Hi, I would like to express that it is an undeserving privilege for me to share with you how God, The Almighty Creator, with His Merciful, Loving, Grace; Made Himself known to me and by acknowledging How He Equipped me with the inherent, independent capability; to either exercise my free will and be captain of my own soul or to choose to deny myself and TRUST in the evidence in Life, through creation and my having a conscience, that it was possible for me to seek and find a loving, meaningful, personal relationship with my Creator, and Experience His Will for my life. My name is David and this is an autobiography of some of the events that took place, to the best of my memory, which led to my being Reconciled to God; by God's Grace through Faith in the Gospel of my Creator, Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ.
There was a time when I felt that God was up there, somewhere in the heavens, so far away and Who seemed to be so Unknowable, but God by His Merciful, Loving Grace moved me to be a person who would: ask a lot of questions, seek for answers in Life and knock on the Door of Truth.
My personal quest to find God begins with a question that I felt moved to ask my mother when I was about four years old “Mom”, I asked, “ why was I born before my brother?” I was trying to grasp in my curious little mind how my arrival into my family and even into this world was determined. How and why did God decide the order of my birth in the Way that He did? I have a faint but fond recollection of my mother sitting on the edge of my bed patiently and lovingly attempting to answer such questions, as she would read one of our favorite bedtime Bible stories.
The next memory which comes to mind is that of my Grandfather, whom I affectionately called, “Grampy”. I recall that I was playing on the dining room floor at my Grandparent’s house and my Mom, Dad &Aunts& Uncles were engaged in very lively discussion about formal education and different methods of learning. It seemed that they could agree on some things but couldn’t on others. Then I heard “Grampy”, clearing his throat and empting his pipe with a light tapping sound on the edge of his ashtray. You could hear a pin drop! Well, I stopped playing at that moment and sat up to listen to hear what “Grampy” had to say. “The Bible, the Dictionary, and the Encyclopedia,” He said, “that’s all you need in a nut shell.” Apparently, if I remember correctly what “Nana”, my ever so loving and nurturing Grandmother, had shared with me one time; many, many years later, when I inquired about it; as to where did that statement come from, Nana informed me; that Grampy was quoting a saying that he had either read or heard from a biographical account of a tutor; who was hired by Alexander Graham Bell’s family to teach a dear loved one of that family or a friend of the family and that person had a learning disability.
That statement that my Grandfather was moved to share seemed to settle the matter with all the adults in the living room and as for me, who was about eleven years of age at that time, that statement had a profound impact on me and moved me to have greater reverence for God and The Holy Bible.
As I grew into my teenage years I found myself asking questions like; "Where are you God," and “Why don’t You show yourself ?” I would make a point of spending time alone ,usually going for long walks thinking about these and similar questions related to this particular topic.
If I was to think back to my earliest experiences, where I had encountered an epiphany, a soul stirring awareness of God’s Awesome Presence in my life, included would be: the time when my youngest sister was struggling to stay alive during the time of her birth and I felt moved to pray with great intensity to a God that I didn’t really know; pleading with Him to let her live; then there was the time when I experienced the overwhelming awe and wonder of a star lit sky when I was a boy scout, and it seemed like,during that camping experience, it was really for the first time that I stopped to behold the majestically lit heavens; and there was that, oh so peaceful, moon lit night when I walked to a United Church chapel to attend a candle- light Christmas Eve service and I became almost overwhelmed by the Peace and Tranquility of that Night as I attempted in vain to take in all the pure beauty that was all around me; which included snow gently falling on a winter land of wonder and color and the only sound that I could hear was the muffled crunching and squeaking of my boots on the snow covered road. Those were events, when I look back, where God gave me an awesome awareness of His All Powerful, Creative, Convicting yet Loving Presence. But, something was missing.
Even though I went to: Sunday school, attended confirmation classes and Church services, and even signed my name at the back of a Gideon New Testament where there was a prayer of confession of Faith, I seemed to be no closer to really knowing if God was really real. The next stage of my quest in my search for God would become more deliberate, as I just had to arrive to a conclusion to settle this matter once and for all; because during my teens and early twenties, I was really struggling with some moral issues; so my arriving to some place of “belief” was of paramount importance and this “belief” would determine how I would live the rest of my life.
A significant turning point in my quest took place was when I joined the Canadian Armed Forces. It was around this time I became involved with a self-designed; (self- improvement program) .The thought came to mind that if there was a God and He wanted me to Know Him that He would Make Himself Known to me through The Holy Bible. I was beginning to realize that I didn’t want to leave such an important matter solely in the hands of a fellow fallible human being even if he did wear a black robe. So, reading portions of the Bible on a daily basis became an important part of my self- improvement program .The just of the program involved my focusing on the healthy development of body, brain, and soul. Just as I fed my body with good food and followed up with a physical workout, I had a disciplined desire to apply the same idea for my brain and soul. There was an Awareness at work upon me that caused me to believe that there is more to me than just body and brain. This awareness illumined my sense of being; that I had a personality that was unique, which was my own, and included in this personality was: all my interests, my accumulated knowledge, my emotions, my perception of what was right or wrong and my yielding to that self imposed code of ethics, which was formed by: family nurturing, peer pressure, the contemporary psychology of that time, and, oh yes, religion. But, as alive as I felt from this Gracious illumination which moved me into a deeper awareness of my sense of being it wasn’t enough. There was a desperate cry within me with many aching questions; who am I, why am I here, where am I going and where are You God?
From 1976 to 1978 I remained committed to my self- improvement program, but as my employment record would indicate I was still searching. During that brief period of time I was employed by: the Canadian Armed Forces, McDonald’s Restaurant, Ponderosa Steakhouse, Pinewood Motor Inn, and Ontario Northland Railway.
It was in North Bay, Ontario on a sunny November afternoon in 1978 that I attended a United Church fellowship function where I met two men whom I hadn’t met before who seemed to be very interested in discussing the Bible and God. By this point in time I had become fairly familiar with the New Testament, having read through it about twice, so I was quite comfortable with discussing It’s Contents with anyone and that included these two men I had just met. There was one question that they would ask me a couple of times throughout our discussion that I wasn’t quite sure how to honestly answer, which was; “Are you a Christian?” I must confess that I was caught off guard by the question and felt a little embarrassed that I didn’t have a definite response on my lips and a strong conviction in my heart, so wanting to be as honest as I could be with them I said that I wasn’t sure. But, I did say that I did know about and believe in the God of the Bible and that I regarded the Bible as a reliable history and philosophy book and that it was my desire to feed my soul with the Truth that came from this Book and to apply this Truth as best as I could in my daily living. As our conversation progressed they soon learned that I had a goal, at that time, to pursue university and study law. It was upon discovering this that one of the men, I think his name was Ken, was moved to bring to my attention that there was a “Christian Business Men’s Dinner” that evening and their guest speaker was a lawyer. The topic he was speaking on was; how he Became a Christian. I found this invitation to be very appealing, so I gladly accepted. The dinner was at the Golden Dragon Restaurant, which was also appealing to me, as I really like Chinese food. While at the restaurant, besides the good food, I found myself very interested in what the lawyer had to say. I was so intrigued by what he had said that I felt moved to approach him afterwards To share how I could relate to his spiritual quest. He
Gave me his undivided attention and simply asked, “Do you Know The Lord ?”. I found myself experiencing that same feeling that I had when Ken, at that United Church function earlier that day, asked me if I was a Christian. My response was,” I don’t know what you mean by that, “I said,” but, I do believe in the God of the Bible and I hope to make the grade some day when I die”. Then he asked me, “ If I could show you from the Bible that it is possible for a person to know for sure that they are going to heaven after death would you believe that to be true?” .I responded, “ If it is in the Bible, Then I’ll Believe it.” To which he offered an invitation to me to attend a little get together with some Christian friends of his at the home of which he was visiting, as he was a guest from Sault St. Marie. I eagerly accepted.
When I arrived I must admit I did have some mixed feelings; since I found myself at the home of someone who I didn’t know, with some people who I didn’t know, and I was invited by someone who I didn’t know. It was a comfortable upper middle class house which had warm inviting furnishings and I was welcomed with open arms as I entered. Much to my surprise, as I was being greeted by smiling faces and outstretched hands, I encountered someone I knew from High School. We played High School Hockey and Football together. This friendly encounter put me a little more at ease. After reminiscing with Randy for a few minutes, I proceeded to join Norm, the lawyer whom I had met earlier at the restaurant.
Besides his polite, kind demeanor, the next characteristic of Norm’s that caught my attention was how he was so very organized. After we found a place to sit down, he then took out a little black notebook, which served as his own personalized reference book to locate appropriate Bible passages for specific topics and the topic for that particular evening was assurance of Salvation, which was something that I didn’t have. So very meticulously and patiently, Norm proceeded to go over numerous Bible passages with me and he would ask me to read them out loud.
After reading each passage he would then ask me; “Do you believe it?” Our dialogue went something like this; “David would you please read; John chapter 3 verse 16.” “ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
“ Do you believe that David?”
“ Yes.”
“ Now read John 5:24.”
“He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE.”
“Do you believe it?” he asked.
“Yes I do.”
“ David, now please read the last part of John 10:10.”
“………. I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.”
“ Do you believe that?” He asked.
“ Yes I do.”
Norm shared with me how important it is to really BELIEVE that The Lord God Almighty Loves me and that I have been Given, by The Grace of God, the wonderful opportunity to RECEIVE what God had purposed for me to experience in Life, as His created human being, and it would be the only Way of Life that would Have real Significance and Direction. He then emphasized that if I truly desired to KNOW that it is possible to KNOW, right at that very present moment in time, that I’m, without question, going to HEAVEN some day that all I needed to do was to Confess my unwavering Trust in what I Heard THE REVEALED WORD OF GOD says concerning The Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only Begotten Son.
I assured Norm that I truly BELIEVED that The Holy Bible is THE WORD OF GOD and after confessing that, we continued to further read from The Holy Bible.

“ David now please read 2 Timothy 3:16.”
“ All SCRIPTURE is given by INSPIRATION of
GOD, and is profitable for DOCTRINE, for REPROOF, for CORRECTION, for INSTRUCTION
In RIGHTEOUSNESS:”
I had learned from the Bible that Jesus said that unless our righteousness EXCEEDS the righteousness of the Pharisees, the most religious people of that day, a person cannot enter into the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, Matthew 5:20.
“Wow,” I said, “I could never attain such a high standard WAY of LIFE.”I believe I recall sharing with Norm a little bit about my self- improvement program and how the Bible verse where Jesus said, “Be ye perfect just as your Father in Heaven is PERFECT”, Matthew 5:48, had such a motivational influence on me and yet it was a goal I knew that I could never achieve.
“ That’s just it; we can’t”, said Norm, “But GOD
ALMIGHTY has PROVIDED THE WAY; through HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.” He went on to show me what the Apostle Paul wrote in his inspired letter to
The Christian Church in Rome. How in Romans 3:23
It says; “ For all have sinned and fall short of the GLORY of GOD.” In Romans 6:23 and other related Bible passages we learn what results from having sin in our lives; spiritual and physical death. But, GOD Has Provided a rescue plan for all humanity. As the Bible Points out to us in Titus 2:11, that the GRACE of GOD, which brings SALVATION, has appeared to all humanity.
“What is the rescue plan?” you might ask. Well in
Romans 5:8 we read, “ But GOD demonstrates HIS own LOVE toward us in that while we were yet sinners, CHRIST died for us”; and in 2 Corinthians 5:21 we are taught how GOD sent HIS only Begotten SON, WHO knew no sin, to be made sin in our place; that we might be made the RIGHTEOUSNESS
Of GOD in JESUS CHRIST. A person who is on a spiritual quest and is earnestly seeking after THE TRUTH about GOD then might inquire:
“How do we know that what THE LORD JESUS did for us on THE CROSS was THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE PAYMENT for our sinful human nature and all our sins?” In the Apostle Paul’s letter
To the Church in Corinth we learn in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6; that Jesus Christ died for our sins as was prophesized in the OLD TESTAMENT; and that HE was buried; and HE ROSE from the grave on the third day. The Apostles and over 500 other believers witnessed HIS RESSURECTION, which Confirms The Absolute Flawless, Perfection of The Spotless Lamb of God, The Lord Jesus Christ; Who defeated sin, death and evil and we learn from historical evidence and from The HOLY BIBLE that these witnesses were instructed by THE RESSURECTED LORD JESUS CHRIST to spread the GOOD NEWS about How GOD has Provided THE WAY for sinful human beings to BE RECONCILED to HIMSELF Through the REDEEMING and REGENERATING WORK of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. In John 14:6 we can read a quote from THE LORD JESUS where HE describes HIMSELF as THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE and that no one can come unto THE HEAVENLY FATHER but THROUGH HIM.
Norm pointed out to me that in order for me to be really made AWARE of, or AWAKENED to the TRUTH of EXPERIENCING GOD’S LOVE that I would have to, with my innate ability, which God has given to all humanity which is capability to believe in something, TRUST in the LOVING, MERCIFUL, RECONCILING, REDEEMING, REGENERATING WORK of THE RESSURECTED SAVIOUR and LORD JESUS CHRIST and BELIEVE that GOD the SON is KNOCKING on the door of my heart, Revelation 3:20, and Is LOVINGLY CALLING my name OFFERING HIS GIFT of PAYMENT for my sinful nature and all my sins so that I can receive by FAITH GOD’S FORGIVENESS and The Gift of EVERLASTING LIFE. This would result in INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP with GOD and I would have direct access to the Heavenly Throne Room of Grace Through my Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ so I could by Grace through Faith receive COUNCIL, and HELP; to LIVE a LIFE that is SET APART for HIS GLORY, for my GOOD, and for the GOOD of my family, friends, and neighbors, if I truly desired for GOD to rescue me from my dissatisfied, confusing, potentially destructive, independent,
Self- glorifying way of life, which I was living at that time, and to simply TRUST in the LIBERATING TRUTH of The Entire Revealed Inspired WORD of GOD;
That when I CALL OUT to HIM, “LORD JESUS”, to MERCIFULLY Forgive and SAVE me; that HE WILL LOVINGLY TURN me away from the destructive direction that I was going in and TENDERLY DIRECT me to The CROSS and to The EMPTY TOMB.
In the Book of Acts chapter four verse twelve, It teaches us that; there is no other name under HEAVEN GIVEN to humanity whereby we must be SAVED. In John 14:6 JESUS says, “ I am The WAY, The TRUTH, and The LIFE: no person can come unto The FATHER, but by ME.” In John 3:3 JESUS says, “ Verily, Verily, I SAY unto thee, except a person is BORN AGAIN, that person cannot see The KINGDOM of GOD.” In John 1:32-34 we learn that John the Baptist, not John who wrote the Gospel, came baptizing with water, but THE SON of GOD BAPTIZETH with THE HOLY SPIRIT and in John 1:12-13 we are TAUGHT from the Word of GOD what happens in a BORN AGAIN EXPERIENCE, as
A REPENTING, CONFESSING, BELIEVING, RECEIVING, sinner TRUSTINGLY CALLS out to
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHO is THE ETERNAL WORD of GOD WHO BECAME FLESH, (John 1:1&14), that the sinner,
BY THE POWER of THE HOLY SPIRIT of GOD, BECOMES FOREVER an ADOPTED Child
Of GOD.
Norm Patiently patiently went through many Bible verses with me that evening and since that was over twenty-five years ago I can’t possibly remember exactly what was said and what was shared from the Bible, but I can remember WHAT I WAS EXPERIENCING after each time he would ask me; “Do you BELIEVE What you just Read out loud?” It was as if scales were BEING REMOVED from my EYES and I UNDERSTOOD for the first time WHAT I was READING. These were Bible passages that I had read many times before, but on that November 10th evening; the words that I was reading from the Bible BECAME ALIVE. One Bible verse that does clearly stand out in my mind from that evening is from John 3:36; “ He that believeth on the Son HATH (present tense) EVERLASTING LIFE …”.
As I was attempting to take in everything that I was being introduced to, a very significant Truth was coming into realization; besides the reality of me being equipped with an independent capability of choosing to exercise my free will or not, another reality was coming to Light; my personal independent accountability to my Creator, The Lord of Heaven and earth and all the universe; Who IS: Perfect Love,Holiness, Righteousness, Mercy,Goodness,Truth and Justice. When it came to my understanding that it was required of me to be Perfect in order for me to be Made Right or Reconciled with my Creator I knew that, for me and for all my fellow descendants from Adam and Eve, that achieving Perfection would be impossible, but RECEIVING PERFECTION by GRACE through FAITH; Knowing that with The Lord God Almighty all things are Possible; He Had Accomplished Doing, what was impossible for any member of the human race to do, through the Finished Work of His Only Begotten Son, The Lord Jesus Christ. What Wonderful News! We have The Perfect Mediator Who Willingly Took upon Himself our sinfulness and sins, and Received God’s Judgment and Punishment on our behalf.
I Miraculously Became Reconciled to The Lord God Almighty, my Creator, that evening, on November the 10th, 1978, as I was Moved in my soul to pray a simple prayer; “ Oh Lord God Almighty please Be Merciful to me a sinner; Forgive me and Save me for Jesus Christ’s Name Sake. Please come into my soul Lord Jesus. Thank you Lord Jesus for Dieing in my place; Pouring out Your Precious Blood from Your Broken Body on The Cross to Wash my dead soul clean from all my sinfulness and sins and Thank you my Crucified, Resurrected, Ascended, Glorified, Returning Creator, Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ for Coming to Live in my Redeemed, Regenerated Soul By Baptizing, Indwelling, and Sealing me With The Holy Spirit. Thank you Holy, Holy, Holy God for Reconciling me unto Yourself through Your Only Begotten Son, Who was Conceived by The Holy Spirit and born of a God honouring,virgin named Mary, The Lord Jesus Christ; and now I Truly Know You as my Holy Heavenly Father. I’m now Forever Your Adopted Child; who has been Born from Above. I’ve Been Truly Born Again.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN !
I would love to be able to say that since that wonderful, Miraculous day of my Being Born into the Family of God that living in this world became better and easier, but that would be an incomplete way of describing my Christian experience. In some ways it did become better and easier because now I have: a much greater appreciation for Life; an even greater realization than I had before of how so very much God has Blessed me to grow up with loving, caring parents, brothers and sisters; a deeper more sincere gratitude for the little everyday business of daily living; less worry, anxiety and stress about the future and about things that are out of my control. But, there are numerous situations, in my day-to-day living, where I do find myself out of step with a lot of people, in this day and age, where the prominent religion of the culture, in which I live, is newage secular humanism. This does make things more challenging for me when topics like politics and moral values are being discussed with the many people who have that particular world view or with anyone who may have a strong opinion about any belief or value that would be out of step with the absolute Truth; as accurately taught from the Holy Bible by The Holy Spirit of Love, Truth and Life. But, on a brighter note, I do find that even though I may disagree with: what a newage secular humanist believes in; any different choice of faith that different people may choose, with God's Help I'm enabled to have: genuine compassion for people; a true interest in people’s well being in their day-to- day living and I have a real God Given desire that people might truly experience the real Abundant Life that The Lord Jesus Christ has to offer to all people. The Lord Jesus Christ Loves all people and desires for everyone to be truly reconciled unto God. Another reality that I would soon learn is that the battle with sin and evil, if anything, would be inclined to intensify. But, thankfully, I'm not in this battle alone because The Lord is always with me and He Is my Almighty Defender. God Helps me: through His Written Holy Word; by His Holy Spirit; and through many devoted fellow Christians. This is an experience that all Christians, who desire a closer walk with our Creator, Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ can anticipate, as we pursue a closer walk with God. The Holy Scriptures Teach us that, as followers of The Lord Jesus Christ, we will experience tribulation in the world, but our Lord Jesus Gives us Peace, not as the world gives, but His Peace, which is beyond all human understanding. In my Christian walk I have encountered setbacks. There have been and there will be situations, as long as I’m living in this temporary body, where, regrettably, I did sin and will sin, which have resulted in and will result in uncomfortable, and in some cases agonizing, consequences. But, for each and every detestable sin that has been committed, as long as I sincerely, by Grace through Faith, call out to my Heavenly Father for His Merciful, Loving Forgiveness and Grace, HE will Tenderly and Joyfully Receive me back into sweet fellowship with Him. I will Experience The Holy Spirit at Work within me and He will Point me back to The Cross of my Saviour and Remind me of How Much He Loves me and He will bring to mind a passage from The Holy Scriptures such as, “As I confess my sins He is Faithful and Just to forgive me my sins and the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me of all unrighteousness,” 1 John 1:9. Once we are Given a Deeper Understanding of How Forgiven We are; and Receive Deeper Knowledge of the Immeasurable Price that our Lord Jesus Paid on the Cross, to Rescue us from the dominion of darkness, then and only then will we begin to crave for God to Mercifully Bless each one of us, His Adopted children through Christ, with an ever increasing Desire and Ability to Love Him in accordance to His Holy Revealed Word of Truth. Like what the Bible says, “whoever is Forgiven Much Loves Much.” There are so many Scripture Passages, by which, we, as Adopted children of God, can refer to, as The Holy Spirit Comforts, Councils, Guides and Enables us for each and every moment and situation of each and every day, as we continue in our Walk, in Christ, towards our Heavenly Home in the same way as we have been Saved; by Grace Through Faith. Praise The Lord!

Thank you for your time and interest.
May God Bless you and yours.
With Jesus Christ’s Love,
David B. Jobes