David Abuya
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:3-5, ESV)
Thank you for stopping by this page to read a bit about me. First, a small bit of biographical data. I want to share the forward to the “Reader’s Digest” version of how I came to be a pastor.
Even though I was raised by a church organist and attended worship and Sunday school on a regular basis, I was not spiritually prepared for adult life. Once away from home, I came under the influence of many people who valued the “conversion experience” as the litmus test of faith. Consequently, I became doctrinally tossed about and wandered from denomination to denomination, in pursuit of the question, “how do I please God.” The constant cycle of “committing my life” became wearisome. Each “rededication” eventually failed or faded and all that remained was despair.
Fast forward in my life:
While deployed to Kuwait with the United States Air Force in 2004, my path crossed with a Lutheran Chaplain at a time when I was at an extreme low point in life. It was through this faithful man’s counsel that the Gospel – that is that I’m forgiven because of the work of Christ – finally led me to God’s Sabbath rest, knowing that I am accepted by God, not because I am inclined to keep the law, but only and solely because of the forgiveness of sins which I possess in Christ Jesus. Instead of seeing baptism as my work which “demonstrates” my commitment to God, I saw it as a sacramental gift of God which demonstrates His commitment to me by connecting me to the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
My life has seen great highs and lows over the years, the course being far from straight. I have been exposed to a great number of doctrinal and theological positions and many denominations, all of which solidify in my heart and mind that Lutheran doctrine is true and correct according to the Holy Scriptures. God is faithful; and, I’m thankful each day for that fact.
Pastor David