I came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior at around age 25. At the age of 16 is when I was first exposed to the Gospel of God’s saving grace. I was invited to a youth group meeting at Calvary Hill Baptist Church in Wilton, Maine. There I heard the gospel explained in a simple down to earth way. As a teenager I knew what was being said and I knew that it was true, but I never really made a full commitment to the Gospel, I just tried to be good and say and do all the right things. I graduated from high school and entered the Navy at age 18. Things went steadily down hill from there. It wasn’t that I was a "Bad" person, I just didn’t care about what God was thinking about my actions. As I look back over that time of my life I can see how God kept me safe and protected me from so many of this world’s evils. I drank alcohol, I did drugs, I did may things that people struggle with all their lives, but all these things never seemed to become vises for me. I could take them or leave them. I know now that God had better things for me to be addicted too. Now during this time from 18 to 21 God’s word and the things that I had learned from youth group were in the back of my mind. I continued to go to church once in a while, I even preached a little at my friends from time to time. I got out of the navy in early 1981 and later that year married my wife of over 23 years. We both professed to be Christians at that time but later found out that it was all head knowledge and not a heart relationship with Christ. We started to attend a Bible preaching church in 1982 where we immediately were asked to sing in the choir. Deb was asked to sing solo music also. The preaching was very good, verse by verse, book by book, hermeneutics.

I had been "religious", going to church, singing in the choir and doing all the things a Christian would do, but I came to realize through preaching of God’s word that I was only being religious and not having the right heart relationship with the Lord. My wife had committed her life to Christ about a year later. It took me a little longer, about 5 years in fact, to see that my heart was not where it should be. It all came to a point in my life where I was going to walk away from it all and give up. Then a good friend said something to me that changed my whole life. He said God’s not here to make your life miserable, and much more. From that moment on I knew that things would be different. I surrendered my heart and life to Jesus Christ and have never looked back. We stayed in that church for 20 years learning God’s Word and ministering to God’s people. Unfortunately as often happens, the church began to take on some unbiblical stands and we eventually had to leave. I am glad for the 20 years that I spent there and for the Bible knowledge that I now have. I am very thankful that God has allowed me to learn His word and allowed me to be able to share it with others. The most important thing I have learned through my own transformation is this, there is a fine line between being Religious and being Saved. We are the only ones that can cloud our minds and make ourselves believe we are "ok" when we really are not. That’s why I find it so important to "examine myself to see whether I am in the faith", 2nd Cor. 13:5. Something I do on a regular basis. This testimony is very abbreviated. I would love to share the "expanded" edition with anyone that may wish to hear it!

  Deb Hodge - My Testimony

The first time I was exposed to the gospel was when I was 7 years old. My Mom had got saved and things were very different from that point on. We: myself and my siblings, had devotions almost every day. My Mom taught us about God’s salvation plan and how Jesus died for my sins on the cross. My Father was not yet saved, so my Mom had to find a good church with us three kids on her own. I remember we went through 2 before she found a Bible preaching church. I went up front many times to say the prayer and make a public profession. I knew it was true and I had the fear of hell, but it seemed like my life could never measure up. It was around October of 82, when my husband and I moved back to Maine from New Hampshire. We started attending a good Bible teaching church that my parents went to. My Father had got saved 7 years after my Mom did. What a day that was, and how thankful we all were for that answered prayer. I believe I knew what was right, and I knew that I wanted to do right, but, I never had the power to overcome daily attitudes and sins. One night the preacher was preaching on the awesomeness of God, and did I realize that I had offended a righteous and Holy God? Well, that night I gave all of myself to Him and I now know and have the assurance that I am one if His children and a servant to Him. Psalm 116:12 is one of my favorite verses. What shall I render unto Him for all His benefits towards me? I want my life to reflect a servants heart of love and a willingness to be used and sent where ever He leads. He has been gracious to me in giving me a talent of singing, and I am ever thankful that He has opened the doors for us to go around and minster through song and the teaching of His Word. I truly serve an awesome God who knows me and loves me.