HOW I CAME TO KNOW HIM
(By: Neilja Harewood)
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." John 3:3
My name is Neilja (pronounced 'neel-ya'). Forty seven years ago, I was supposed to be named Neil, after my dad Fortunately, I had a very creative mother who came up with a pretty good alternative to having her only daughter go through life with a boys name. I'll tell you more about this 'virtuous' woman a little further on.
Now, I am the mother of two wonderful sons and the grandmother of a beautiful three-year-old boy, all of whom bring great joy to my life. Our family was blessed with a little girl in June 1998. She is the first child of my only brother, who is quite a bit younger than I (our parents virtually had two only children). At this point in time, there are four generations in my family.... All healthy, happy and at varying stages in our walk with Christ.
As a child, I attended a Methodist Church with my parents and, occasionally, I went to Mass with my cousins, since going to church on Sunday was what we were supposed to do. Like many kids, I frequently fell asleep during Methodist service and Mass was in Latin in those days, so to me sleeping was quite appropriate (particularly since I had no idea what the priest was talking about). In my teen and young adult years, I knew I was heaven bound. I believed in God; his son's name was Jesus; he died and he rose (else there was no reason for Easter)...I believed it all. Furthermore, I was a nice person. I helped others, if I could. I didn't drink (never liked liquor and wine smelled like sour grapes). I only lied when it was absolutely necessary. And I smoked that "funny stuff" now and then. So, there was no reason for me to give hell a second thought, I wasn't going there. My seat on His right was already reserved...or, so I felt.
By the time my mother accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior, I was grown, had my sons and was already divorced from their father. I still believed in God and, of course, still felt I held an open reservation to heaven.
Though they lived in Philadelphia and I in Brooklyn, I spent a considerable amount of time with my parents. Mom and I would somehow start talking about 'religion'. The more she grew in the Word, the more the change in her became apparent and the more curious I became. At the time, I didn't even realize it was becoming more and more interesting. Unlike so many other 'sanctified' people, Mom never preached. Instead, she shared stories about the life and death of Christ and answered the multitude of questions I threw at her. She never judged nor condemned me and at no time did she ever tell me I was going to hell. Our relationship did not change in one iota. I knew she loved me as much as she always had. What I didn't know was that my mother was standing firm on God's promise to save her household, as stated in Acts 16:31. So, as far as she was concerned it was just a matter of time before I, too, would hear the knock and open the door to my Lord and Savior. I need not say that this woman, whom I have worshipped and adored my entire life, was once again, right!
In June 1979 the boys and I moved to Los Angeles, leaving my parents and life long friends on the East Coast. That August, Mom sent me a new bible wherein she wrote "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee (Psalms 119:11)". Her message continued, "Neilja, may the above verse be yours. God bless you. Love, Mom." Every now and then I picked up the bible and read random verses. Whenever I had a question or couldn't make sense of what I read, I called home because Mom throughout my entire life always had the answer. By now, she had been saved for many, many years and I was convinced, by all that I had seen in and around her, that she had a 'hot line' straight to God.
In one of our telephone conversations about salvation, she pointed out that I may have to account for the sins of my children since I hadn't given them the basic foundation necessary to make a decision as to whether they would ultimately follow Christ or Satan. Obviously, I had not taken that 'ultimate' step but felt that if Mom was right, as always, I had enough sins of my own to account for and I didn't want the burden of their sins as well. So, in the summer of 1981 I decided to attend the church of a friend. I had no idea it was a Church of God in Christ. "Holy rollers" as I had always called them. Their way of worship was totally foreign to me...far away from my childhood memories of a reserved Methodist Church and the Masses in a language I couldn't understand. However, once the 'hoopla' ended and the pastor picked up the mic, his sermon addressed issues that were very present in my life...the only thing he didn't do was call me by name. I stayed to hear what was being said. A few weeks later, I went back and a few weeks after that. Each time I returned, I looked forward to my next visit.
On November 9, 1981 I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior...I finally dedicated my life to serving God. In the beginning, it wasn't easy. Actually in all honesty, it was pretty darn tough. I was attacked from every direction possible. I had never had so many problems before in my life and wasn't sure God was worth all the aggravation. Had it not been for that great woman who brought me into the world and the hedge God placed around me, I would have thrown in the towel...life seemed so much easier before. That was seventeen years ago and I have been a 'Holy Roller' since that day. Naturally, the attacks still come but now, I have my own personal 'hot line'.
Dad went home a few years ago but Mom's still here.... 68 years young and standing even more firmly on the Word of God. Except for the two little ones, her entire household has dedicated their lives to Christ...her children and her grandchildren. I cannot count the times nor will I prolong this page with the many testimonies I can share reaffirming the greatness of the Lord I serve.
To those of you who feel I'm just another stupid, brainwashed Christian and that there is no heaven or hell, I understand exactly how you feel. I, too, once felt that we were all in control of our own destiny. And, to some extent, you are correct. We have been given the freedom to choose what we believe. It will never make sense, unless you have a personal relationship with Him. I 'knew' I had a good life before. However, I can assure you that today it's even better.... It's everlasting. It's wonderful to know that my name has finally been written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Now, I'm truly heaven bound and I hope to see you there one day!
This story began which can be read by clicking on this link:
"The Day Satan Lost Our Family"
If you would like to contact me, I can be reached at: neilja@mindspring.com
Thank you and God bless you!
"Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak:
For your work shall be rewarded."
(2 Chronicles 15:7)
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some
Men count slackness: but is long suffering to us-ward,
Not willing that any should perish,
But that all should come to repentance."
(2 Peter 3:9)
Dear Reader - are you at peace with God? If not, you can be. Do you know what awaits you when you die? You can have the assurance from God that heaven will be your home, if you would like to be certain. You can even have that assurance RIGHT NOW! Either Jesus Christ died for your sins, or He didn't (He did!). Are you prepared to stand before God on the Judgment Day and tell Him that you didn't need the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to have your sins forgiven and get in right-standing with God? We plead with you...please don't make such a tragic mistake.
To get to know God, to be at peace with God, to have your sins forgiven, to make certain heaven will be your home for eternity, to make certain that you are in right-standing with God right now ... please click here to help you understand the importance of being reconciled to God. What you do about being reconciled to God will determine where you will spend eternity, precious one. Your decision to be reconciled to God is the most important decision you'll ever make in this life, because in Christ, it is impossible to put a value on the worth of your soul in light of eternity.
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Remember: All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-21 is our assurance)