Episode 168

In the latest episode of the Removing Barriers podcast, we are sharing a previously unreleased interview with H (yes, that is his real name!), a man whose life story is a testament to the power of faith and the transformative impact of accepting Christ. H’s journey is not just about his personal salvation but also about the myriad barriers he faced and overcame along the way.

H was born in rural North Louisiana, near the Ouachita River, in a time when the Great Depression had left its mark on every aspect of life. His early life was marked by his father, a strong and sturdy man, and his mother, a sweet and tender woman. They created a stable environment, albeit one without much religious influence. Despite the lack of regular church attendance in his family, H found his way to the local Baptist church, often hitching a ride from passing churchgoers. It was in this humble setting, with no electric lights and a preacher who only visited bi-monthly, that H first encountered the gospel. The message was simple yet profound: “Ye must be born again.”

For anyone facing their own barriers to faith, H’s story offers hope and encouragement. It underscores the idea that while we cannot force others to accept Christ, we can live our lives in a way that reflects His love and grace and proclaim the truth of the gospel that they may know the mercy and grace available in Christ and Christ alone.

[Jay]

Thank you for tuning in to the Removing Barriers podcast. I’m Jay and I’m MCG. And we’re attempting to remove barriers so we can all have a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

This is episode 168 of the Removing Barriers podcasts, and this is the 39th in the series of How Were Your Barriers Removed? And in this episode, we’ll find out how H’s barriers were removed when he came to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[Jay]

Hi, this is Jay. MCG and I would like for you to help us remove barriers by going to removingbarriers.net and subscribing to receive all things removing barriers. If you’d like to take your efforts a bit further and help us keep the mics on, consider donating at removingbarriers.net/donate. Removing Barriers, a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

Let me add, as of June 2024, this episode was recorded about 3 1/2 years ago. H is now almost 90 and is still faithfully serving the Lord. As a young podcast back 3 1/2 years ago we thought it best not to release this episode. But now we feel with a small disclaimer that we can safely release this episode. After all, we have had almost four years of evidence of standing firmly in the word of God and the fundamentals of the faith. During certain portion of this episode, H conflates joining a church and salvation. Both H and Removing Barriers, believe that salvation is only by repentant faith in Jesus Christ — by grace alone through faith alone.

And by the way, H is his real name.

Now, without any further ado… H, welcome to the Removing Barriers podcast.

[H]

Well, thank you for your invitation to me to speak a little bit about my background.

[MCG]

Yeah, definitely we could get right into it and we go to act just a number of questions just. Trying to find out. How did you come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Speaker

This.

[MCG]

What state or country were you born in?

[H]

I was born in the state of Louisiana. I was born in north Louisiana, which is quite different from South Louisiana, and either South end nor N Louisiana are very different from, say, the Big city of New Orleans. So I was born from North Louisiana, which is I was born on a cotton raising plantation in north Louisiana and born right on the Washita River or right near the Washita River. Very near actually, where the program Duck duck, I can’t.

[MCG]

Duck Dynasty.

[H]

Yeah. That dynasty was, yes, born very near there.

[Jay]

What type of family were you born into?

[H]

I would say that I was. I was born in a good family. My father was a strong man. Big, strong, sturdy man. So he gave me the security that I needed. My mother was sweet and tender and she gave me affection that I needed. Folks never said words like love. I don’t remember my mom and dad either ever telling me that they loved me or that. They loved each other for that matter, but I never had any doubt that I was loved. I never felt any need for. Love.

[MCG]

So tell me a little bit more about your childhood. Do you have brothers and sisters where? You were your only child.

[H]

I’m an only child. My folks were born right in the middle of the Great Depression or they were married. I mean, my folks were married in 1933, and I was born in 1934, and the depression was very real then. Probably no part of the of the parish that I was born in. Parish is the the name they call of counties in Louisiana. That no part of the parish other than the towns and cities had electricity at that time, so there was no electricity, no electric lights, no electric appliance of any type. Ironing was done with the old iron that’s heated on stove and heat was provided by flames, not gas flames, but flames burning wood.

[Jay]

Age. Could you describe what your life and your family were like before salvation? Did you grow up going to church where your parents saved, or did your parents not know the Lord? What was your life and your family home or your family life like before salvation?

[H]

As I say, my life was a good life. My parents were a caring couple. My dad, never fact. I’m absolutely certain that my dad was never abusive to my mother in any physical way. My mother attended church. Occasionally she considered herself to be a Baptist. My dad probably only attended a church during revival meetings and he would come to church and near the end of the service, he and the other men of the church and then that the men of the church. But the other men like him, him and other men would leave the church building and go outside and smoke a cigarette. My dad did not drink to excess. He never used profanity. Anyway. Pretty my dad’s mother was Pentecostal. She attended church whenever she could, and when she could get a ride, basically. My growing up time really started about the time World War Two was winding down. We had lived in well. I’ve been born in Louisiana, but we had moved to California several years earlier and had moved back to Louisiana near the end of World War Two. And I spoke like California boy spoke with the Western Rogue, so I signed. So there’s little rural students. There were my classmates, and I didn’t know very much of the the language, the rural language. But kids catch on real fast. But you’re asking me about the powers and pressing. I mean, my folks are generally well thought of. At least I felt they were at school. They were very supportive at school. Many parents of the children in my classes did not attend PTA. My parents did. My parents were probably almost unique in the community. And that they became friends with my teachers. I was not a perfect student, but I think my teachers enjoyed having me as a pupil. OK, it seems that I always knew I would attend.

[MCG]

College described the first step you heard the go. Spoke.

[H]

Probably from the time we moved to Louisiana, it was not a sophisticated gospel or presentation like we here in our church services, but very different but very direct. As I said before, my parents did not go to church. I can’t recall how I got started doing this, but on Sunday mornings I would go out and stand by the gravel Rd. in front of my house and one of the people that was driving by there on the way to church would recognize me and stop and give me a ride to church and then bring me home afterwards. It’s kind of interesting to me that. The church pews. My father had made the church pews for them, but they they had hired him to make those pews. The little church I went to. Could only afford it to pay a preacher on the second Sunday and the 4th Sunday of each month, but that left one Sunday out the 5th Sundays when we had a 5th Sunday we had singing like quartets. The southern type, but I don’t know if it’s called Southern Gospel, but it’s a Southern type quartet music that’s not close harmony, but blow of harmony. And that was the reserved for the 5th Sundays of each year. And singing was a big deal in our church. We used Southern Baptist Sunday school material. Our hymnals were published by Stamps Baxter in Crossett, Arkansas, and. They use shape notes. Many of our civilized, many of our modern people that have never seen shape. We didn’t have any type of amplification in our church, which they didn’t need it. They yelled for they they spoke loudly. I think really to answer your question, the thing we got was our elderly preacher. He was a preacher wall and he would say almost every service he would say ye must be born again. And that’s the gospel. When you stop and think about it, that is the gospel. When we’re born again, we accept Christ as our Lord and our master, and he is part of our lives. Our life changes at that moment. That church, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, had its revival meeting on the third week in August every year I was about 14. When hearing an invitation, I felt the Holy Spirit urging me and the boy next to me said I’ll join if you will. That didn’t sound like much, but it was a big change in my life. He was baptized in our Springfield. Baptismal. I doubt that he was saved because our church is like after that, I’m certain that I was. He was baptized. I would not be baptized until about 5 years later when I was a sophomore in college, and by then I bought myself a Bible. I was baptized in an indoor heated pool at the South Side Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, LA.

[MCG]

That’s interested so. What was preventing you from being saved? At an earlier age or what do you think was that barrier that was in your way from being saved?

[H]

My dad didn’t take keenly to it was very disappointing when I was saved. He was disappointed. I guess he saw the phoniness in our in church services. I don’t know exactly, except he did not believe. He didn’t really respect people who were church leaders.

[Jay]

H You talked about how you came to know the Lord at age 13. Was that when you came to a full realization of your sin? And I know you said you weren’t baptized until five years later, but at that time at 13. Was that also when you came to a full realization of your sin and your need for the gospel?

[H]

Probably not. I probably wouldn’t think of it that way. I don’t know that I thought of it, that I had to repent for my sins. As I say, I felt an urgent to join the church. I felt that my life was changed at that moment. I’m not sure I fully appreciated the innuendos and applications of the word sin. I knew right from wrong. And as I said, was very different. The presentations I’ve observed it when I’m going back down there to that church, the young men that had become preachers later on say say 20-30, forty years later, there seems to be little change in the presentation. They have that accept Christ as your Lord, but we call it joining the church. We didn’t call it salvation. Actually, we called it joining the church. And as I mentioned to you, my life was changed. I talked to my wife. She grew up in the same neighborhood. We both knew that we were aware of it. And at the end of her life, she no problem, no question that her life had been changed and she was truly a born again Christian.

[Jay]

When did it happen for you then? The full realization of your sin.

[H]

I think it happened to me when I was a teenager. I think that I realized I had not heard the gospel presented the way we presented in fellowship. I had not heard it presented that way. The gospel was presented. Just said that the expression you must be born again. I had to understand that Christ was my Lord and my master had to realize that this was changing my life and I would serve him all the days of my life.

[Jay]

I see. I see mentioned how when you got saved, your father was quite disappointed and that was a little bit of a barrier. Your father wasn’t too keen about it. Did he ever come around to it or did he?

Speaker

Right.

[H]

No, no.

[Jay]

So how was that barrier ever removed?

[H]

I prayed for him all my life, all the remainder of my life, and until he passed away and I prayed for him and my wife prayed for him once we were married, and even probably before we knew each other when we were children and she knew about my dad. But he was he was the type of dad that, when. The boys would come home from school with and that was sort of the the thing we used to do is we’d ride home on a school bus with a boy. One of our friends, and we spend the night with them just so we could be around each other. But an opportunity to observe their. Life and see how their lives work and I’ve had more than one boy. It seems like there were several that would tell me. I wish my dad were more like you’re dead and that they liked it. He was a good father and in every way he was a model person. Satan was not trying to destroy his life because he wasn’t doing anything for the Lord. He could be a very good citizen, a very good person. He was honest and considering abusive to me. As I mentioned that he was well thought of by the.

[MCG]

Yeah. You know it’s I had an experience when I was a teenager. Uh-huh. I witnessed to another. Teenager he was a few years younger than I was, but we’re not that far apart and.

[H]

MHM.

[MCG]

I witnessed to him and he got saved that night and.

[H]

MHM.

[MCG]

When he went home and he told his mom. His mum was extremely upset.

[H]

Really.

[MCG]

To the point where she actually confronted me about. Witnessing to her son and telling her son about salvation and she was adamant that he wasn’t going to live a Christian life.

[H]

Really.

[MCG]

Yeah. Did your father ever said anything to you about not living the Christian life?

[Jay]

No.

[H]

No, no, no, no, no. He actually lives. He didn’t worship the Lord. I don’t mean to, but he was not what we think of as a as a bad person. He was the person in virtually every way. And he had seen, I suspect it was the Pentecostal view for people shouting and and or talking in tongues. And he suspected that was probably a fake display. But I really don’t think it is. I think people get worked up into such a frenzy that they do the mumbling and jabbering. I don’t know what to do. I’ve known people that were very that I respected highly that were pastors or leaders in Pentecostal church and I don’t agree with that. I think that’s wrong. It’s not something we’re told to do in scriptures, but it was common where I grew up most. My cousins are Pentecostal.

[MCG]

This is the removing barriers podcast. We will be right. Back.

[Jay]

Do you have the desire to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the Saints? Answers in Genesis can help. They provide biblically sound books, CD’s, DVD’s, home schooling, materials VS materials online. Courses, digital downloads and the Answers magazine and more. Are plus tickets to the Creation Museum and Ark encounter go to the answers bookstore by clicking the link in the description section below so you two can be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks the reason of the hope that is in you.

Hi, this is Jay. MCG and I would like for you to help us remove barriers by going to removingbarriers.net and subscribing to receive all things, removing barriers. If you’d like to take your efforts a bit further and help us keep the mics. One considered donating at removingbarriers.net/donate, removing barriers, a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

So the Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 17. Therefore, if any man being Christ, he’s a new creature, old things are passed away. Behold all things are become new after salvation. What changes was evident in your life?

[H]

What changes were evident in our life? Study my Bible. I said I didn’t have a Bible. I didn’t have a Bible when I was saved, I didn’t have a Bible for five years. I bought me a Bible. Think I was a sophomore in college when I bought it. We had a large family Bible that somebody had abandoned in a hotel room that my dad stayed in and just. Sort of a flock House Hotel room while he was working away from home, and he brought it home. So we had that big old family Bible. But it was just a ragged old thing. And I virtually never looked at him until I was in college and I bought my Bible.

[MCG]

How long ago have you been saved? How many years?

[H]

Well, that’s how it can subtract back there, take away 15 from 85. What do we get 70 about 70 years.

Speaker

Wow. Wow.

[Jay]

Do you think that the way that some of the barriers in your life were removed? Is it possible for those barriers to be removed in the lives of others as well?

[H]

Ohh yeah. For a long time, I lacked courage to confront my father, didn’t tell me I couldn’t go to church. He didn’t tell me I couldn’t work him for Christ. He didn’t have any problem with that. He would have heard that we go hunting rather than than that I go to church. Back when I told him that I had been saved, that I joined the church. It was at night, and he’s already laid down and turned the lights on. By then, by the way, no, we didn’t have electric lights by then. We had gas powered Coleman Lantern that we used for light and when I came home, he turned the Lantern off and I told him about reception. Christ about joining church really. And. And he thought about it a little bit. He says, well, I guess we can’t have it on Sunday anymore. Now I’ve told that story to Christians. And it I get a totally different response depending on different things. For example, I told them to our former pastor. And he laughed. He thought it was funny because it’s such an insignificant thing to him. But to me it wasn’t insignificant. To me. It was a big deal because that meant there was a barrier between me and my father. And I told the story to a Christian group in the church in Brazil 20 years ago or so. When I told it people about my father saying that, I saw the eyes of those who understood the language I was speaking the English. Language their eyes filled up with tears, and then I saw when the translator translated 1 words to Spanish. No. But I’m sorry to Portuguese. When he translated my words to Portuguese, I saw the remainder of the people. They knew what it was to be separated from their earthly father. Even though dead. Now we’re still good friends. There was a barrier there for the rest of his life. Bring him and me. And well, I wanted to tell you up until the very end of his life. God put Christian people in his presence the the doctors that were with him, the doctors that worked on him, worked active Christians. They were. And he saw their lives. He knew he knew their. He knew the other people’s lives. He chose not to accept Christ, and I’ve had difficulty with that until I realized I had the choice. I could have refused to accept Christ, but I didn’t. Christ was present himself to him. He knew the gospel from my life. He knew the gospel from our neighbors, lives and and many people. That he knew and respected. But he didn’t choose to accept him. I have no doubt I’ll never see him again. I think I’ll see my mother again. But I’m not even certain of that. She could not be an active Christian or she couldn’t attend church regularly because of the little sarcastic remarks and things that he would say. They were very subtle. I didn’t had a very strong personality and it was not easy for my mother to, and they didn’t fight and argue a lot. They didn’t run. And really, any they had this I grew up in this, as I mentioned, I grew up in an almost model home except for one thing. And that’s it. I’d like for my dad to be a Christian, but he wasn’t.

[Jay]

It’s quite incredible to hear you talk about that age. You’ve just said something so profound and yet you said it with such a peace that it even made me marvel when you said that you were certain that you would never see your father again.

[H]

You never accepted Christ. He was probably I don’t.

Speaker

OK.

[H]

Know if he would call him a. Atheist I don’t think I’d go that far, but he didn’t say there is no God. He just said I don’t know God. I thought I would say that would be more like it. He certainly did not accept Christ.

[Jay]

So let me ask you this age. If you were witnessing to someone who had their parents, whether it’s mother or father, as a barrier, let’s say you were witnessing to someone who knew that their parents would be disappointed if they received Christ. How would you go about in the strength of the Lord? Of course. But how would you go about? Attempting to remove that barrier when you’re witnessing to them or another way to ask that question is how can we? In the strength of the Lord, remove those barriers you talked about how you knew from the moment that you were a Christian, that there would always be that barrier between you and your father on account of the gospel. How can those barriers be removed in the lives of?

[H]

Others I guess I did. I guess I did. Yeah, I did. I guess I did, but I what I really felt. Which when he said that simple little thing, I guess we can’t hunt on Sunday anymore. That was when I felt that barrier come down. It was like a door dropped down, it seemed. And as I said, we were still friends. We were friends after that, but. They would sometimes go to church with us when Oliver and I were down there. When we visit down there, they would go with us. But my mother was there were several situations in which different people thought she was saved. I I personally think she was saved when she was a teenage girl, long before I knew her. I think she was saved in the Baptist Church and she was saved. And baptized there. Her family did not normally attend church, and so I don’t know how much she attended church while she was a girl, but then. For my wife and I were married. We went down one summer and we were there when she was baptized in our one of our pond and then near the end of her life, a young Baptist preacher went there and he presented the gospel to her. And he’s absolutely convinced. He said the words that caused her to be saved. So I think she was saved. For her first baptism, she was. At least twice. Then after this preacher was there, she was too frail to go in the water, especially not under those conditions.

[MCG]

Well, So what are you personally doing to help remove barriers like the one you face in the life of others?

[H]

I try to be a friend to people. I try to have them see my life and see how I live. I think that’s the most thing I do. I don’t confront people very often directly like my neighbors. My neighbors will all tell you. Well, no, no. Let me tell you about what happened at work some years ago. Well, many years ago. So I’ve been retired a long time. I had been out jogging and came back in. And as I came down the hall, I hear him say, well, he knows where he is. The one when he dies or something like that. I’m not sure. You just have the words were but went on in. All my friends were talking in there. They knew that I was a Christian and that that I was convinced that I was going to have him even though I. Didn’t really preach a lot. They knew that about me. They knew that about me and how I went in and I told them, I know that I’m gonna go home and go to heaven and we, with our Heavenly Father. But I said I’m not anxious to die, to get there. And I’m convinced that people know your lives. I think that’s probably the most important thing we can do. I think the life we live. In our community is very important. Our extended community includes our workplaces too. I have come to know the Lord in such a way. That it seems natural to me to just express things from the scripture, the small things that God did for us, that he changed our lives so much that we learned to love him. We learned to serve him over the years we learned to to live our lives as if he were coming back tomorrow. People coming right now, and it is my life, such that I would be be ready to meet him. And the answer is yes, I’m not without sin. I try to live as close as I can to the scriptures. But at the same time, I think it would be wrong for me to say that I was without sin because he tells us in his word that we all have sinned. And indeed, I think those words of we all have sinned. We all. Have a sin nature. We all have a sin nature and we overcome that with his word and that I would like to see all people come to know him. I realize they’re not going to. We can’t force them to. We we can’t force the person to be saved. The best thing we could do is show ourselves to them and show the scriptures to them and. On that, pray that they would do the. Teaching of the holy. Period.

[MCG]

H thank you for joining us on the removing various podcasts.

[H]

OK.

[Jay]

This is the removing barriers podcast. If the podcast or the blog were a blessing to you, leave us a rating and a review on your favorite podcast platform. And don’t forget to share the podcast with your friends, removing barriers, a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

Thank you for listening. To get a hold of us, to support this podcast, or to learn more about removing barriers. Go to: removingbarriers.net. This has been the Removing Barriers podcast we attempted to remove barriers so that we all can have a clear view of the cross.