My Testimony by Nathan Templeton

Nathan and Aurie, his daughter

I wanted to share with my friends and family what God has been doing in my life. It is too big not to share. He is too big for all of us not to share with others.

I was taught the Bible and about God my whole life. I said the prayer when I was a kid just so I would not go to hell, but I never had this relationship with the Creator of the universe that many say they have. I never got anything out of the Bible. I found it boring, and I did not see its power.

As I went to college, I slowly began to quit going to church and giving money to a God I did not know. If I went to church I would sit there and day dream of other things, and what I would do later that day or week. During the songs, I would worship myself or other things; not God. So I quit going to church except for show, or maybe to feel better about myself. My goal in life was to get the most out of life and make as much money as I could. 

During my college years I began to play poker. I was not a gambler but I realized that there was skill in this game and there was money to be made. In this game, I could take calculated risks, and I could make easy money doing something I enjoyed. I went on to finish college, and I took a job in banking, but after four years at the bank I was making more money playing poker on the side than I was at the bank. So I quit the bank job and began to play online poker full time. 

Poker blew up for me; I was good at it! There were days when I won what I made in one year at the bank. The game is fascinating and to be successful you have to have the ability to manage money, recognize opportunity, understand how your opponents think and evaluate yourself. I made more money in the next 8 years than I ever thought I would make in my life. I spent my money on myself, my family and having a good time.

But about a year and half ago, God stepped into my life. I had gotten to the point where I did not know what I believed about God. I thought maybe many paths led to God, but I knew I needed to figure it out, because I was going to face him one day. I never really wanted to look for God, because I did not want my life to be interrupted. It was too good!

So about two years ago I asked the God who made the universe to show Himself to me; whoever you are. I began to listen/read many books in my search for God. And it became overwhelmingly evident to me that the God of the Bible was the one true God. There are not many ways to Him but only one way and that is through Jesus. All evidence points to Him. He holds the key to eternal life, and He paid the price for my sin. I desperately needed Him to save me from myself and my sin. But when you put your faith in Jesus, He wants all of you. You have to surrender everything to Him. On May 5th of last year, I saw my need for Him, and I put my faith in Jesus and surrendered my life to Him.

My heart began to change internally, my thoughts began to change and my desires started to shift. The Bible was no longer this boring book. It was alive and powerful. I realized my pattern of loving money was wrong and I needed to change my life style. I was not sure what to do about my career. I never felt it was wrong for me to play poker. I love the game and I am good at it. I thought maybe I could use my skills to help others and to serve God, right? I began to pray about it and I devised a plan to scale down my lifestyle in order to give myself the option to quit if I needed to. Then maybe I would play poker and give the money away.

Last week I was reading in II Chronicles 15-16. It is the story of King Asa. He was the king of Judah and for the first part of his life he put his trust in God. God then miraculously delivered him from all his enemies and there was peace in the land. But half way through his life, the king of Israel comes against him. Asa devised a plan and made a treaty with another king so that the king of Israel would back down. It worked, but Asa did not seek God for help.

God was angry and sent a prophet to rebuke Asa. The prophet said these words: "The eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His."

I loved that verse and cut it out and tapped it to my printer. I prayed throughout the day telling God that He had my heart and to look no further.

Next day I come into my office. I read the Bible, prayed, and then began to fire up my tables to play poker. I felt the need to pray some more, so I stopped and did. As I began to pray, I looked over at that verse and my eyes began to fill with tears and for the next couple hours I felt completely broken. It was like God was saying: “Nate your plan is not My plan for you. Stop playing poker, and let Me be strong for you. Give me all of your heart and put your trust in Me. I don't need your skills or your money. I just want your heart.” So I quit and spent the next few days praying about this decision. I have no plan and my house is not sold and the deck is stacked against me. Financially, this decision does not make sense, but I did it anyway. I cashed out what was left and quit for something far greater – a deeper relationship with Jesus. This is no sacrifice at all.

I feel like the only thing I need to do today is to tell others about Jesus. After all, if we really believe the Bible, shouldn't our number one goal in life be to glorify God and tell others about Him. As Christians, there should be and urgency about this. The world is lost and blind to Jesus. Many of my friends are lost and blind like I was. Now I see the real God of the Bible and He is far greater than all the other things we are chasing.

He wants us to see the desperate need we have for Him. And he wants to give Himself to us. And he is not selling you short. Because having Him is far greater than anything you are scared to give Him. So give Him your life.

In church Sunday, the pastor said: "We only believe the parts of the Bible we do." This is so true. As Christians do we really believe in the God of the Bible that does miracles and that if we just give our hearts completely over to him, He will make Himself strong for us? He wants you to do nothing except give Him your complete devotion and He will work for you.

So I challenge all of you to think about what you really believe. What is controlling your time and thoughts? If you give those things to God, He will give you something far greater - His Spirit.

Pray for me as I turn a new page in life with everything riding on Jesus. And as I get to watch Him be strong for me and through me for His Glory!