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May our wonderful Lord Jesus be glorified in this life transformed
by His love, grace and power. "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there
is no one who does good." (Psalm 14:1) For the first 32 years of my life, I was that kind of fool.
As a small child,
I attended church at times and heard that Someone – I did not know Who – "suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died,
and was buried." Deciding that Pontius Pilate was supremely evil, I tried to assess current figures in the news: "Mom, is
Khrushchev worse than Pontius Pilate? Is Lee Harvey Oswald?"
For a few years, I prayed the Lord's Prayer (just in
case) and added a few requests at the end. There were some answers, but I gave Him no credit. I was also exposed to the occult
during those years, and someone suggested that I must be a good witch.
At age 14, I made an incredibly capricious decision
against God. I was losing a tennis game and prayed to win. I lost, so just then I became a hard agnostic. Soon, I adopted
a philosophy glorifying capitalism, humanism and selfishness. I also grew to love politics.
At the University Of Washington,
I earned an honors degree in Philosophy and a Phi Beta Kappa. I noticed how each great philosopher was disproved by the next
great philosopher. Nearly every system had fatal flaws that even I, a mere undergrad, could earn 4.0s in disclosing. Later,
I realized that these vain philosophies of men failed as they rejected God and faith.
As a prideful intellectual, I
thought, said and did almost anything I chose. I did not care whom I hurt. In 1981, I married Del, also a heathen of long
standing. We both worked for the Legislature. Advancing in my career, I got involved in illegal campaign activities. For
me, the end justified the means.
Once a reporter wrote about the state's ten nastiest election hit pieces. Two were
mine. I called myself "a bird of prey – nothing personal, but they must die so I may live."
I made other evil choices
as well, and by 1988, my marriage to Del was almost over. In those days, there were literal moments of actually exalting
myself against God in my mind (!) (if He really existed). But I also said to myself, "Leslie, you are utterly depraved."
Then
some Christians told me they were praying for Del and me. I thought this was…nice. A friend gave me "Mere Christianity" by
C. S. Lewis. Here I learned, to my great surprise, that pride was the greatest sin. But my pride was one of the things I was
most proud about!
One day, I happened to take an old Bible out of my bookcase, randomly opening it to various pages.
Each time, my eyes landed on a condemnation of my exact sin!
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I thought, "Is that all they talk about in this thing??!!"
On many occasions, I sensed an unnatural intervention that inexplicably thwarted some of my evil plans.
Then, on a
single day, the Lord completely restored Del's and my love for each other. I wondered if there really was a God, but... nah!
Soon, though, we met some business people who talked a lot about God. I found it interesting that they could believe in Him.
When
we finally heard the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation was so strong that Del and I both gave our lives to Jesus. I
recall those moments of struggle on the brink of eternal destiny on March 12, 1989. I resisted Him even then, yet He graciously
took me on that day from unbelief to belief, from darkness to light, from death to everlasting life. Knowing very little,
I trusted Him to show me the rest.
My radically new heart and life shocked everyone and distressed more than a few.
Besides cleansing many bad attitudes and activities (still), the Lord soon convicted me to stop my illegal campaign work
and to instigate a major investigation that ended those practices altogether.
After leaving the Legislature, I was
blessed to serve as the campaign director for two openly devout Christian candidates. One is now a state senator and the other
won the primary election in a race for governor.
Meanwhile, with the wonderful help of the spiritual mother that God
provided, I voraciously studied the Bible and served in various ministries. Early on, God gave me a servant love for Israel
and Jewish people. My studies emphasized these areas.
In 1997, God let me focus on His treasured Chosen People more
directly. First, He opened meetings and classes for me to lead at our church. It was a time of learning, rest and preparation
for...what, Lord?
Then, in 1998, He sent a Russian Jewish believer from Brooklyn to Olympia, Washington. We met, and
in a few days she asked me to help in Brooklyn! People prayed, God confirmed the Brooklyn Call with many miracles, and Del
approved.
Here, the Lord has tenderly settled us, also providing a beautiful center in which to minister to hundreds
of Russian Jews and other immigrants, all beloved. We also rejoice to worship and serve the Lord in a precious Russian Jewish
congregation.
Serving here is such an amazing answer to a deep heart's desire, even though there are constant struggles.
My dear immigrants and I once had little in common but our opposition to God. Yet today, the Scripture is being so richly
fulfilled: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." (Ephesians
2:13)
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