Robertson Avenue Baptist Church

I met Jesus in a real and personal way in 1994.  I did not grow up in a religious family.  My mother is the daughter of an Independent or Primitive Baptist Minister who became a divorced alcoholic.  My father is the son of Scottish/Jewish immigrants and was raised by his Jewish grandparents who hid their faith due to the persecution in the South of the 1940’s.  So, as you can see, religion was of very little importance to my family.  Growing up, I was told that we were Baptists and that Dad’s family was some crazy Saturday Jehovah’s Witness weird people.  My knowledge of Jesus was the Manger and the Cross.  I knew Jesus died and He was supposedly resurrected, and that He was the little plastic Baby in the manger at Christmas time.  Like most Texas teenagers of my time, I became involved in under-age drinking and found myself on numerous occasions in precarious situations.  The day It happened, I don’t remember how I drove home, but I did and I was confronted by my mother.  It wasn’t the first time I got caught, but this time, I felt shame and guilt.  I was dating a Catholic girl who didn’t miss church at all.  I went with her once or twice and found myself asking questions to the priest.  The priest would become offended at my questions and end the conversation. I began reading a Bible and naturally, I began to pray.  As I would pray, I would long to hear God’s Voice, like Noah did.  I would ask God to speak to me.  To just let me know He was there and one day He did!  It was that day I began to feel the weight of my sin and shame.  It became unbearable and I couldn’t stand it anymore!  I picked up the Bible and read Genesis chapters 1 through 8.  It only took about 15 minutes!  I read about Noah, the Ark, the Rainbow, the Flood! I cried out to God and said, “If you can speak to Noah about an ark, why won’t You speak to me?”  It was then that it happened. I watched with my own eyes, a rainbow go from one side of the sky to the other and I KNEW THEN, WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT HE HEARD ME AND THAT HE SPOKE TO ME!  I fell on my knees and began to say “I’m sorry for my sin”.  I ran to my truck and wanted to drive to church!  I didn’t know where any church was!  I pulled over in a parking lot off of Robertson Ave. and asked God to show me what church to go to.  Guess what?  When I looked up, I saw that I was in the parking lot of Robertson Ave. Baptist Church!  I ran to the glass door and knocked hard!  A very tall, bald-headed man answered and I remember what he said to me to this day!  He said, “son, you look like you have a problem!”  He took me into his office and spoke just a few minutes with me and invited me back that night to church!  I came and I received Jesus into my heart that night and I have NEVER been the same!  In fact, I didn’t even wait for the invitation, I asked Jesus into my heart in the pew!  I don’t know what the preacher said that night…..I know what God said….