From Atheist to Defender of Faith in Christ

My name is Keith Moore. I am a citizen of, and currently reside in the United States of America. This is my story of how I went from Atheist to Christian.

For most of my childhood (from the age of five until about 16), I attended church fairly regularly. I did this without my parents, riding a church bus to Sunday school until I was old enough to drive myself. During that period of time, I never really grasped what it meant to completely give my life to Christ. I saw it as more of a social club.

My adult life found me struggling with the concept of religion, much less the teachings of Christianity. I had read, researched, and interviewed believers and non-believers alike, then read and researched some more. With over 20 years in the fire and rescue field as a Firefighter/Paramedic, I have seen and experienced horrible things that seriously made me doubt that there could possibly be a loving and merciful God. My faith was no longer and I spoke out often against Jesus Christ.

In the late night hours of June 28th, 2014, I found myself sitting on my bed in the bunkroom at the firehouse, reading The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. I was about three-quarters of the way through (maybe a little more) and I began feeling something that I cannot put into words. It wasn’t joy, pain, anger, or any other emotion that I feel I could properly label; I just kept feeling like weeping. It actually scared me at first. I wasn’t sad or mad, and I wouldn’t even say that I felt like “crying” (although some would think them synonymous); I just kept feeling “choked up”. I would take a deep breath, relax, and it would subside, but the feeling kept coming back.

Hours later, I was nearing the end of the book. I came to page 759 and a heading that read, “You Can Receive Christ Right Now Through Prayer”. All of a sudden, I began feeling warm and, quite honestly, scared; oh, and there was that choked-up feeling again. I took a deep breath and actually whispered out loud, “Even if this is true, I don’t deserve to be saved.” Then, a voice in my head said, “You can do it. Go ahead.”
I took a deep breath and began reading the following words, “Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.”
Now, I have heard people say that they were saved, born again, accepted the Lord, however you want to put it, and that right afterward, they felt nothing; no different, whatsoever. I promise you this, immediately after reading those words, I felt driven to close my eyes and speak from the heart. As I sat alone in silence beneath my reading lamp, tears began rolling down my face and I just PRAYED. I wept. I begged forgiveness. I thanked Jesus again. I asked for guidance. I wept some more. I honestly felt spiritually renewed. I must have prayed for 30+ minutes and then laughed at myself for the next hour, or so, about how I could not stop weeping from the joy I was feeling and about how awkward it would be if we got a call right then.

After finally regaining my composure, I went and sat in the dayroom and reflected on a number of things; the biggest being this:
I had finally come to the conclusion that, not only is God real, but so is Jesus and the Word of God. I realized that it didn’t matter how many books I had read or how many Christians I had tell me that they “just believed”. I realized that for all the time I spent looking for Jesus with my eyes, I had been refusing to look with my heart. Once I opened my heart to Him, it all became clear; He was with me all along. He knew my heart and was patient with me. God is great. He is omniscient, omnipresent, and completely Holy. He is the Father that made, the Son that saved me, and the Spirit that lives within me. Yes, He judges; He does so perfectly, righteously, and fairly, but He also forgives, loves, blesses, and shows mercy. I cannot effectively articulate the power I felt in HIM that night. God is definitely NOT dead! He is alive, well, and reigns on high!

Since I surrendered my life to Christ, I have felt called to the ministry for men’s leadership and the first responder community. I also have a strong desire to do God’s work through medical missions both here in the United States and abroad. I am committed to live my life for Christ and spreading the Gospel!