My name is Stan Cook and I first heard about Jesus when I was in high school. A fellow classmate named Steve told me about God's plan of salvation. This was the first call.
I believed without a doubt Jesus is the Son of God, that he suffered and died on the cross to pay for my sins, was buried and rose from the grave three days later. I had not, however, asked Jesus to come into my life and make me a new person.
The Danger of Procrastination
There is a common saying: "You can miss heaven by 18 inches." That is approximately the distance between your head and your heart. I had an intellectual knowledge about Jesus but no heart knowledge.One day I decided to attend church again. At the end of the morning service, the pastor invited people who wanted to make a decision to accept Christ as the Lord over their lives to go forward. This was the second call.
I immediately had a powerful sense of urgency to go forward to give my life to Jesus. I tightly gripped the back of the pew in front of me and fought the urge to go forward. I really don't have the words to describe how powerful and urgent this invitation was. I told God I wasn't ready to give up my sinful lifestyle.
Again, I chose sin over salvation. I chose temporary pleasures and what I believed to be the benefits sin had to offer over eternal salvation.
God tried so hard that day in church but I resisted and rejected the call. I understand now why the call to salvation was so urgent. We all have a free will though, and I chose to continue living in sin.
The third call came several years later, shortly after my sister passed away. I knew she was a born-again Christian and am convinced she spoke to the Lord on my behalf. Because my sister spoke with God, I was assured God was still interested in my salvation despite the way I lived and the choices I was making.
This time I did ask Jesus into my life. Less than a month later, I returned to my sinful lifestyle.
Getting My Attention
For a while everything went well, but as time passed, things gradually went bad. I had a business partnership that went bad. I lost a good job. I faced financial ruin. I lost most of my possessions. But, the greatest loss for me was the relationship I had with most of my family. On July 4, 2006, I was downtown watching the fireworks. After the show, I stood up to leave and almost fell over. My left leg was very weak. It had been feeling weak for a few days, but I tried to ignore it. That day was the last day I walked.What I didn't know was that I was developing what's called an aortic aneurysm. That's when a "balloon" develops in the aorta. This "balloon" pressed the blood vessels feeding the nerves to my legs against my spine, cutting off the supply of blood to the nerves, causing them to die.
Final Wake-Up Call
I knew right away that this was a wake-up call from God. To this day I believe it was a "now or never" situation. Either I would turn to God or face the consequences. I had accepted Christ as my Savior, but I had chosen evil over good.The Bible says that "who God loves, he chastens (or disciplines)." By now, I would have given up on me if I were God. But God is not willing that any should perish but that all turn to salvation (2 Peter 38-10). I praise God that he gave me this final call.
I am now in assisted living in a wheelchair. It's highly unlikely that I will ever walk again; at least not in this life. I grieve over the life I have lived. I would like to turn back time and start over. I caused so much hurt to those around me. I lived for the moment and didn't care about the future or the consequences.
Don't put off this decision like I did. No one has a guarantee that they'll live another day.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)
Christian Living