My spiritual birthday story begins when I was in grade school. I went to a parochial school from the first to the eighth grades. During this time, I learned a lot about the Ten Commandments and Bible stories. While I believed the historical facts about Jesus, I was in a religion that relied on the sacraments for salvation. The result was that, by the time I reached eighth grade, I felt as though I had failed in this religious system.
The seeds of a dilemma had taken root in my life: I knew there was a God; I knew I was a sinner; I knew there was a judgment day coming when I died; I did not know how to get right with God to prepare for that day.
By the time I reached high school, I confessed to my father that I was not getting anything out of going to church. My dad has always been an independent thinker. He advised me to read some books, go to other churches to search for what I was missing in my relationship with God. I did read some books and took a course called “Man, Religion & Society” in college. The very first day of this course the professor introduced himself and said, “I challenge anyone here to debate me on the Bible. It is a book full of myths and contradictions!”
This shocked me since I had never been exposed to someone who did not respect the Bible. I realized with shame that, while I had attended a parochial school for eight years, I did not know what the Bible said. I had not even read one chapter of one book in the Bible. Nobody challenged this professor but this event made me aware of my ignorance of the Bible.
I fell in love and married Diane while I was in graduate school. Shortly after we moved into our first house, our first child, Mindy, was born. A few months later, I opened the front door and found two small green books between the storm and inner front door.
I read the cover and it said, “New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs.” It was from some organization called the Gideons. I decided to keep them but just put them on the shelf.
A few weeks later, a deacon from a Bible church named Joe was hired where I worked. Shortly thereafter, he and I were assigned to drive from Milwaukee to New Orleans in a truck to do some work together. Before we left, he asked me if I would like to do a Bible study. My first reaction was that this guy was some sort of religious fanatic but then I remembered my ignorance of the Bible and said, “I’ll think about it.”
As I packed to leave for the trip, I remembered the New Testaments on the shelf and thought, “I would really like to find out what the Bible is all about.”
We were not more than 50 miles down the road when Joe took out his Bible and opened it to Romans 3:23. “There is none righteous no not one for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This spoke to me since I knew I was a sinner. Then he went to Romans 5:8 and said, “God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” I could easily follow this since I had been taught from my childhood that Jesus died for all of mankind. Finally, he turned to Romans 6:23 and read, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The first half of this verse I definitely knew was true of myself since I was convinced I had a sin problem that was worthy of punishment. However, the second half of the verse hit me like a thunderbolt. I had never before heard that Jesus would give eternal life as a gift. Eager to hear how this could be Joe took me to Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5 and other verses that said the death of Jesus on the cross was for my sins if I would believe and accept this. I prayed to receive Jesus as my Savior and immediately felt immense joy and relief! It was as though a huge weight had been lifted from me and I was free from the guilt and penalty of my sins! I was so happy that I felt like I could have floated around the cab of the truck we were in if it wasn’t for my seat belt!
In the days that followed I my New Testament intensively because I was hungry to know what it said. Diane and Mindy came to visit me in New Orleans and, at the end of the first day together, Diane said, “There is something different about you. You have changed and are no longer the same person I married.” I tried to explain to her that I had experience a spiritual birth and was a new creature in Christ but she did not understand.
Over the course of the next several months we experienced extreme spiritual warfare. At night the tension in the bedroom was so thick it was like static electricity. I was determined that I was not going to deny the reality of what had happened to me nor fail to pursue my love for Jesus even if it cost me my wife and everything else I cherished.
During this time, we alternated going to Joe’s Bible church and our old church. At the old church, I hit an all time low as we were cloistered in a sound proof room at the back of the church with other parents with babies. It reminded me of the place in the Bible where it says there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. The babies did the wailing and the parents did the teeth gnashing! When we went to the Bible church there always was an invitation at the end of the service to accept Christ. I would pray, “This is the time Lord. Open her eyes and let her accept you as I have!” However, nothing happened until one Sunday a guest evangelist spoke at the Bible church. Before the invitation was given, Diane went forward to accept Christ! I was flabbergasted and prayed, “Wait a minute Lord! I haven’t even started praying yet!”
Both of our children accepted Christ and are now adults. I became a grandpa on Valentine’s Day 2005 with the birth of Dylan. I pray for his salvation regularly.
My understanding of the Bible grew rapidly as I was mentored by Joe and other Christians in a neighborhood group. I have come to realize the fundamental importance of daily Bible study to interact with God and receive revealed truths. I have also come to realize that most people in America were like me. While Bibles are available, they are not systematically studied by most Christians. The familiar Bible stories like the birth, miracles and death of Jesus are told in most churches. In addition, certain denominational beliefs are taught and generally accepted without being examined by a careful study of scripture. There is a spiritual laziness that comes from being spoon fed rather than searching the scriptures to encounter the living God. It is this concern that has led me to write “Truth Seeker: Straight Talk From The Bible.” This book provides a concise summary of what the Bible says on many theological and practical living subjects. This book is not a substitute for individual study of the Bible. It is my hope and prayer that this book will convince readers of the vast amount of wisdom and truth in the Bible and inspire those who read it to diligently search for God and His truths!
Warren invites you to visit his website to learn more about his books: "Truth Seeker, Straight Talk From The Bible" and "The Once And Future King". You may also place an order by clicking here.
His personal website is WarrenMueller.com and you can visit it by clicking here.
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