As you read this week’s Power Surge I believe you will, like me, be challenged by an amazing testimony about the ways in which God uses all the avenues open to Him to bring each and every one of us to a point of spiritual decision, whereby quite simply, our life could change in ways we would never have considered possible. Such was the experience of Brad Borders.

Brad Borders grew up like very few other boys in the United States of America. He was plagued by the fear of death, even in his early school days. Deeply affected by the death of his grandmother and the images of Vietnam on television, he developed in­somnia as a little boy. Night after night, he'd lie awake, preoccupied with death. Although he grew up going to church, he never discovered the answers to the ques­tions that plagued him.

By the time he entered college he was drinking regularly with his friends and taking drugs. "The death idea never left me, but when I took the drugs and when I drank, I didn't have to think about it," said Brad.

After studying psychology and the teachings of Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche, Brad concluded there was no god. Religion was the creation of man to provide an easy option when dealing with life's difficulties.

Atheism came easily to him, but his heart was still troubled. "In atheism, there's nothing after the grave. So everything you do in life is all there is. Ultimately I wondered, what's the real point if there's no transcendence?"

 Hopeless about the future, suicide became an option. Once, while under the influence of drugs, he stuck a loaded pistol in his mouth. But fortunately he didn't pull the trigger.

"1 was buying some drugs one night, had a loaded pistol in my coat and 1 wondered, 'How did 1 get to such a desperate low in my life?' 1 used to be this kid that played with Star Wars toys. Now I'm buying drugs and own a gun. There is something very wrong with this picture."

 His first turning point Brad remembers came when he met his future wife Tammy one New Year's Eve. She wanted him to stop using drugs and alcohol so she gave him an ultimatum. Choose your drinking pals or choose me. They married a year and a half later. But sadly, after a short time, Brad began drinking again; one thing led to another and the down­ward spiral began once again.
The second turning point happened when Brad shattered his knee playing basketball. He was incapacitated for weeks after surgery. His days were spent playing indoor games and watching television shows like Jerry Springer. "1 got sick of it all, and conviction was building inside of me. It was almost un­bearable,"
Brad said. He turned on the radio and as he went ‘station surfing’ he was strangely attracted to a voice he had never heard before. It turned out to be a preacher, a Dr. Jeremiah beginning his teaching series about the Book of Revelation. "There was no way 1 was going to listen to some guy talk about the Bible, but for some reason 1 just kept listening."  Amazingly he tuned in every day for months. "As an atheist, listening to someone teach the Bible is a really strange experience. At first 1 didn't believe the words, but 1 was attracted to Dr. Jeremiah's sincer­ity and thoughtful, rational point of view."

Months later, Brad was driving down curvy mountain roads from his home, but this time he was listening on the radio to Dr. Jeremiah as had become his custom. Nearing the end of his series on the Book of Revelation, Dr. Jeremiah asked, "What about you? What about the day you're going to die?" That grabbed Brad's attention. "That's what 1 was looking for since 1 was five years old.

It's as if God came into the car and said, 'You know son, you've been trying it your way for 28 years. Now the time has arrived to give Me a shot?' 1 prayed a real prayer for the first time in my life: 1 need You to save me, God."

”For whoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved” Romans 10:13

On that day, March 22, 1994, Brad Borders accepted God's two gifts, the gift of Salvation and the gift of eternal life. His fear of death ended on that day as did his sleepless nights. He gained entry to a seminary and on graduation became a youth pastor.

Today Brad serves as a US Army Chaplain, reaching thousands of young soldiers with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the hope he so desperately needed in his young adult years.

Never forget, the Christian journey is all about progressive steps, with each step being a choice. God has given each and every one of us free will. Use your choices wisely.