This week, we begin a new series on “The Five Decisions to True Financial Freedom.”  Scripture teaches that “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32), and I firmly believe that walking further and further into the truth of God owning it all, and allowing the implications of that truth to permeate my life, will provide ultimate financial freedom for me.  I believe that it can do the same for you.

As I explain each decision in the videos that will accompany each blog post over the next five weeks, I’d like to share my own stories with you at these five decision points and allow you to see how, over time, they have created greater financial freedom in my own life.

Here is the first video in the series. Watch this video and then read about my salvation decision below.

This week is the “salvation story.” I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was a young adult.  I had been pursuing significance and meaning in my work and was the successful owner of my own CPA firm in Indianapolis.  My pursuit of success was primary in my heart, and the American Dream drove me.  By the time I was 32 years old, I had a house, three children, my own business, and a golf club membership.  I had “arrived,” but was very restless in my heart.  My wife had come into a relationship with Jesus a few years earlier, and I reluctantly attended a Sunday School class with her.  She was vocal in her faith, and I was easily angered when she tried to share with me.  However, the heart change in her was undeniable to me, and I was drawn to the difference I saw in her.

After a couple of years of watching Judy’s faith and listening to the teaching at church, I began to investigate Christianity more by reading Josh McDowell’s book Evidence That Demands A Verdict. God did a work in my heart and softened it to the reality that Jesus was the Son of God and that His words in Scripture were truth.  One morning, as I headed out the door to go play golf, I saw a booklet called “The Four Spiritual Laws” on my dresser.  I took it with me in the car and distractedly read while I drove.  The “four laws” are:

1) God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. (John 3:16 and John 10:10)

2) All of us sin, and our sin has separated us from God. (Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23)

3) Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin.  Through Him, we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our life. (Romans 5:8, I Corinthians 15:3-6, John 14:6)

4) We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. (John 1:12, Ephesians 2:8-9, Revelation 3:20)

By this point in my journey, I knew that I believed the first three points, based on what I had read, heard, and seen over the prior few years.  It was clear to me that the remaining step was that I needed to personally receive Jesus’ payment for my sin and receive His forgiveness and gift of eternal life.  I bowed that day in the car prior to my game of golf and I asked Christ to come into my life as my Savior and Redeemer and Lord.

You may wonder, “how does this relate to money?”  Hopefully, as the next few weeks unfold, you will understand how a spiritual journey can be the way that God releases our dependence on material things and teaches us about the beauty and grace of His eternal provision and wisdom.   I will leave you on the golf course in 1974 this week and meet you back here next week for the next story in the journey.