My name is Leslie. For the last 10 years I have been a born again child of God.
I am a husband to the most beautiful and precious wife, Nadine, and father to two beautiful children. We have been married for almost 9 years.
My life has never been better! I have everything I could ever ask for and I lack nothing. I do not complain and I do not envy anyone but love my life, my family and Jesus Christ! I have love, peace, joy, freedom and I am never alone. I have enough to give to others and I never return as much as I have received. I have more than enough and I will never be hungry, thirsty or poor again. I love living and I enjoy every moment for what it is. But despite all I have mentioned, my life is not my own. I have died to my own selfish ambitions and desires and ultimately to myself. I now belong to Jesus and I live for Him.
My life was not always perfect although it was never that bad. I was brought up in a Christian family with my mother, brother and a wonderful stepfather who adopted me as a baby. I had a fairly normal upbringing and had no reason to be here to share a testimony. But as with many people even today, I made very bad decisions and almost ended a good life prematurely.
Growing up, throughout my school years and even whilst studying, I had a very bad way of always trying to prove myself to friends, family and people around me. I always had to go just that one step further than the rest to try and be the best. Unfortunately, aiming for being the best caused me to hurt many people around me and to do things that I am not proud of today.
Smoking, alcohol, weed, pills, powders, fornication, theft, lying, manipulation, violence and all kinds of negative things were just some of the “sports” I partook in. And sadly enough, most of these are quite normal and acceptable to most people today. Therefore I have decided not to tell you what I have done wrong but rather what Jesus did right!
JESUS HAS THE ABILITY TO CHANGE A MESS INTO A MESSAGE!
When I first was saved I experienced a great relief from the pressure that was building up in my life…not stress…but pressure, to uphold a false image of whom I thought I was or who I portrayed myself to be. Suddenly, in a moment, it was a clear as a sunny day, I saw my life for what it really was, completely and utterly empty, stripped of any real value. In fact, if I had to lose my job, my car and my house I would not have been the exception to the rule.
The first few months after being born again, life was quite boring. Everything I did before felt wrong but I did not know with what to replace the parties, the fighting and the getting drunk, stoned or high. My life was empty and worthless, I felt like should I die, I would not be missed for one moment…
You see I once was lost but now I was found. Was far away, but suddenly was home. I was blind and now I was seeing…because He touched me. For the first time I was seeing reality.
Just as a R100 note does not lose its value, no matter how much it is folded or how many times it is used and misused by different people. Or even if it sells itself short, R100 will always be R100.
God showed me that no matter what, I was worth something. And no matter what I did or where I have been, I was still worthy of His love, His grace, His attention and worthy of living. No matter the scars in my life, the dirt on me…my value was not to be determined by my condition but by my position. My worth was determined by the price paid for my life, the price of the Blood of a King, Jesus Christ!! My condition was not great but upon accepting Jesus as my Lord and Saviour my position changed from lost to found, from being in darkness to being a light, from a slave to a son!
Knowing my position, it changed my condition from inside out not outside in. God changed my heart and renewed my mind and this changed my actions. I did not try to be a Christian, I became a Christian by becoming Christ-like…just the way I was created, in His image and His likeness!!
In closing, today I am a young man living the dream. Not the dream of the world but the dream of my Heavenly Father. I preach the Gospel, I baptize new believers, I make disciples who can do what I do even better and I teach what I have been taught. – Math 28:19-20 – THE GREAT COMMISSION from God.
Today and forevermore Jesus is my:
Saviour – from certain death
Redeemer – from eternal death
Healer – from brokenness, blindness, sickness and worthlessness
Joy – for I can never lose what I have found
Peace – He made me whole when I was scattered
He gives me what I do not deserve (life everlasting)…we call it grace
He does not give me what I deserve (eternal death)…we call it mercy
JESUS IS MY EVERYTHING!
Therefore I no longer live for myself but I live for Him! Praise be to Jesus!!
Leslie Lottering
If and when this Testimony has spoken into your heart, please go to the Commitment page.