I am brother Jeremiah and this is my testimony. I can remember even at an early age knowing that God had a call on my life. As a child, I had good Christian parents, went to Sunday school and church most weeks. I had some foundation in the Lord; But as a got older I started to drift. As a teen I went to church and even got involved in the miscellaneous ministries there– the Choir, Church Visitation, and I even taught first and second grade Sunday School. But while I might have looked good on the outside, I wasn’t being completely real with God (or myself really) on the inside. I had good motives, but Christ had become religion for me, and Christ is not a religion. I am not even really sure to this day if I was really serving Christ back then, but I sure thought I was. I certainly know I did not have the kind of passion for his presence as I do now. My prayer life was all about me– “Give me this, I want that bless me Lord I pray….” When I read my Bible it wasn’t out of hunger or desire…it was because I knew I was supposed too, and those times I did crack the book, it was because I pretty well forced myself to. Slowly but surely I buckled under the shell of legalism I had built, and it broke. Anyway I wasn’t nearly as clean on the inside as I was on the outside. A part of me was rebellious, a part of me was conformed to the pattern of the world. Very soon the Bible, prayer, and fellowship took a much lower priority in my life, replaced instead by compromises and sin. It didn’t happen over night. I did not just wake up one day and say, “I am going to rebel against God, fall head long into sin, and give Satan a complete foothold in my life!” Little compromises day by day. If I went to church, it would be to hang out, socialize, and meet girls. It wasn’t about Jesus, it wasn’t real. Throughout my life wrong motives began replacing pure ones. Life was seemingly going well for me for a while. I had a good job, a nice place to live and nice things. I never gave God glory or credit for anything. Sin completely displaced God in my life. If someone had asked me when I was 20 if I would ever use drugs or alcohol for that matter, I would have told them that would never happen– I encouraged other young people to straighten out their lives. But by the time I was 30, I was a junkie, I was sticking a needle in my arm several times a day, and deceiving myself into believing I was still serving Jesus. I was stealing, I was lying, I was cheating. His grace was sufficient for me, right? If Jesus had come back in that moment in my life should I have expected to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant?” or “Depart from me you worker of iniquity”! Grace is a wonderful thing yes, but it came at a great price, Christ crucified.. It is not the great cover up! It enables us to serve God to our full potential. My lifestyle certainly did not reflect the Lordship of Jesus nor did it bear any kind of reverence for what He did for me on the cross. Just like all the other “relationships” in my life, I was taking advantage.
I have been at Set Free Men’s Ranch now for more than eight years and have been sober my whole time here, to the praise of His glorious grace. I have a real relationship with God now and I love serving him, and sharing the gospel message with others. I am fulfilling that call on my life that God had for me. Jesus can break the chains of bondage in your life– He can free you of sins and addictions; He can heal your broken heart. I encourage anyone who may be reading this testimony today, if you have not yet invited Jesus Christ into your heart, or have not yet really given place to Him as Lord and Master of your life, make that decision for Him. Come to Jesus! Don’t receive the grace of God in vain.“For He says: “ In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day if salvation” (2 Co 6:2) God bless you!
—Jeremiah Oldfield
P.S. Jesus Loves You!
P.P.S Jesus Loves You!
