I Was A Catholic By Ellen Ives

'I was a Catholic' 'So, has it ever bothered you that you never got married?' Alan asked my sister who had been a nun for over 35 years. Having never had the opportunity to speak one on one with my sister, and this being our first time, it hardly seemed the right question to begin our conversation. I wanted to kick his leg under the table and remind him that this isn't how to win friends and influence people for Heaven. More shocking than his bold question was the answer we received. But first, let me tell you the rest of the story.    I was born and raised in a Catholic home, the ninth out of twelve children. All of us were sent to Catholic grade school, where we could be 'properly' indoctrinated to the Catholic teachings. Our family was faithful to the church, and none of us ever asked if we were going to church on Sunday...we were going!    As far back as I can remember, my two sisters were nuns. (I recently discovered that the younger one of the two left home to join the convent when she was 13 years of age...I was only 3). At that time, I also had a third sister in the convent and a brother studying for the priesthood. Both of them are lay people today, while the earlier two mentioned are still Catholic nuns.    As a young girl, my aspirations were to make my parents as proud of me as they were the other nuns, and so I'd, too, join the convent. In my teenage years, boys started entering my life, and thoughts of the convent vanished. I began to question, not my faith in God, but the teaching of my church. I didn't understand why I had to go to a priest to confess my sins and why I couldn't pray directly to my heavenly Father. Deep down, I was searching, and didn't even realize that what I was looking for was the peace that the Lord Jesus Christ offers through His salvation.    I was 18 years old, in my first year of college, and working all night in a grocery store to earn money for school. A young man by the name of Alan Ives was checking out, and I happened to ask him the question that opened the door for him to tell me about the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ: 'Are you still in the rock band?' He told me that he wasn't and that he'd like to visit some time to tell me about it. About two weeks later he knocked on my door, told me how he had gotten saved, and how the Lord had changed his life so that he no longer cared to live the life of a rock and roll musician.    After all that, he told me I could know for sure that I was on my way to Heaven and showed me the verse that has forever changed my life, I John 5:13: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, ...." That was enough for me. No, I didn't pray and ask the Lord to save me while he was there. But right after he left, I went to my bedroom, knelt by the bed, and the best I knew how, asked the Lord Jesus Christ to be my Saviour. That was February 27, 1973.    That night, I had no idea how my life would change. All I knew was that I was sure of Heaven for the first time in my 18 years of religious upbringing. Alan called me a few days later to find out if I had indeed trusted the Lord. He was delighted in the good news that I had, and then invited me to Southside Baptist Church (presently Wyldewood Baptist Church) for Sunday services. When I responded favorably, he said the bus would be there to pick me up. I reminded him that my Catholic dad would not appreciate a Baptist bus stopping at our house; and so, if he wanted to show any spiritual concern for me, he'd have to come and pick me up and take me to church. (He is still taking me to church every Sunday!)    My first Sunday in a Baptist church, Pastor Howard Nelson was teaching from the Book of Revelation, Chapter 17 to be exact! He talked about Babylon, the great whore, the purple and scarlet colors, and a whole lot of other things that directly attacked the church I was brought up in. I was learning a lot of Bible truth after all the years of Catholic teaching, and all I can remember thinking is, "Why doesn't my church teach this?" I immediately had a desire for the Word of God, and in a short period of time found things like: call no man father; forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats; priests daily making sacrifices that can never take away sin; and of course, the ten commandments which are forever engraved in my mind the way I was taught in grade school, with the second one omitted. With only this much Bible knowledge, I knew it was time to make the change, and in April of 1973 I got baptized as a believer and joined the Baptist church.    How did my family react? They took all of these decisions as a slap in the face, and about two weeks before I got married, threw me out of the house, disowned me, and refused to speak to me or Alan. It was a heartbreaking time for all of us, and my comfort came from the Scriptures in Matthew 10:34-39 where Jesus said that He came not to bring peace, but a sword. It wasn't me that my family rejected, but the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were a few in the family who still dared to speak to me, but for the most part, I was totally cut off. My parents did not attend the wedding (Sept. 8, 1973), and really did not communicate at all until our oldest child, Stephanie, was born in the summer of 1974 (No, we didn't wait to have a family). My father died in September of that year---we hope that somewhere along the way, he trusted Jesus as Saviour.    Through the years, it has been our prayer for the Lord to show us what to do to bring my family to Him. His steps have included: giving our musical recordings as gifts, witnessing as He has led, being there to help in times of need (which we don't always do so well in recent years with our traveling agenda), and apologizing and asking for forgiveness when we have been in the wrong.    In the past few years, we have seen much happen with my family spiritually. My mother and several 'siblings' came to Stephanie's wedding and to hear me speak for a ladies meeting at our home church (which by the way, they seemed to enjoy and did not realize that the things I was teaching on were the same things for which they threw me out of the house). More recently, they came for my mother-in-law's funeral. At all of these occasions they have heard the gospel. Consequently, my mother has come to realize that salvation means setting aside the good works and trusting Jesus personally as Saviour. It's not that she hadn't heard it before; it's just that she hadn't HEARD it before!    What about my sister's response to Alan's question about not being married? She replied that it bothers her every day of her life! How sad! And how much better life can be with a husband who loves the Lord, a church that teaches nothing but the Word of God, a family who is knit together by our common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the knowledge that when all the trials of this life are past, Heaven is home!    Alan often says that if he had known how religious my family was, he might not have knocked on our door that February night many years ago. But I'm so glad he did!

IF You were to die today, are you 100% SURE you would go to Heaven? The Bible says YOU CAN BE SURE (1 John 5:13). BUT FIRST, you must realize that what keeps you from going to Heaven are your sins, because: "...your iniquities [sins] have separated between you and your God," Isaiah 59:2. In fact, in God's eyes YOU ARE A SINNER: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23. And Jesus, referring to sinners, said that He: "shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity [sinners]; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:41-42 SECONDLY, you must realize that there is NOTHING you can do to save yourself and earn Heaven: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 Baptism, good deeds, church membership, self-righteousness are all examples of good works that cannot save you, because: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he [Christ] saved us," Titus 3:5. THE ONLY WAY you can get saved is through Jesus Christ. He said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) THAT'S WHY: "...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8-9) THEREFORE: You must REPENT (change your mind); admit that you are a Hell deserving sinner and can't save yourself. And call upon Christ, and Him alone, to save you. "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus [REPENT], and shalt believe in thine heart [TRUST] that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9 SEND THE LIGHT P.O. Box 815   Fargo, ND 58107

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