Herb Marlowe
Salvation Testimony
My relationship with God has been a long and winding road. Please forgive the lyric reference but while I was pondering how to approach the telling of my story, these are the words that come to mind.
I was raised in and around the Methodist church from my earliest memory. I believe that God was always working in my life to bring me to Him. The problem was that I wasn’t ready to listen. On December 25th, 1968, I received my first Bible. That very same Bible is sitting in front of me as I write these words. In times of trouble I always turned to God’s Word. No matter what stage of life I was in my Bible was the one thing that stayed with me.
James 1:14-15 tells us, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” This is where I was in my life. I was tempted and enticed. I indulged in sexual sin, debauchery and anything else that made me feel good. I toyed with drugs, drank pretty heavy, and hung with the worst people. I was drawn to evil. I damaged myself and those around me. Although I had a wife and children they fell way down my list of priorities.
In 1987, I was working with a young man in the Air Force on an 11PM to 7AM shift. We had a lot of time to talk about the Bible. I had pretty good head knowledge of the Bible but no one had ever asked me if I had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This young man asked me the right questions at the right time and I had to admit to myself that I didn’t have that personal relationship. All I had was a good understanding of the words in the book. As Jonathan took me down the Roman Road my eyes were opened. For the first time in my life the scriptures came alive.
That October night God pulled back the vale and let me understand what I had been reading all those years. I knew that I was lost and dying in my sin. I had no doubt that the Son of God had come and taken the form of man. I understood why He gave Himself as a sacrifice for my sins. I knew that Jesus had to die to pay the penalty for all my sins. It was personal. I didn’t drop to my knees and pray right there. God was still opening my eyes to His truth. When I got home I dropped to my bedside face down on the floor. I stayed there for what seemed like hours just pouring my heart out to God. I asked Jesus to come into my life and make me a new creature. I wanted a new mind and a new heart. That night he gave me that new life. I was born again. I went to sleep and slept like a baby for the first time in years. The next night I told Jonathan of my new relationship with Christ and we had a wonderful time rejoicing together.
I couldn’t wait to share this new life with everyone. I immediately started sharing the truth of the Gospel with everyone I could. I no longer had a desire to drink, smoke, or hang with the bar crowd. My life was radically changed.
Jonathan, the young man who had been instrumental in bringing me to Christ was starting a little church. I was in on the ground floor and ready to serve. I became the worship leader at the church until I was reassigned to Germany in 1990. I spent most of my time reading the word with a new understanding.
In 1990, I was stationed in Wurzburg Germany. I wanted to take my family to a church that was preaching the Word of God. I met a missionary from Texas. We became involved in a German speaking church. I even lead worship in German. During this time I continued my evangelism with the people I worked with. I got to see many come to the Lord. It was a very exciting time.
Late in 1990, I was reassigned to Bentwaters England where I became involved in Bromswell –Suffolk Baptist Church. This is when I became involved in Street Evangelism and began to feel the call to preach. In 1992, I got out of the Air Force and returned to Pinellas Park, Florida to train for the ministry.
Unfortunately, I was involved in church hurt after church hurt and ended up falling away in 1998. My wife of 17 years divorced me and I thought God was washing his hands of me. I remarried in 2002 but was not excited about a return to church any time soon. I had fallen as far away from God as I could. During this time of separation from God I definitely lived in the world. I didn’t honor my commitment to my wife or my family. I was a complete mess. God never let go of me however. In my mind, the worst thing I could possibly do was be a stumbling block for someone who didn’t believe. I know now that I was a huge stumbling block for my children but that is another story.
My wife and I were not in church but I would indulge her every once and awhile by visiting a church. Her brother and I often had debates about my faith. Some of them were pretty heated. Then a strange thing happened. A neighbor of my brother-in-law invited him to church for Christmas in 2007. He called us and said he would go if we went with him. My strange sense of not being a stumbling block was the catalyst that drove me to go.
During this time I was involved in an adulterous affair so this was a very uncomfortable place to be. We started attending church every Sunday. That was the most difficult thing I have ever done. I was living in sin and sitting in church every week. The conviction was overwhelming. I would weep in the service every time. Finally, I gave in to the still small voice inside me. I was driving to work in Lakeland, Florida and God was just beating me up. I was driving and weeping and feeling so much pressure from God. I felt like He was telling me that today is the day for me to get things right. My time was running out. I truly felt that if I didn’t turn fully back to Him that I would not be here today.
When I arrived in Lakeland I called my wife and confessed my sins to her. I begged her to meet me at the house to talk. Only by God’s grace and my wife’s mercy are we together today. She agreed to stay with me and work on the marriage. We immediately sought Biblical marriage counseling. It was on that counseling room floor where my wife met Christ for the first time. Her transformation was inspiring and I surrendered my life to Christ. I had been saved in 1987 but I never surrendered my life to Him as Lord. When I did this I was changed! I personally experienced the journey of the prodigal son. When I turned back to the Father He came running. From that point I began to experience His healing. Over the last seven years I have grown closer and closer to God and I have not been on the journey alone. My wife stands right beside me serving and loving God. I never knew having Jesus as my Lord and Savior could be so amazing. I thank him every day for never leaving me or forsaking me when I forsook Him.