Set Free From Religion | David’s Story
Let me start by saying my faith in God the father has been with me my entire life.My previous experiences with religion have been negative to say the least. I am a Jew that has converted to Christianity. Sounds simple and straight forward but no. Jewish people get very upset when someone marries out of the faith or converts to another religion or anything that doesn’t follow Judaism. I crushed the top 2 so there was a negative knot in my stomach whenever I had any feelings towards any other form of spirituality. I was forced from the age of 6 to attend a religious school on Saturday mornings until I was 15 and then it was 3 times per week in preparation for confirmation. After confirmation I no longer had to go and I stopped at that moment vowing to never return or subject my children to the same experience.
Before we were married we had the religious talk about what religion to raise the kids. My wife was adamant about Christianity and going to and participating in church and I was good with that. My wife Myra would ask me every weekend to go to church with her and I would decline as politely as possible (or so I thought) Occasionally I would go because she is amazing and unbelievably persistent. For the most part, due to my past it was a hard NO for me. She kept on speaking very highly of Pastor James and all the members of the group lead by Doug Keefe and his wife Krista. I love my wife and I treasure peace in the household so I visited Crosspoint City Church. It has been my luck to visit churches on money Sunday. I’m usually a “one and done visitor Fortunately, this was not the case at Crosspoint City. I was surprised to see the pastor in jeans and a short sleeve shirt. No fancy jewelry or expensive suits — just a regular guy with an incredible set of talents and a true passion for Jesus. I really enjoyed that visit. Pastor James Griffin teaches the word. He keeps true to the Bible regardless of the present society. His presentation and delivery of the word is easy for me to understand. It made sense to me and I started to feel the joy.
Figuring she had me on the ropes, she asked me to go to a group gathering and I grudgingly accepted. The group members accepted me with genuine love and compassion and no judgement and we quickly became the best of friends. We go on weekend trips and have nights out together and of course the small group gatherings. More joy began to follow. The friendships I have made through the church family are true blessings for me and my family and are some of the best friends I have ever had. Since that time, Jesus changed my heart and mind through His grace and I gratefully continue to grow in my faith. Pastor James is an enormous influence to me and his friendship as well everyone I have met in the Crosspoint family. It’s no mystery why this church is a big family that is growing in leaps and bounds. I never would have thought this was possible for me and I am eternally honored and grateful to the Lord for his love and sacrifice as well as the Godly relationships I now have. Even though I am having a hard season at the moment, my faith in the Lord strengthens every day and I know he will set me free. Again!