I can remember going to church before I was a pastor.

I would arrive about one hour before anyone else. I did a worship program and set up the projector and the projector screen. My wife and I went to Bible studies. I helped the trustees. I started feeling important. Putting twenty dollars in the collection plate seemed like a lot to me.

But my life was incomplete.

I still made worldly things a priority. Telling dirty jokes, and cursing was a common practice outside of church. Not much changed in my life except for one morning a week.

One week, our preacher preached on Nicodemus. He referred to Nicodemus as a “closet Christian”: a person who did not want the world to know he believed.

I somehow knew he was talking to me. My life changed that day. I prayed, asking God to help me change.

Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

My life changed that day in church. The dirty jokes, and the cursing stopped. My way of thinking of others changed from being judgmental to caring with compassion. I found myself going from religion to being in a relationship with Christ. Praise God! If He can change me, He can change anyone.