Testimonies

Mark Saumure

Port Colbourne, Ontario, Canada
Saved: August 3, 1995

Mark when home to be with his Saviour
at 5:00am, Tuesday, September 17, 1996

My Story

The following is 'My Story'! It is dear to my heart since this is how I came to find Christ as MY SAVIOUR! My intention is simple - to let you know that God loves you SO much that He has given His only Son to die so that you might LIVE!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

I thank God that I was raised in a Christian home where the Bible was and is read, and where God is feared. Ever since I can remember, I have gone to the Welland Gospel Hail every Sunday and Wednesday to hear God's Word preached and ministered. At age seven and then again at age ten, I told people that I had gotten saved. To this day, I am still not sure why I said I was saved when I knew I really was not. Whether it was because I wanted my parents and the preachers to leave me alone, I do not know; but I do know that I kept telling all the Christians that I was saved although I'm sure that many of them questioned it when they looked at my life.

I must admit that going to 'church' as I called it was more a chore than anything else. My parents made me go to every meeting, particularly the Gospel meeting. A Gospel meeting, if you aren't familiar with the term, is a meeting for the preaching of the Gospel which is God's plan of salvation.

When I entered high school, I became ashamed of my parent's beliefs and rejected God's Word. I did whatever I could to show my school friends that I was not a Christian. I got mixed up with the wrong crowd and did many dumb and 'stupid' things. It is quite interesting to note that when times were good my friends stood by me; when times became tough and I needed a friend, they all deserted me!

As some of you know, last March was quite a traumatic time in my life. I was diagnosed with a malignant form of cancer. This news really shook me up! It really made me decide what was important and what was not. However, I continued on in my ungodly ways for the next few months thinking, like most teenagers I know, that I was totally indestructible. The real turning point came when my doctor looked at me earnestly and said, "Mark, your time is limited. My guess is that you have from one to two years left." His words stabbed me. This was the first time I ever really realized that I was going to die. After all, I was young, strong and healthy. "I have many, many years left." I used to think. But how gullible I was to have believed that. The months of May, June and July were spent in the Princess Margaret Hospital. During that time I began searching my Bible. It was then that I had to face the fact that in spite of what I had said to others years earlier, I did not have eternal life. I was afraid, but my pride kept me from telling my parents of my need of SALVATION. I stayed up many nights 'til the wee hours of the morning and prayed to God saying "Lord, please save my soul!! I know I am a sinner. I need Your salvation! Please save me!" I could not understand why I could not get saved. I knew many verses by heart such as "He that BELIEVETH on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath: of God abideth on him" John 3:36. But I kept asking myself, "How do you believe?"

Then on August 3rd, alone in my parent's bedroom, I began to pray earnestly to God for salvation. Finally, I said to myself "I guess I'll just have to go to HELL! I just can't get saved. I really don't understand what more I have to do to get saved." It was then that I understood. There is nothing for me to do! IT HAS ALL BEEN DONE! Christ died on the cross for me! That is enough! At that very moment, Christ became MY SAVIOUR! What joy it brought me and has brought me ever since! I used to think "What boring lives Christians lead; all they ever do is read the Bible and go to church. I don't want that!" How ignorant I was. What a GREAT LIFE a Christian has and what a GREAT FUTURE a Christian has! To be with Him for eternity - what could be better?!

On August 3rd, I accepted Christ as my own personal Saviour. Christ has done it all! He simply wants you to believe on Him! Nothing more! What could be simpler? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" Acts 16:31. It still baffles me why I did not see this before. I was only interested in the cares and pleasures of this world. To an unbeliever, this world seems so bright and so inviting! But beware, my friend! Satan will try to blind and deceive you! He is very crafty and will use anything he can to keep you from Christ. The truth is, there is no real satisfaction in this world. The only satisfaction comes from Jesus!!!

If you are unsaved, what is keeping you from Christ? Could it be your pride? My pride almost brought me to HELL! Don't let this happen to you. Could it be your friends? Someone once told me "Your friends will laugh you to hell, but they will never laugh you out!" Think of it, friend! It's either HEAVEN OR HELL! The choice is yours!