I Wish I Had Known

By Colin Sadler

I wrote this book for my kids and grandkids with the hope that it will help them in their Christian walk. It is about the experiences I have had and learned living life, bringing up my family, and being a missionary in YWAM and in Russia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Feb 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532039935

Colin Sadler

Colin Sadler wishes not to speak more of himself as all that needs to be said is within the pages of this book. Enjoy!

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 Colin Sadler.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible.

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3992-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3993-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017919344

iUniverse rev. date: 02/01/2018

Contents

Notes on Christianity

1     Personal

2     Choices

3     Promises

4     What happened?

5     A renewed mind

6     A new Creation

7     Sin defined

8     A new covenant

9     Is God’s love big enough?

10   Spiritual warfare;

11   Kingdom of God

12   Prayer

13   Summary

I have written this book for my Children and Grandchildren to the intent that they my understand how these beliefs have caused my relationship to grow with the Lord Jesus Christ and that they may be encouraged in the same direction in their lives.

To Shanan, Sherilyne and Sonya and their children.

Notes on Christianity

by Colin Sadler

Dear Reader,

I have often been accused over the years of skipping through passages, seemingly at random, to make my special point. I can see where some may have mistakenly come to this conclusion. My personal belief is that if we focus only on one passage of Scripture and fail to take it into the context of the whole Bible we put ourselves in a precarious position of misinterpreting the Scriptures. Within these pages are a few thoughts I have wrestled with over the years. In reading I hope you will dare to look at the Scriptures perhaps with fresh eyes and to above all, not take what I say as the Biblical truth, test it for yourself. Read the Bible and know what God is saying to you personally. What makes Christianity stand out from the world’s religions is our relationship with Jesus, with God. We do not, or should not, blindly obey what we are told but we dare to know our Creator, to speak with Him and hear from Him. I hope that within these notes you will be inspired to know God and to try and grasp the unfathomable love God has for you.

Colin Sadler

1

Personal

In 1944 I was born into a Christian home. We attended a Baptist Church where, at the age of twelve, I accepted Christ as my Saviour.

During my teenage years I sought the approval of my peers. I started smoking and stealing to pay for the cigarettes. At seventeen I found myself in a sexual relationship.

By eighteen, I wanted to straighten my life out but found no one who could help me with the guilt and condemnation I felt. Returning to the church, I was encouraged to be water baptized and I felt great for a short time but hadn’t dealt with the feelings I harbored in my heart. Shortly after this, I moved to a large city.

I worked, drank, partied and sought out female relationships. I met a young girl and we were married at the age of twenty. Together we moved back to my hometown but work was in short supply so, needing work, we moved to a small village of two hundred on the west coast of Vancouver Island where I worked for a logging company. Eventually I started my own business in construction and built our home and became a part of the community. We lived there for twenty years raising three children.

We were part of a group that started a church and served in the community. My wife was a volunteer in the public school and I was an elder in the church, served on the volunteer fire department for 10 years and was an alderman on the village council for three years. Through out these years I struggled with who I was as a Christian.

Although life was often very busy, both my wife and I were growing dissatisfied with our life. All our friends and family were making their nests, saving for retirement and we were doing the same. But as Christians, we felt we wanted our life to count for something more. We wanted our lives to have a purpose that would affect eternity and not just live for the sole purpose of pleasing ourselves.

At this time we had a small group meeting in our home and I was teaching on relationship with God. Both my wife and I felt that we