Greetings, my name is Scott Ramsey. I’d like to share a little bit of my story with you, specifically how I came to know Jesus personally. The night my life changed forever!
I hope that as you hear about what God has done in my life, you’ll be encouraged. Reflect on your own story and where you stand with Him.
Before Christ – My Life Before Jesus
I grew up knowing very little about God. And I went to church maybe a couple of times. I did believe there was a God, but I didn’t really know why.
But here’s the thing — there’s a big difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him personally. At that time, I didn’t have a real relationship with Him or even know that I could.
By my senior year of high school, my focus was on typical things. Things like friends, sports, girls, graduation, and what was coming next in life. On the outside, I looked like I had an idea of where I was going. But inside, I was lost, and there was this sense that something was missing. There had to be more to life than just going through the motions.
The Turning Point – The Campus Life Trip
During that senior year, friends invited me to go to a weekly Campus Life Club. I didn’t know it at the time, but Campus Life was a ministry designed to reach out to high school students who weren’t Christians. It was a fun group of my peers. We talked about all kinds of pertinent topics for teens. They would always share how God wanted to be a part of our lives. But the fun, the discussions, and the girls were why I was there.
Spring Break was coming up. Campus Life always took a spring break trip to Vero Beach, Florida – count me in! It was held at a camp down in Florida. Honestly, I went more for the fun and the friends than for anything spiritual. And then there was the beach every day, and Disney World on the last day of the trip!
No Money – No Trip
I couldn’t get the money to pay for it, even when trying to sell candy as a fundraiser. But the Campus Life Director approached me the week before. What he told me shocked me. He said, “Scott, someone gave me money to pay for your trip – you’re going to Florida!” I couldn’t believe it. Why would someone pay for me to go to Florida? Why would someone pay for me to be able to go to the beach. And to hang out at the beach, and camp with my buddies and cute girls? And to go to Disney World, too!
So to Florida I went. But one night, during one of the sessions, everything changed. The Campus Life Director, B-Watt, shared about how Jesus isn’t just a figure from history. Nor just someone we hear about in church. He’s alive, and He wants a personal relationship with each of us.
He explained that it wasn’t enough to just believe in Jesus or try to be a good person. We all have sin in our lives, and that sin separates us from God. The only way to be made right with Him is through what Jesus did on the cross. When He died and rose again.
That night, the speaker challenged us to make it personal. To actually invite Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of our lives.
I remember sitting there and feeling like God was speaking directly to me. It was as if everything I had been searching for was pointing to this moment. So, right there at that camp in Florida, I went out in the quietness of the camp and prayed. I asked Jesus to forgive me for my sins and to lead my life. That was the moment I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. It was on Wednesday, April 2, 1980, at 9:30 pm – my life would never be the same.
Since Christ – The Difference He’s Made
From that day on, my life hasn’t been the same.
It doesn’t mean everything’s been perfect. Far from it. But now I have a relationship with the God who created me. I have peace knowing that I’m not walking through life alone. And peace that my life has a greater purpose than just what I can build for myself.
Over the years, that decision has shaped how I approach my marriage, my family, and my work. And even the way I handle challenges. Jesus has been my constant source of strength and hope.
The Challenge: Encouragement and Invitation
I share this because I believe what Jesus did for me, He wants to do for everyone. If you’ve ever felt like something was missing or you’ve been trying to figure out life on your own, I want you to know that Jesus is ready to meet you right where you are — just like He met me on that spring break trip. Saying yes to Him was the best decision I’ve ever made, and so it can be for you as well.
Simple Steps To Receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior:
- Acknowledge you are a sinner: and separated from God.
- Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fallen short.
- Understand the wages of sin: is death, but God offers the free gift of eternal life.
- Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Believe in Jesus: as God’s Son, who died for your sins.
- Romans 10:9 – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
- Confess with your mouth: that Jesus is Lord.
- Romans 10:10 – For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
- Open your heart: to Jesus to receive Him.
- Acts 2:38 – Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For more guidance on this, leave me a message as I would be excited to follow up with you!
