My testimony.

The extreme hypocrisy of the church and those within it has bothered me very much for decades and, in fact, I have left churches because of it. Still, Jesus changed my heart by revealing to me that I am a hypocrite in need of salvation and by opening my eyes to the wickedness of those in the Bible whom He saved.

Peter betrayed Jesus. Thomas doubted. King David committed adultery and murdered the husband of the woman he screwed. Paul blessed the martyrdom of Stephen. Samuel messed around with foreign women. Jacob questioned God. And yet all are considered heroes of the faith. Why? Because Jesus had remained above reproach and lifted them up high above their sin in order to change their hearts. Jesus is not in the same class as all those I mentioned and thus I had to separate Him from the "sinners and hypocrites." To me, undefiled religion simply became a trust in the completed work of Jesus and a commitment to repentance and grace in my own life. He is not hypocritical and sinful and that is what matters.

I grew up in the Episcopalian church attending only a couple times a year on Christmas Eve and Easter (a "Chreaster"). That changed when the family moved and we started going every Sunday when I was 13. Attendance became my moral obligation (though I truly only went because there were a couple hot chicks there). I learned little about Jesus.

It wasn't until I was 20 and in the Marine Corps when a friend invited me to go to a church he had heard about. Being as religiously moral as I was, I went... and really heard the Good News for the first time. The second Sunday I was invited to the home of one of the families. At the end of that day I was invited to visit whenever I wanted to get off base. I took them up on it largely because they had a beautiful daughter around my age but also because I couldn't turn down such generous hospitality. Soon, I was visiting 3-4 times a week and almost every weekend and sleeping on the couch.

I became a member of the family for all intents and purposes and was blessed with all the fights that went with that! They are hot-blooded Italians and I am hot-blooded Irish. We were all dysfunctional. Yet, unlike my own family where we buried many of our problems, they aired their dirty laundry and dealt with it. When they sinned, they repented, sought forgiveness and gave the glory to God. A few months later, I realized that I was a changed man and openly proclaimed the name of Jesus. I did so because I saw that hypocrites could actually worship God in Spirit and Truth. It was amazing. That was eight years ago.

At this time, out of the Marines, I am renting a room in the house and still live with the family. The two oldest have moved out and the third will be leaving in a few months. The youngest has a few years yet. They are all my brothers and sisters and I could no sooner turn away from a God who has blessed me with such a testimony as I could tell my lungs to stop breathing. My faith has animated me and given me life through the grace of Jesus. He loved me in spite of the self-righteous man I was.