The Good Fellow

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.’” Luke 18:19, NASB.

I was just a teenager when my father died. He was a sincere believer, and made sure that my siblings and I were at church every Sunday. I enjoyed dressing up and going to church. I liked people to look at me and think of me as a good fellow, but in my heart I knew it was a lie. The truth is that even though I looked good on the outside to my friends and family—I was a sinner who was addicted to smoking, gambling and pornography.

I dropped out of church until I met an upperclassman in college. She was a Christian, and I found that I still liked dressing up to play the role of a good fellow. But God knew my heart and He had different plans for my life than the double life I was leading. One evening the pastor preached on Luke 15, the prodigal son. God stripped away my mask and I saw that I was the prodigal. I repented and received the cleansing from Christ and the welcome of the Father.

Immediately God released me from the strongholds of smoking and gambling, but the sin of pornography was harder to overcome. Yet with God’s grace and godly counsel, even this foothold has been toppled by the power of Christ in me.

I’ve learned to claim promises from the Bible and switch the bad thought with the good when Satan tempts me with pornography, or some other sin. I’m so grateful that Jesus didn’t allow me to play at being good, but showed me that true righteousness only comes to those who have faith in Him. He is the only good fellow!

Pray that:

God will use the testimony of this brother to set people free from strongholds like smoking, gambling, and pornography.

Christian men in the Pacific Rim region will remain pure from the hidden addiction of pornography.

Many prodigal sons in the Pacific Rim will find the warm reception of their heavenly Father.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.