Introduction
A.J.'s life takes an unexpected detour in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where God calls him to be a preacher. Yet his Christian witness and ministry are hindered by a life-long habit of cigarette smoking. In an instant, through words aptly spoken by a stranger, God gives A.J. a reason to quit!A.J.'s true story is one of our many uniquely featured testimonies from you, the members and visitors of this site. Each story reveals a life transformed by Christian faith. If your relationship with God has made a significant difference in your life, we would like to hear about it. Submit your testimony by filling out this Submission Form.
A.J.'s Reason to Quit
I had just left Hollywood, California, on my way back home to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I felt that I had failed because I was not able to get an acting part.I've always wanted to be an actor.
Detour in Tulsa
So I started hitch-hiking -- it was safe back then. On my way back to Philadelphia, I took a rest over in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I really loved the reception in this city. I was not used to people saying "good morning" or "good afternoon" while walking down the street. The city was so clean. I decided to find a job and stay.After about a year I accepted my call to preach the gospel, not knowing that I was really running from it. I accepted this calling to preach in 1977 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I was a heavy cigarette smoker. I was smoking about two and a half packs a day. At that time, I was smoking what was believed to be the strongest brand on the market -- "KOOL Filterless."
It was 1985 and I was sitting in a restaurant booth smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. A young man approached me with a problem, so I started witnessing to him. My Bible was on the table in front of me, I held a cigarette in my left hand and a cup of coffee in my right.
Up in Smoke
The young man got up to go to the restroom. While he was gone, a young lady came into the restaurant and sat down at the booth facing me. She looked into my eyes and asked me, "Are you a minister?"I replied, "Yes," with a big smile.
She asked, "Did you know that your witness is going up in smoke?"
That episode in my life and her words crushed me more than anything prior that I could remember. My ministry was the most important thing to me, as well as my relationship with Jesus Christ.
So, I quit!
I didn't need anything else. I made a conscious decision that the ministry of Jesus Christ and my relationship with Him was more important than smoking.
Hebrews 10:26 says, "If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." (NKJV)
Hebrews 12:1 says that we should "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." (NKJV)
When Jesus died on the cross, He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
Therefore, if we know better, what then? I couldn't take the chance.
