Inspiring Convert Story-32

"My true wealth"

Gary Haack
Brisbane, Australia

 

    MY NAME IS Gary Haack. I live in sunny Brisbane, Australia. I am the youngest of six children in a family blessed with love and warmth.

     During my early days of schooling, I would attend religious instruction classes conducted by the minister of the local Anglican Church with which my family was affiliated. However, the only members of my family who regularly attended church services was my mother. We were never forced to attend church services. The only time I received religious instruction was during a class that was held once a month at school.

     The teachings I heard seemed to make sense back then. But, what bothered me was the fact that the members, including the minister, were teaching one thing but were doing another! For example, the minister would teach that gambling is evil in the sight of God, and yet, he made no secret of his gambling activities. He even owned racing dogs. Therefore, it was difficult for me to take religion seriously, let alone become a major part of my life.

     All throughout the period of my schooling and even when I joined the workforce, I wondered if there was a God, though, I had always imagined a being superior than man.

     I continued to observe and listen to other religious organizations, but none of them seemed to adhere to the teachings written in the Holy Bible.

     One day, I was invited to attend a gathering of the Iglesia ni Cristo or the Church of Christ. We listened to a tape-recorded sermon because at that time, Brisbane was only a committee prayer group. The supervising minister then, Brother Romeo Maglaya, visited the group monthly. I met Brother Romeo and heard him preach the words of God. His conviction in the teachings he was preaching and his sincerity touched me. I needed to hear more of the words of God. I searched for reasons to doubt the Church’s doctrines, but I could not find any. I have found the true Church. I have found fellowship with God. On October 23, 1993, I was blessed to receive the holy baptism.

     Through the years as a member of the Church of Christ, I have accumulated precious memories and valuable experiences that contribute to the faith I have now.

     I am now the fourth head deacon and one of the coordinators of the Light of Salvation in the locale of Brisbane.

     May others grab the same opportunity as I did in order to inherit the true wealth that is in Christ—eternal life in heaven—by joining the true Church, the Church of Christ.

 

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Source: God's Message