Devil Magnetic

When Christians meet, they ask each the usual questions: What do you do? How long have you been going to church? We talk about our kids, our jobs, or what God is doing in our lives. But rarely do we ask each other how we got saved. As in: "Under what circumstances did you receive Christ as Savior?"
There are those who make fun of Christians, saying they screwed up their lives so bad that they now need a "crutch". This is true for some, but not everyone who comes to Christ was in the mire. Usually though, it seems a person has to be broken and humbled before they realize they need a savior.
So with that, I will share how I became a Christian. For you skeptics out there, stick around. I'll give you plenty of fodder!

I was an angry young man. I carried within me unresolved grief from my father's death, and it festered like cancer. I refused to cry about it, or deal with it. As I became a teen, the dark side appealed to me: the imagery, the music, the emotion. I would take a step in, be afraid, then take two more. Unknowingly, I was becoming a magnet for evil forces. Pentagrams, inverted crosses, music, and anger brought in new friends, the unseen kind. In a dream one night, I was in an old house, looking out of a window. I saw a glowing green light pass by the window, and then it entered the house. It then got on my back and spoke to me in some infernal mumbling. I slowly awoke, but felt the presence still on my back. After several minutes, I reached for it, but nothing was there.
I paid it no mind.

 My senior year came around, and so did a girl. This was a forbidden relationship, which added to the power of it. I grew angrier and angrier, and not a little crazy. I did not sleep much, and violated my conscience by lying about seeing this girl, and by sleeping with her.

I was chaining myself to the Enemy. I refused to end the relationship even as my sanity slipped. I invited the demons in, you see. Gave them permission. They wanted full possession, and were on their way to take it.
One night, after getting caught at the girl's house, I ran screaming from that place like a madman. Instead of driving home, I decided to return. I waited across the street. I began to lose control of my body, flipping around on the grass. I told her I would be back, but I was not in my right mind anymore. My body kept flipping and contorting even as I returned to my van. Something wanted control.

I wanted to run my van into oncoming traffic. The rage in me was unbearable and wouldn't subside. But a small voice said "Go home." I did. My mom had already gotten the phone call; she knew where I had been. I told her to "Shut up!" She was scared, realizing I had become someone else. But the Devil's power is limited! He can only go as far as God allows.

She presented the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I accepted. Immediately the anger was gone, and I was at peace. Exhausted, but at peace. The madness had fled like a flock of ravens.
 I slept well that night.
I'd like to say I began serving God faithfully after that, but I did not. The chains were still there, and had to be broken over time. God is merciful, though, and I'm still alive and mostly in my right mind! I did make a choice that night, to join Christ and flee from Satan. I would have it no other way. I look forward to seeing Him with my own eyes one day!

"For I know my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God." Job 19:25-26