to kill me I would do what I needed to do, but I sure did not want to do that. So, I enlisted into the Air Force for four years instead of two years at Vietnam. Why war? Why killing?

So, I went to Abilene, Texas to serve at Dyess Air Force Base. I just tried to fit in. Sleep, work, eat and party some. Like the beer commercial said, “it doesn’t get any better than this.” And they were right, at least at that point in my life.

I was invited by one of my beer drinking buddies to go to church with him. For the first time I heard a preacher talk about this Jesus as if he knew Him and that Jesus had given him eternal life, meaning that after he died, he was going to Heaven because God loved and saved him.

I asked could this be real? Is God real? The preacher shared John 3:16. I heard God loves me and sent his son to save me from death and hell and has eternal life for me. Could this be real?

In March 25, 1970, at this preacher’s home, I asked, “Jesus if you are real, forgive me of my sins and I invite you to come into my life and be my Savior. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me!” And He did! How did I know? I had a question I needed an answer to. Three minutes after I asked Jesus to be my Savior, I was standing across the room while others were being prayed for. And I heard someone say my name and I knew it was Jesus! He said, “Doug, I do not expect you to be perfect, just take my Word and live it as fully as you possibly can.” I heard this in my thought center inside me.

I knew Jesus was real! I knew every word in the Bible was true cover to cover. I knew I was saved and had eternal life. Life has meaning, Heaven was real and that God loves me!

How about you? Do you have any questions? I know who has the answers. 

His name is Jesus!