Brother Decker's Testimony
|
The Old Man Dies
I'd like to tell you about a man I once knew. Before he came to God, he had little hope in life. In fact, each day he lived, he seemed to sink deeper in sin. Surely, it looked as though he'd never change. In fact, he was one of the worst individuals you could ever meet.
He didn't get along well where he worked. Since he was bitter and resentful toward his employer, all he did was complain about his job. He was never thankful for the good things God had given him.
Also, his home was on the verge of being completely ruined. He liked to drink, and the more he drank, the meaner he was and the deeper he went into debt.
He liked to gamble too. It would be nothing for him to spend his whole paycheck and then borrow money to pay his bills and even buy groceries!
It seemed as though the more he tried, the harder he was to get along with and the more in bondage he became. It was like he was in the middle of a stream with the water rising fast, yet he was unable to move because his feet were in quicksand. The more he moved and struggled, the more helpless and defenseless he became.
Also he smoked, knowing all the time that it was endangering his health. He'd throw his cigarettes away, only to go retrieve them or buy a new pack and go at it again. The devil would make him think that he could quit by tapering off, but he soon found that this wasn't the case at all. He couldn't help it; he just couldn't quit.
He was not at all pleasant to be around because he constantly used filthy language and told his dirty jokes. He couldn't carry on a decent conversation without adding some filthy words of some kind.
I could go on and on telling you about this man, but anything I could say wouldn't be pleasant. There's nothing about him that's even worth telling. His whole life was just a big failure.
This story would certainly be sad if it ended right here. However, something happened that adds a brightness and ray of hope to it. Someone might ask, "What could happen that could change a story with such a dark picture?"
Well, the man I spoke about died—at an altar of prayer one night. He was resurrected as a new man with a new heart, new spirit, and a whole new outlook on life! God put his home back together, helped him with his financial problems, and broke the bondage of his sinful habits. He was now a thankful man with a heart full of love for God and his family. To this day, he still walks a straight path and works to win others to Christ.
This is a true story. I know, for this man was me!
II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
He didn't get along well where he worked. Since he was bitter and resentful toward his employer, all he did was complain about his job. He was never thankful for the good things God had given him.
Also, his home was on the verge of being completely ruined. He liked to drink, and the more he drank, the meaner he was and the deeper he went into debt.
He liked to gamble too. It would be nothing for him to spend his whole paycheck and then borrow money to pay his bills and even buy groceries!
It seemed as though the more he tried, the harder he was to get along with and the more in bondage he became. It was like he was in the middle of a stream with the water rising fast, yet he was unable to move because his feet were in quicksand. The more he moved and struggled, the more helpless and defenseless he became.
Also he smoked, knowing all the time that it was endangering his health. He'd throw his cigarettes away, only to go retrieve them or buy a new pack and go at it again. The devil would make him think that he could quit by tapering off, but he soon found that this wasn't the case at all. He couldn't help it; he just couldn't quit.
He was not at all pleasant to be around because he constantly used filthy language and told his dirty jokes. He couldn't carry on a decent conversation without adding some filthy words of some kind.
I could go on and on telling you about this man, but anything I could say wouldn't be pleasant. There's nothing about him that's even worth telling. His whole life was just a big failure.
This story would certainly be sad if it ended right here. However, something happened that adds a brightness and ray of hope to it. Someone might ask, "What could happen that could change a story with such a dark picture?"
Well, the man I spoke about died—at an altar of prayer one night. He was resurrected as a new man with a new heart, new spirit, and a whole new outlook on life! God put his home back together, helped him with his financial problems, and broke the bondage of his sinful habits. He was now a thankful man with a heart full of love for God and his family. To this day, he still walks a straight path and works to win others to Christ.
This is a true story. I know, for this man was me!
II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
|
By ELIZABETH ASHBROOK-BANNING
Advocate Correspondent
Roger Decker of Newark knows what it's like to taste freedom. At the beginning of each new year, he takes time to rededicate himself to God and be thankful again for his deliverance from an addiction to gambling that nearly cost him his family.
As pastor of the Church of God, North Cedar Street in Newark, he helps others seeking freedom from a similar addiction. He also offers compassion and an understanding heart to all church members who seek guidance in any matter. Members know they have found in Decker a man who understands God's power to save--from firsthand experience.
"When someone comes to me who is addicted to gambling, I tell them that God can do for them what He did for me. He's no respecter of persons. If it wasn't for God, I would not have my family today," Decker said.
Thirty three years ago this month, Decker walked away a free man from an addiction to gambling which had held him in a vise-like grip for almost a decade. Decker said that although it was years ago, he remembers the nightmare as if it happened yesterday.
Recently, he expressed concern with the increasing availability of lottery options and with state legislation, such as House Bill 643, introduced into the Ohio legislation in the spring of 2000. The bill sought authorization for participation in a multistate lottery. It died in committee prior to Dec. 31. Decker feels the rise in gambling opportunities also creates more opportunities for addiction.
Decker shares his story to keep others from experiencing the same pain he suffered.
In the early '60s, he worked at the former Rockwell factory. But evening found him at friends' homes or in smoke-filled basement rooms of local bars with half a dozen other men playing poker--his game of choice. Though he said his addiction started small--as a casual card game with friends--he became more and more involved as the win-lose cycle sent him plummeting on a downward spiral.
"You start playing for fun, but you always have the feeling you're going to be the big winner. I won once. Then I started losing. So I always had the thought that the next time I go into the game, I'll be smarter. I'll play my cards better. There's always an allurement," Decker said.
He said that is was "nothing" for him to frequently gamble a whole paycheck on a weekly basis, which he considered "a lot of money in those days." He described his feelings after a big loss as hopeless.
"When I lost big, there was utter despair. I said I would never do it again. Then there'd be an invitation. That is the addiction the game has. In the back of your mind, you keep thinking you'll come away the big winner. You'll make up your losses in one big night. But it's like the ship that never comes in," he said.
He said some gamblers he knew fared better than others because they would set money aside specifically for gambling, but the ones who didn't got hurt the most. He saw one man lose his car during a single poker game.
"When people are in that situation--they'll bet anything to stay in the game--always hoping for the turnaround," he said.
Friends advised him to quit gambling, Decker said, and by the late '60s he tried to quit many times, but "the power wasn't there." He said he went to church during his gambling days, but "in body only."
It took the threat of divorce from his wife and a desire to be free from a sense of powerlessness to send him to a friend for help. His friend, Emerson Wilson, former pastor of the Church of God, invited him to a church service in response. But this service was different from the others he'd been to.
"I hated the fact that gambling was leading me around by the nose. When they had an invitation for people to come forward for prayer, I went. There was a lot of tears. I asked for God's help. I asked for forgiveness. God gave me the power over gambling that I didn't have before. If it wasn't for God, my family wouldn't be together today," he said.
He got up from that January meeting a free man and has not gambled since.
In 1987, he became pastor for the Church of God. People frequently come to him who are having trouble with gambling, among other things. He gives the help he's learned from experience and from the Bible and often shares his favorite Scripture, John 8:32, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
To those who gamble he expresses a word of caution. "Ask yourself, 'Can I walk away from this and lay it down?' Is gambling helping you or is it eating away at your savings? There's a better way."
Advocate Correspondent
Roger Decker of Newark knows what it's like to taste freedom. At the beginning of each new year, he takes time to rededicate himself to God and be thankful again for his deliverance from an addiction to gambling that nearly cost him his family.
As pastor of the Church of God, North Cedar Street in Newark, he helps others seeking freedom from a similar addiction. He also offers compassion and an understanding heart to all church members who seek guidance in any matter. Members know they have found in Decker a man who understands God's power to save--from firsthand experience.
"When someone comes to me who is addicted to gambling, I tell them that God can do for them what He did for me. He's no respecter of persons. If it wasn't for God, I would not have my family today," Decker said.
Thirty three years ago this month, Decker walked away a free man from an addiction to gambling which had held him in a vise-like grip for almost a decade. Decker said that although it was years ago, he remembers the nightmare as if it happened yesterday.
Recently, he expressed concern with the increasing availability of lottery options and with state legislation, such as House Bill 643, introduced into the Ohio legislation in the spring of 2000. The bill sought authorization for participation in a multistate lottery. It died in committee prior to Dec. 31. Decker feels the rise in gambling opportunities also creates more opportunities for addiction.
Decker shares his story to keep others from experiencing the same pain he suffered.
In the early '60s, he worked at the former Rockwell factory. But evening found him at friends' homes or in smoke-filled basement rooms of local bars with half a dozen other men playing poker--his game of choice. Though he said his addiction started small--as a casual card game with friends--he became more and more involved as the win-lose cycle sent him plummeting on a downward spiral.
"You start playing for fun, but you always have the feeling you're going to be the big winner. I won once. Then I started losing. So I always had the thought that the next time I go into the game, I'll be smarter. I'll play my cards better. There's always an allurement," Decker said.
He said that is was "nothing" for him to frequently gamble a whole paycheck on a weekly basis, which he considered "a lot of money in those days." He described his feelings after a big loss as hopeless.
"When I lost big, there was utter despair. I said I would never do it again. Then there'd be an invitation. That is the addiction the game has. In the back of your mind, you keep thinking you'll come away the big winner. You'll make up your losses in one big night. But it's like the ship that never comes in," he said.
He said some gamblers he knew fared better than others because they would set money aside specifically for gambling, but the ones who didn't got hurt the most. He saw one man lose his car during a single poker game.
"When people are in that situation--they'll bet anything to stay in the game--always hoping for the turnaround," he said.
Friends advised him to quit gambling, Decker said, and by the late '60s he tried to quit many times, but "the power wasn't there." He said he went to church during his gambling days, but "in body only."
It took the threat of divorce from his wife and a desire to be free from a sense of powerlessness to send him to a friend for help. His friend, Emerson Wilson, former pastor of the Church of God, invited him to a church service in response. But this service was different from the others he'd been to.
"I hated the fact that gambling was leading me around by the nose. When they had an invitation for people to come forward for prayer, I went. There was a lot of tears. I asked for God's help. I asked for forgiveness. God gave me the power over gambling that I didn't have before. If it wasn't for God, my family wouldn't be together today," he said.
He got up from that January meeting a free man and has not gambled since.
In 1987, he became pastor for the Church of God. People frequently come to him who are having trouble with gambling, among other things. He gives the help he's learned from experience and from the Bible and often shares his favorite Scripture, John 8:32, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
To those who gamble he expresses a word of caution. "Ask yourself, 'Can I walk away from this and lay it down?' Is gambling helping you or is it eating away at your savings? There's a better way."