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My name is Edwin Brain.
I can think of no better way to introduce myself than to tell you how I became a Christian.
Subject: My Conversion.
I was nearly 30 years old when the Lord saved me. For most of that time I was either agnostic, atheist, or indifferent. For as long as I can remember I have always had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. How does this work?. How does that work?. What makes people what they are?. When my schoolboy friends were out playing games like cricket, football, or chasing girls, I would be found in the local library reading room finding out as much as I could about my latest interest.
With a name like Brain, and my interests it is no wonder I got the nickname, "The professor", or, "Mister know it all". I didn't really care what they called me, I was a loner. I would do my own thing in my own way. I particularly enjoyed a battle of wits with anyone, as I always won, or at least I thought so. I especially looked out for people of a Religious disposition, as I really enjoyed exercising my superior knowledge, and shooting them down in flames as it were, but then one day in the late summer of 1961 when looking out of the office window where I worked, I saw in our car park a Bedford mini bus with the words, "Even Christ pleased not himself", written on its side in letters of gold 3" high.
I enquired whose this was, and the owner was pointed out to me. I made my mind up there and then that he would be my next victim. In due course I spoke to this man, and to cut a long story short he invited me to his home, to which I went for 8 successive Friday evenings, I was very much impressed with him, he is very well educated, and also very sincere. He wanted me to become a Christian like him, and kept on asking me if I was yet ready to receive Jesus as my saviour. I told him I could say the words he wanted me to say, but I knew that I would not mean them, not that I did not want to, I did, but I knew that it would not work if I didn't mean what I said.
The problem was the enormity of my sin, which I considered to great for God to forgive. It was near to midnight, and his wife and his 5 children were all in bed. At this point the Lord caused his youngest child a girl about 18 months old, to cry out, he excused himself and left the room, saying I don't want my wife to be disturbed, I will go and see what is the matter. This left me alone as it were, I said to myself this man wants me to become a Christian like him, well maybe someday I will. But if I ever do then I will have to do what they do, they pray, and I don't know how to pray.
I wondered what to do next, I had opened the bible a number of times whilst visiting my friend, and often found the verses that I read spoke to me powerfully, often dealing with the very problem that I had in my mind at that moment. Now I opened it once again at random, and found myself reading Luke Ch 11 from v 1. "Teach me how to pray". The Lord spoke to me in His still small voice, and said "Why am I doing this, why am I as it were taking time off from running this vast universe to come down into this room to be with you to cause you to open my book just where I want you to open it, to read the very verse that I want you to read that tells you that I know just what your problem is, if as you say your sin is too great for me to forgive?.
I had no answer for this, and with tears streaming down my face I looked up and said "Because you love me"...
That is how I became a Christian.
Every blessing
Edwin Brain.
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