WHERE WAS SPIDEY WHEN I NEEDED HIM? AND I NEEDED HIM BADLY TO GIVE ME MORE THAN A KICK IN THE SPIRITUAL SEAT OF MY PANTS

I knew this friend one time. He went to church. Even when he was a baby. He stayed in church on a regular basis. He always knew he was different. He knew he felt bad when he did bad things. It didn't seem to bother some, if not all, of his friends when they did bad things.

At age 9 he asked God into his life. He knew he was a sinner and prayed for salvation. What should have been a celebration for his decision was kept quiet. In fact it lay dormant for almost 10 years.

Oh, he continued in his Sunday School and church attendance during that time of dormancy. He still knew he was different. When Sunday School teachers would ask him if he was saved he would say no. Because he had watched altar calls for years. And that's not the way he was saved. Plus, he had never joined the church. He had never been baptized. Even though some of his friends had. Even the same friends that didn't act like they loved Jesus very much. So he was a little unsure, a little confused.

So he plodded along as a follower of Jesus, but he felt more like an underground follower, if he would have known that terminology. He knew he would have to take a stand, but he kept putting it off. Even at revival meetings he attended in high school, he would come close to taking that step into the aisle, but he didn't. But nearly every Sunday you could find him in church and Sunday School.

The preacher he had known for a long time came to see him and he accepted the Lord and followed with baptism. It was so easy. It felt so right. When he was sitting in the first row of the pews he felt a cold rush of air that chilled him. A Christian friend later told him it was the Holy Spirit entering his body. He doesn't know if that was the case. He always felt his "first salvation" was valid.

Years passed. He would still be found in church. But for too long he left Sunday School thinking he had graduated or something. He knew he never needed a mid-week service or small group or home bible study, because he'd be there Sunday, taking copious notes and following along in his Bible, for the most part. He was an usher in church. He served on Building Committees, Deacon Nominating Committees. He was active in the church.

He re-found Sunday School. What a blessing he had denied himself! He moved across the country. He found Bible Study Fellowship thanks to two Sunday School friends and his wife. He went to Israel. He rededicated his life to the Lord and was re-baptized in the Jordan River. He grew spiritually.

I'd like to say I never looked back. I did look back. With regrets. I never felt out of touch with God. I never felt I was rebelling. Sometimes I never even felt I was procrastinating because I had my 9 year old salvation to fall back on. But I missed out on so much. I should be farther along the road to being a more mature Christian.

I'm in church a lot now. And I love it, as I always did. I always felt at home in church. But it's so much better when you're not a stepchild in God's family. And you don't have to be. Accept Lord Jesus today and begin your new life with Him.