After I graduated from college I was hired as a deputy by my hometown sheriff's department. One year later I was elated to find out that I had been hired as a state trooper. When I completed the police academy, I was named Meritorious Guide (class leader) and received the academy's peer leadership award.
In my first week of regular duty as a trooper I was involved in saving a woman who was trapped in a vehicle submerged underwater. The rescue received national press, and I was awarded the three awards in my patrol region, including Trooper of the Year. Life was going just as planned.
I could not understand why I felt like this. I was raised in what I thought was a fairly religious home. We knew that Jesus was the Son of God; we prayed the Lord's Prayer every once in while. We did not own a Bible, but we went to church at Christmas and Easter, so naturally I could not understand why I felt this way. I started to question: If I am a Christian, how is this happening to me? Why do I feel so empty? Why can't I feel the presence of God in my life?
As I battled this depression I eventually hit rock bottom. One weekend I felt so alone I could barely get out of bed. I had been home visiting my family, and usually these occasions were marked with much joy and laughter-I was the jovial one and always brought a positive spark to the house. But this weekend I could not shake my gloom. I could not be happy and lighthearted, which compounded my misery. All the achievements and accolades I thought would bring me joy, confidence, and respect left me desolate. That Saturday night, in a moment of sincere reverence, I begged the Lord to come back into my life and have a personal relationship with me.
I was entranced as the speaker, a pastor by the name of Doug Batchelor, showed me-word for word from Scripture-how prophetic events were taking place. I was stunned to see these truths come straight from the Bible. I was totally mesmerized as I watched the story of a beautiful but rebellious prince who fell from heaven to earth. As the story continued I was astonished to find that this being was full of beauty, wisdom, and goodness until he became the author of all evil by means of pride and self-exultation. I watched a spectacular controversy develop as this being became the devil and attempted to deceive the whole world into worshiping his power, prestige, and possessions instead of God. What was most staggering was that I saw the direct correlation between what happened to this angel and what was befalling me. I knew that God had blessed me with the ministry of Amazing Facts and Pastor Batchelor when I needed them most. I felt that I had learned more in 30 minutes than in my previous eight years of parochial education! I immediately called Amazing Facts to order the Panorama of Prophecy CD-ROM, which contained all the lessons in Pastor Batchelor's seminar.
I was eager to begin attending church again. I didn't know what church Batchelor attended, so I visited several churches before I found one where I really felt at home. It was a large charismatic church with a sincere and loving Christian congregation that was devoted to God. After a few weeks my Amazing Facts Bible study CD-ROM arrived.
As I began the lessons I experienced the same joy that I had felt during the first broadcast. Soon I was completely ready to devote myself to the Lord, but yet still baffled. In all my previous religious experience I had never been taught these things. While I continued my studies I became very active in the church I was attending.
I developed a close relationship with the church's pastor. I was repeatedly complimented by him on my growing knowledge of Scripture, and I was overwhelmed when he told me one night that the Lord had placed it in his heart to groom me for ministry. He asked me if I would stand before the congregation and give a sermon. He did not know I was studying the Panorama of Prophecy lessons.
I was very excited at the opportunity. When I preached my sermon, which I had patterned after Batchelor's, I received a standing ovation from the church. I had never been so confident in my relationship with Christ, and every night that I had free from church service, I eagerly anticipated running home to hear another Panorama of Prophecy segment. For the first time I knew I was on the right track.
Sabbath Truth
My Christian experience sailed into uncharted waters when Batchelor introduced the Sabbath truth. Never before had I been exposed to such a crucial component in my devotion to the Lord, nor had I understood the vital significance of God's special day in my relationship with Him. Moreover, I had found what I was missing in my previous walk with the Lord: my commitment to spending quality time with Him. I started to see how critical it was that I cling to the truth of God's Word.
My confidence gave way to concern. I realized that this commandment required a specific change in the Sunday worship I was accustomed to. Concern then became confusion as I tried to understand how my pastor and congregation could have overlooked this truth. I was faced with the dilemma of sharing what I had learned and the consequence of disputing what was being taught in my church. After careful introspection I reasoned that my pastor loved the Lord and cared for me greatly. I assumed I would be able to express the uneasiness I was feeling. I was wrong.
As we sat in his home one afternoon watching television I asked him to help me understand the transition of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. He explained to me that Jesus did away with the Sabbath and that we now honor the first day because of His resurrection. My pastor's explanation was very hard to swallow. I knew from my lessons that what he said was not true. Batchelor had covered numerous examples of Jesus' observance of the Sabbath as His custom. He also showed repeated instances of the disciples' maintaining the Sabbath commandment after the Lord's ascension. After a moment of uncomfortable silence my pastor leaned forward and asked, "Where did you hear this?" I explained to him that I was in the process of completing a Bible study course from the Amazing Facts television ministry.
"Amazing Facts?" he asked. "You mean the Seventh-day Adventist Church? That's the Seventh-day Adventist Church! Stay away from them!" my pastor scolded. "The Sabbath was done away with at the cross!"
I maintained my silence, and the pastor became even more agitated. "Those people worship a day instead of the Lord! They're a cult!" My heart began to sink as the pastor continued the reprimand. He advised me to trust in him, and gave assurance that he was God's prophet. He declared that the counsel he shared was valid because God spoke directly to him.
I thanked him for his time and left even more perplexed. I did not know if my pastor was correct in associating the Adventist Church with Amazing Facts-or accurate in drawing a negative conclusion from Batchelor's message. Despite my confusion, I was sure about one thing: I would not lay aside the godsend that my CD-ROM had become. I was more determined than ever to understand the Bible and take hold of God's truths.
Night after night I sat at my home computer, and I persistently studied each new lesson.
When I came to lesson 14, I froze as I listened to Pastor Batchelor say, "As you probably have guessed by now, I'm an Adventist Christian." Not sure what to think or do, I paused the lesson and began to pace around the room. What should I do? I wondered. Should I do what I feel is right, or be loyal to my pastor? I was growing attached to Pastor Batchelor and the Amazing Facts ministry and knew that if they were involved with this denomination, there had to be some credence to what the Adventist Church represented.
Finally I ran to the phone directory and dialed the number of the first Adventist church I could find. It was about 9:30 p.m., so I did not expect much of a response. To my surprise a young Adventist pastor named Victor Van Schaik answered and was happy to spend time with me. Fearful of mailings, phone calls, or visits to my home, I spoke with him anonymously. I was grateful he accommodated me by listening to my uncertainty while nurturing his tired toddler. Pastor Vic utilized Bible texts with the same consistency that Pastor Doug did. He spent hours on the phone with me, explaining the importance of adherence to Scripture and the biblical foundation for all of the teachings of Adventism. He ended the conversation by inviting me to attend Sabbath service at his church. I was still apprehensive of society's view of this church and afraid of tarnishing my reputation as a trooper by association with it. I decided that in order to come to the correct conclusion, I would have to finish the Panorama of Prophecy and spend time in prayer.
I focused on completing my Bible study CD-ROM and rapidly went through the lessons. When I completed the final lesson, entitled "Above the Crowd," I was so emotionally spent from the conflict within my heart that I dropped to my knees on the carpeted floor of my bedroom. In the dusky evening light I knelt at the foot of my bed and asked the Lord for discernment. I asked Him to help me understand what was right.
A Routine Stop-Not!
The very next evening I was out on routine patrol and stopped a red minivan for a minor traffic violation. It was occupied by two adults and two children. I asked the driver to accompany me back to my patrol car, and while making pleasant conversation, she told me that she and her husband had just left their church in a nearby city and were traveling home. She went on to tell me that she was an Adventist Christian and that her husband, Marlon Perkins, was the pastor of the congregation. I didn't know if I should share with her what was taking place in my life. But one thing I was sure of: this was God's miraculous answer to my prayer. On any given night during my shift I drive past hundreds of cars filled with hundreds of individuals-people I'll never meet or see in my lifetime-and on this particular evening I happened to stop an Adventist couple.
I told her that I had been studying the Panorama of Prophecy Bible lessons. After I shared this, she seemed happier for me than I was for myself. "Oh, we'll have to tell Marlon!" she exclaimed. "He'll be so excited!" She ushered me over to meet him. As I was introduced to Pastor Perkins I was comforted by his humble manner and good-hearted nature. When I stop a vehicle, the people inside are usually upset and impatient, and sometimes downright rude. Not Pastor Perkins. He smiled cordially as he gave me his phone number and invited me to study along with him. There was no question about their integrity as they invited me to fellowship with them, even after receiving a traffic ticket. I took Pastor Perkins up on his proposition, and we met at his home later that week.
We sat together astounded while recounting the events of our convergence. When I shared my plight with Pastor Perkins, he stated that he was familiar with my current pastor and felt no burden to empty another minister's church in order to fill his own. He sought only to share the truth of God's Word. He went on to say that he would pray for both of us, advised me to allow the Lord to lead, and proceeded to set up a schedule for our continued study. To my delight, Pastor Perkins gave me a full set of the regular Amazing Facts study guides before I left.
Bible-based Belief
I knew that I had to speak with my pastor again. Later that week I phoned him, sharing my certainty of the Sabbath truth and my inclination to leave his church. When he opposed that notion, I pleaded with him to show me from the Bible that what I was learning was incorrect. He insisted that I come to his home for dinner, assuring me that we would go through Scripture together.
In preparation I printed out the lesson about the Sabbath. As we sat face to face at his kitchen table I politely declined to eat. I was eager to begin our dialogue. As I began to spread my materials out across the table he abruptly placed his hand on them. My eyes were trained on his fingers as he slowly slipped the articles away from us and off to his right. Heartbroken, I looked him in the eye as he began to speak. "The Lord is telling me that we don't have to look at this," he said. He proceeded to tell me that the Lord impressed him to have me trust his counsel as God's prophet. Paralyzed with disappointment, I stared at him as he continued to talk. Finally he asked, "Do you believe that I am God's prophet? Do you believe that He speaks to me?"
"Yes, Pastor," I courteously replied. "But I believe that He speaks to me, too. He put His words in black and white so that everyone can read them and get the same message."
My pastor's countenance grew dim. "I was so afraid of this," he said. "I never should have let you speak in front of the church. When you first brought this to me, I asked the Lord, 'How can this be? I ordained him.' But the Lord told me, 'I know; I ordained Judas.'" These words pierced my heart.
He told me that the burden of this ordeal had been lifted off his chest. The pastor finished by saying that he could rest peacefully, knowing that he had shared God's will and that if I chose to leave his church, falling prey to this trick of the devil, he had done everything he could to save me. I thanked him for his time and told him that I loved him.
I Choose Christ
As I returned home that evening, self-consciousness and fear threatened to engulf me completely. A spiritual war was being waged within my soul, and again I appealed to the Lord for guidance. Emotionally exhausted, drained, and worn out, I fell into deep sleep. I drifted into a dream that was vivid and completely lifelike. I was standing before the congregation. I was in front of the church, delivering the same sermon I did on that one special night. Just as before, the message I shared was received with cheers and praise throughout its course. But this time as I came to my conclusion I asserted that we should love God far more than anything else, even more than one another. I finished with this text: "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
At that the congregation became completely silent. The members in the pews stood up and began collecting their things to leave. Someone actually walked over to the fuse box and turned off the lights in the sanctuary before everyone had departed. The pastors, deacons, and elders all walked away from me with their heads down in shame. No one would even look at me. I rushed out into the foyer to speak with anyone who would talk to me. The church members continued to ostracize me until a member whom I had never seen before reluctantly turned and retorted, "What you said was right, but you didn't have to say it! You didn't have to tell us that you love God more than us!" He then turned his back to me and left. I stood alone in the hallway. In anguish I started to panic, but as I determined that I would stand firm in my position, the anguish began to subside. Then I jumped up from under my covers, realizing that it was morning and that I had been dreaming.
As I sat there on my bed I clearly heard the voice of the Holy Spirit as He asked, "Do you love people more than Me?" And as the warm, bright sun shone through my window comforting me, I had my answer. I called my pastor and told him that I loved him and was grateful for the kindness he had shared with me, but that I would not be back to his church. I hung up the phone and felt an incredible peace wash over me. God had confirmed His presence to me, and I would never feel alone again.
I called Pastor Perkins and told him about the dream. He explained that he had prayed, asking God to give me an answer to all my questions and doubts, even if the answer came in a dream or vision. We were both amazed that that was exactly what had happened.
That Friday evening Pastor Perkins took me to meet Pastor Vic and his family in person. Amid the amber glow of candlelight we shared a Sabbath supper and the testimony of our mutual experience. We delighted in the Lord's triumph and rejoiced for the wonderful work of God in our lives. And for the first time I knew what it meant to enter the Sabbath rest.
I am now proud to say that I am a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, God's true church, and that my relationship with the Lord only gets better every day. I shared my story on 3ABN this past February. I was also able to share it with Amazing Facts at a rally in Riverside, California, February 28-March 1, 2003. And I've been sharing the good news with my family. Slowly but surely they've been receptive to learning Bible truths, and I'm praying they make the final step toward baptism soon.
One Last Stop
The Lord has continued to work in my life with even more miraculous signs and wonders, and I will share just one more with you. I was on my way to a call. On the way I was talking to God. Lord, I prayed, what should I do with my life? Let me know Your will.
I pulled up to the scene and parked my car near a vehicle that was stuck on the median. I was the second trooper to arrive, and as the first officer and I were talking, the lights on my patrol car shut down. "What's up?" asked the trooper.
"I have no idea," I answered. I went back to my car and tried to start it. Nothing. No lights, no sound. The car was completely dead. The police department had to tow the car, and the mechanic could not figure out what was wrong with it. Eventually they got it started, but they never really knew what had happened to it in the first place.
But I knew. It was God's answer to my plea. He was calling me to full-time ministry.
I am in the process of applying to Andrews University so that I might share the same message that blessed me. There is no doubt in my mind that God found me through that TV program and led me closer to Him through that minivan traffic stop. He's shown me His path for my life, and I am eager to excel for Him.
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Shane Davis lives in Iowa and is a member of the Davenport, Iowa, Adventist Church. His story was originally submitted by his friends, Pastor and Mrs. Van Schaik.
EVERAL YEARS AGO, AT AGE 23, I HAD accomplished almost every goal that I had set for my life. I had always been very determined, goal-oriented, and eager to excel. In high school I was captain of the football and wrestling teams and was named "high school hero" by a local television network. I received awards for sports, academics, and public service. In college I received All-American honors and was named Athlete of the Year for playing football at the NCAA Division III university I attended.
All the worldly things I had pushed myself for so tirelessly, so unceasingly, I had finally come to realize. But I was miserable. I had no peace and was sad, discouraged, and depressed. I could not find purpose in my life, and I was steadily slipping down a dangerous and sinful path in attempts to fill a prevailing emptiness in my life.
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