Last
Sunday I challenged the parents, grandparents and future parents of Highpoint
Church to write their personal testimonies as a special gift to their
children. I think this may be one
of the coolest things you can give your kids. This was inspired by my own Grandfather’s testimony that he
drafted about three years before his death. His testimony was listed on the back of his funeral program
and now stands as his lasting legacy for our family and beyond. I hope you will take a moment to read
my grandfather’s testimony below and be inspired to write your own for those
you love.
I hope it makes sense!
My Personal Testimony: Cliff
Savage
February
3, 2006
My
Life Before Christ:
God
touched my heart when I was about 14 years old at a revival in a country church
near my home. I wasn’t sure just what was happening, so I didn’t accept Him at the
time, but I realized that God was real and I was sorry that I didn’t give my
life to Him then. As the years went by, I could feel His presence and knew that
I needed to do something. I kept putting Him off.
I
went off to the army and when I got in a real battle, I prayed to Him seriously
and could feel His presence very near. I know now without my faith in God, I
would never have returned home. When I came home, I forgot about my faith and
decided to live it up having a good time (or I thought I was having a good
time). THAT WAS A BAD DECISION. God kept tugging at my heart and I kept trying
to do it my way, but that didn’t work very well. I finally had to surrender my
life to Him; I am so thankful that I did.
How
I Received Christ:
I
finally decided that I needed to slow down and change the way I was living. I
found the love of my life, Doris Renfrow, and we were married December 31,
1948. After about two years we began to have children—and before it stopped we
had six children. Our first child died soon after birth, and that was a wake-up
call for the both of us.
In
1954 we began to attend Oakville Baptist Church. Doris was saved before I was.
Then we attended a children’s program with a visiting evangelist. When he asked
the children to accept Jesus, I was one of the first to go down; for Jesus
filled my heart so full of His Spirit that day I couldn’t resist Him if I had
tried. I had no control whatsoever over myself. I have thanked Jesus thousands
of times for that day at Oakville Church.
My
New Life in Christ:
Our
family was growing, our responsibility was growing, our business was growing,
our problems were growing and best of all, our faith in God was growing. My
wife made sure that our children went to church and were taught right from
wrong. My brother and I had started a business, and we had to work out of town
a lot. That meant I had to be away from my family more than I wanted (I had to
make a living for them). God gave us such a wonderful family (one of the best,
I think). I believe that all of our children and grandchildren who are old
enough have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. I am thankful for my faith
in Jesus and for the family that He has given me. I also thank Him for my
health, my church family and so much more it would be impossible to name it all
here. Thank you, God.
My Granddaddy...

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4 generations of Savage men
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Granddaddy and 2 of his great-grand children
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