When I Was a Child: Growing in Christ

By Loxley P. John

Loxley P. John shares how he developed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in this spiritual journey.

As a boy, he left church each week with the sense that God would one day punish wrongdoers, and it was only in Sunday school that he learned that God is loving and caring.

Eventually, he stopped going to the Catholic church, but his mother allowed him to attend the evangelical church. Things seemed so different there. The stories in the Bible came alive—even more so when he started going to the Pentecostal church after his brother was born again.

But as John grew older, he lost his way and became focused on drinking and girls. None of it made him happy, however, and he began thinking about surrendering himself to the will of the Lord.

After many excuses, he borrowed his cousin’s Bible, put it in a bag, and went to church one Sunday morning in 1998. That day, he stood before the altar and gave himself to the Lord to begin a new journey—and he’s never looked back.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973654179

Loxley P. John

Loxley P. John, a native of the tiny Island of Grenada, grew up in a single-parent household as his father died before he was born. He has been a police officer for thirty years and a Christian since 1998. He is married with three daughters.

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Copyright © 2019 Loxley P. John.

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KJV: Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5416-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5415-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5417-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019902627

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/14/2019

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 Making the Decision

Chapter 2 Letting It Go

Chapter 3 Put away Childish Things

Chapter 4 Do Not Conform

Chapter 5 A New Way of Thinking

Chapter 6 No Longer Slaves to Sin

Chapter 7 Some Are Still Babes

Chapter 8 Don’t Be Tossed to and Fro

Chapter 9 Prepared to Fight

Chapter 10 Running to Win

Chapter 11 A Child of God

Chapter 12 An amazing love

References

Preface

When I decided to write this book I never imagined the excitement that would be derived from doing so. I wanted to make sure that readers would be able to relate to the content of the book, while at the same time, keeping it simple and easy to follow. I found that ideas did not always come readily. Additionally, writing demands sacrificing the time one would have otherwise used to do other things. The hours of meditating, reading, writing and rewriting meant ignoring those around me, as I tried to bring the work to completion. But why did I decide to write this book?

I have talked to many young Christians who have been struggling with their Christianity. Further, I have seen many who started the Christian race quit because of the struggles they have had to deal with. Whenever a person gives up on God (especially if the person is close to me), I feel a kind of pain; often, I wonder what I could have done to encourage them to hold on. No one can deny that while the Christian life is exciting and rewarding, it is also quite challenging. Christians are not perfect and must deal with the same issues that confront those who do not confirm to the Christian lifestyle. This book, therefore, is meant to encourage young Christians and Christians in general to be steadfast in their walk with God.

I believe that the issues that confronted me in my search for God, and in my early life of being a Christian are the same for many of you who would read this book. The pressure from peers, the issues of sex, pleasures, alcohol, and the temptation to do wrong have been a struggle for all young people. There is always the belief that satisfaction can be derived from these. I have come to realize that real, everlasting satisfaction only comes from a loving relationship with God. While the book brings into focus the challenges young Christians would face, it also points to the joy one finds when one gives in fully to God.

Most importantly, the book highlights the love of God for us. As I wrote, I could not help but think of the many times I failed the Lord. Certainly, it is because of his love and grace I am still alive and in my right mind. God’s love for us is amazing, and that love is manifested more and more as we grow deeper and deeper in our relationship with him. I could not have completed this work without making mention of the love of God. I believe writing this book has drawn me closer to God.

Finally, I am grateful for the encouragement I received from my brothers and sisters in Christ, who when I told them of my intention to write urged me to do so. I owe an endless debt of gratitude to my wife Maureen, and my daughters Zonelle, Kezia and Jada for their support. Of course I cannot forget my niece Kamille the insights she gave to make the final product what it is.

Above all I give God thanks for the inspiration to write this book. Without Him nothing is possible.

Loxley John

Chapter 1

Making the Decision

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.

—2 Corinthians 5:17

As a boy, I thought life was filled with excitement and wonderful challenges. There were good days and bad days, but it seemed then that the bad days far outnumbered the good days. I came from a background of very humble beginnings. It seemed as though we never had enough of anything. My mother worked hard to ensure we had the basics to survive. She did not have much to give us, but she taught us to be contented with the little we had. My father died before I was born, so my mother was everything to me. She was my teacher, my provider, my protector, and my comforter. But there was a side to my mother that I did not like—she was also my disciplinarian. She believed that sparing the rod meant spoiling the child, and so I was careful to behave myself to avoid her chastisement. But of course, I always did something wrong—and for sure I paid the price.

My mother was not a deeply religious person. I recall that she only went to church for funerals. But she made sure that I went to church on Sundays. We were Catholics. I never understood what the priests were saying in Sunday masses, but I became quite familiar with the rituals that took place every week. While I did not grasp much in terms of who God was, I seemed to remember him only as one who would one day punish wrongdoers. Any knowledge I had of God as loving and caring came from Sunday school classes I attended each week at our small Evangelical church in the village. Mrs. Kathlyn Charles was the teacher; she told us that God loved us and explained to us who he was. I think Mrs. Charles was patient with us because she also taught at the local primary school. The lessons I learned in Sunday school helped to shape me and keep me on track.

As stated earlier, my mother was not a regular churchgoer, but she ensured I went to church. She also made sure that I prayed every night. Praying was not hard because I knew the Lord’s prayer very well. So every night, I would kneel and say the Lord’s Prayer before falling asleep. At times, I wondered why I had to pray to a God I couldn’t see and who never seemed to answer my prayers, anyway. My mother not only saw that I prayed; she also prayed but did it during the night and when she woke up in the morning. Her prayers were different from mine. While I just said the Lord’s Prayer, my mother would thank him for protecting her and providing. She always took time to mention our names to God, and at times I wondered why—What can an invisible God do for us? As I thought about that, I longed for the day when I would get big and didn’t have to pray anymore.

As I grew older, I stopped going to the Catholic church completely. My mother was not too pleased, but she was satisfied to let me attend the Evangelical church. Things seemed so different there. The stories in the Bible came alive to me, and my belief in God began to really take shape. Then it happened: My brother Knoxford became a Christian. I did not understand it, but he said he accepted Christ and was born again. What did it mean to be born again? I was curious about that, as Nicodemus was in the scriptures. Anyway, Knoxford was born again and was now attending the Pentecostal church. From time to time, he would ask me to come to church with him, and so I began attending the Pentecostal church. Things there were different. They prayed loudly and spoke in funny languages. They would sing and shout and dance, but even as a boy, I felt that there was a richness there that I never experienced in the other churches I attended. I still attended the evangelical church, but now the service there seemed boring and without life.

Knoxford’s conversion to Christianity brought some tension at home, since our mother could not reconcile her beliefs with my brother’s newfound faith. His attempts to convert her always brought sharp retorts. Her responses always led to quarrels, and I wondered who was right. Of course, I was on my mother’s side. I recall one Saturday night when my mother