From Rock and Roll to Jesus: Rick's Powerful Testimony of Redemption

How Jesus Transformed a Hard-Partying Rocker

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Rick, the lead guitar player at Christ the Rock Church, after witnessing his baptism and powerful testimony. As someone who also came out of a life of drugs and rock music to follow Jesus, Rick's story deeply resonated with me. I knew I had to share it with all of you.

Rick and I actually grew up in the same area of Texas, probably playing football against each other as kids. But our lives took very different paths. While I found Jesus, Rick pursued the rock and roll lifestyle of women, alcohol and drugs. He was a talented guitarist, playing in bands and guitar contests. But as he tried to live out the hard partying life glorified in the music, Rick sunk deeper into addiction, multiple arrests, and a growing emptiness inside.

"I started believing more and more of the satanic part of it, that I'm untouchable, I'm immortal," Rick recounted. His first marriage ended in divorce amidst the drinking and drugs. Relationships fell apart. He dabbled in the occult, Eastern religion, anything to find meaning. But he kept waking up with hangovers, disgusted with his life. "This is what I've become, this is what life's about?" he would ask himself.

Then Rick met a Christian woman who saw something different in him. She kept inviting him to her Pentecostal church, but Rick refused, thinking he was too far gone for God to ever forgive him. "I thought there was no redemption, no way Jesus could forgive me. I had mocked him to his face."

But finally, Rick relented and went to church, just to appease her. "As soon as I came in that church and looked around, I could tell something was different," he said. "When I heard the pastor bring the word, a light came on. I said, 'Finally, here's somebody that gets it.' I was changed that day."

Rick realized that no matter how far he had fallen, Jesus still loved him and would forgive him if he repented and surrendered his life. "It's like that prodigal son," he reflected. "I really saw myself as the lowest of the low. I may have walked around with a prideful attitude, but deep down I felt like a slug. You can't live apart from Christ and be truly happy."

That day, everything changed for Rick as he rededicated his life to the Lord. He got plugged into the church, joined the worship team playing guitar, and recently took the step of baptism. Rick knows it's a daily process of growth and dying to self, but he has found a new joy and purpose in Christ.

"I'm so happy to have a God that forgives," Rick declared. "I'm so happy to have a God that didn't spare even his only Son. Even while I was walking around with the dregs of the earth, thumbing my nose at the sky, he still loved me."

"I'm so grateful Jesus didn't give up on me when I gave up on him, because I would likely be dead," he said. "I just praise the Lord, because he died for my sin and he forgives. I can't say enough how much I love him."

Rick's testimony is proof that no one is ever too far gone for God's love and redemption through Jesus Christ. If you have never surrendered your life to Jesus, do it today. If you have walked away from faith, come back home to the Father's arms. He is waiting with open arms to forgive you and give you an abundant new life in him. Amen!