Thankfully, it only took 1 year to bring me home. On August 1, 2005 I took a job with Adelphia in Columbus. Now, on August 1st, 2006 I will be with Time Warner working in Chillicothe! I am so happy and so excited. I never expected it to happen, but never gave up hoping.
God continues to bless us. It seems that once you get through life's "storms" God gives you showers of blessings. Thank-you God for being so generous and merciful to me. I don't deserve it, but you do it anyway. I love you Lord.
I will be going back to school soon to finish what I started. It seems like it has been forever - almost 18 weeks to be exact - since my last class. It will be so nice to finish. There is some talk about a Fall graduation, but I don't think I will be done by then. I have to finish now though. I cannot wait any longer. Otherwise we have wasted (insert insane amount of college loans here) and I have nothing to show for it. I am lucky to have a wife that supports me no matter what. She is behind me on this and I am going to get back on track.
One good thing that came out of waiting is the change in the name. It is no longer Circleville Bible College, but is now Ohio Christian University. That name will be on my diploma. More importantly - because it is a University - my credits will actually transfer if I decide to further my education to get my Masters Degree.
Again, I stress my glee. I am so blessed. If you don't know God then you don't know peace. I understand how it works. You have done so much to find happiness. You have a spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend that seems to fill a need, but the ache is still there. You have a longing and a desire to connect with something bigger than yourself. You try harder to fill it with knowledge (schooling), career advancement, doing well at sports, etc. All of these things do temporarily fill that void, but they fade. Its much like a child trying to fit a square block into a triangle hole. It will cover part of it - but never all of it. It just never seems to fit.
I am not preaching or trying to sound "churchy". I just know that when I die God has secured a place for me in Heaven. That peace, that contentment, that joy....they cannot be bought in a store. You won't find that at "the Wal-Mart". No person in the world can give you those feelings. I love my wife, but I am the first to tell her that it is for Christ that I live. As Paul says in Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain". She is everything to me here on earth. However, I was not put on earth to love her. I was placed on earth to love my redeemer.
We were never supposed to live in sin. We did not need a savior. Then Satan struck and here we are. The Bible says there are "none blameless, no not one". We were all born into sin and we must all find a way to be free of our sin. There is only one way and that is through Christ. He died on a cross as a sacrifice - a perfect sacrifice. He was sinless because he was born of a virgin. Much like in those times a spotless lamb would be used to sacrifice, so He was spotless. He lived a life much like ours, but He did it without sin.
He could have called the angels to rescue Him off of the cross. He could have turned His back on us. He could have left us for dead. He should have left us for dead. He didn't do it though. He took the weight of our sins (all of them) and paid the price of sin by dying for us. The Bible also tells us that the "wages of sin is death" and that sin leads to destruction. We deserve to die. For "all have sinned" and fall short of saving ourselves. Way short. There is one way. God's grace provided our sin atonement (the blood that paid for our sins) by the way of His son Jesus die for us. All we have to do is accept Him. This is what you must do to be saved:
1. Admit your spiritual need. You need Jesus more than you need anything in the world. You acknowledge you are a sinner.
2. Repent and be willing to turn from your sin.
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for YOU on the cross.
4. Receive Jesus Christ into your heart and life, by choosing this relationship over your current life of sin and separation from Him.
It really is that simple. If you have made this decision and would like to talk to someone about it you have options. You can email me at website@speakmanville.com, or contact the folks at "Need Him" one of two ways:
Call 1- 888-NEED HIM (888-633-3446). Someone is always waiting to speak with you to answer questions or to go over your decision with you.
Go to www.needhim.org. There you can read more and even chat live if you are not ready to talk to someone yet. The most important thing is that you will be making a decision. No matter if you accept Christ or not, you have made a decision.
God Bless,
Bob
[Listening to: Birds chirping :) ]
God Bless,
Bob Speakman
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