My Calling
I have always been a singer. I used to
stand on my grandmother's couch and make her listen to me sing
even when I was as young as 3 years old. And my German
grandmother, my Oma, would always clap and tell me that someday I
would be on a real stage singing. My Oma was the one person in my
life who taught me at a very young age to fear the Lord our God.
She instilled in me a sense of respect and reverence for the Lord
that came to fruition later in my life.
As I grew up, so did my love for music. I
attended church and Sunday school regularly and loved the
Christian music that surrounded me. Although I love all types of
Christian music, southern gospel has always been my favorite. In
1978, I realized I needed to have a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ after reading a book called "The Late Great
Planet Earth", by Hal Lindsay. I asked Jesus to come into my
heart and be my Savior and Lord. This changed my life forever! I
became active in the church and grew as a Christian under the
teaching of Dr. John M. R. Gauger. I had always sung solos in
church and in choirs and other projects and my love for Christian
music just kept growing.
I started writing in 1985 with the help
and direction of my friend and mentor, Dennis Moore; I guess you
could say he "taught me the ropes." I won a few local
song writing contests, and with Dennis's encouragement I wrote
more and more songs. There was a slight problem, though; I was
writing them solely for me. Although my songs were good they were
missing that something special. My songs seemed to have a prideful
attitude that was undesirable to me. I prayed fervently for the
Lord to give me the answer. I realized one day that I needed to
write them for the Lord and not for myself and soon my songs took
off in a different direction. Now I pray before I write and ask
the Lord to help me write what He wants me to. His songs are
different from mine; the Holy Spirit guides me along as I write.
Then in 1997 I got the shock of my life.
I wound up in the hospital with a heart condition called
cardiomyopathy. An undetected virus attacked my heart, weakening
it and enlarging it and leaving me with congestive heart failure.
I left the hospital with only 15% of normal heart function. But,
God is so good! He soon gave me back another 15% to equal 30% and
I thought I could easily handle that and live at a comfortable
slower speed; and I did so for a while.
In 2002 I abruptly went into arterial fibrillation and was rushed to Johns Hopkins Hospital. My life was
hanging by a thread, but I knew it wasn't my time yet and that
some how the Lord would pull me through and He did. Oh, and how
sweet that so many, many saints prayed for me; my own church of
course and many other churches and friends as well. I now have a
pacemaker/defibrillator implant and it is working great. My heart
muscle function is less than 10% now, which makes me a candidate
for a heart transplant.
UPDATE
I am slipping in this update for you: As of April 2006, I am no
longer on the Heart transplant list. I recently had an echo
cardiogram done that revealed that there was marked improvement in
my heart. My Doctor took me off the list because I am doing
so well. I praise God and give all the glory and credit to
Him. It is such an honor and privilege to serve my Lord.
After all this had happened to me, I came
to understand that I am a "broken vessel," ready for
God's use. I believe that I went through a time of testing by God
and He waited until I was broken to renew in me this special
calling. Now I go out and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ
through my testimony and songs on my Savior's strength alone and
not on mine. I rely solely on the Lord to give me the strength I
need to get me through each performance in order to fulfill His
plan for my life. I have a genuine heartfelt desire to win souls
for the Lord and to minister to hurting, lonely and lost persons.
Someday He'll have a new heart for me; if not here on this earth,
then, up in Heaven. There I will be His servant forever; and, you
know what? I wouldn't have it any other way! Praise God!
Moni Lutz
Do you want to know how to become a
Christian?
Here is some good advise:
You
ask me how you can become a saint or a Christian? I don't
know if you have access to a Bible. The Bible is God's Holy
Word. It tells us that there is some bad news and also some
good news for us. The bad news is something about you and the good
news is something about God.
Let's
look at the bad news first. In the Bible in Romans chapter
3, verse 23 it says that all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God. The fact that we have sinned means that we
have missed the mark. When we lie, hate, lust or gossip we
have missed the standard that God has set for us in His holy word.
When it says in the Bible that we have fallen short of His glory
it means that we have missed the mark. In our thoughts,
words and deeds we have not been perfect.
Now,
there is more bad news. Because we have missed the mark God
has set a penalty for sin and that is death. That means
we deserve to die and be separated from God forever. Romans
chapter 6 and verse 23 says that the wages of sin is death.
So since we all sin there is no way that we can be with God.
Here
is the good news. God made us in His image and He loves us
so much that He did make a way for us to be with Him in eternity
and at peace with Him here on earth. Romans chapter 5,
verse, 8 tells us that God demonstrates His own love toward us, in
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ
is Jesus Christ, God's only son. He took the penalty that is
ours and died in our place.
The
Bible also tells us that in 3 days he rose from the dead to prove
to us that sin and death have been conquered and that His claims
to be God's son are true. That is the good news from God.
So
God has made a way for us to be with Him. Such good news!
So how can you become a saint (Christian)? By trusting in
God's word to be the truth, is how we can become a Christian or
saint. You have simply to receive the free gift of salvation
that God offers us by trusting in His son Jesus Christ. In
the Bible in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 it says, for by
grace (which is undeserved favor) you have been saved (delivered
from sins penalty) through faith, and that not of yourselves; it
is a gift from God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
You
must trust Jesus Christ to get you to heaven through no effort of
your own. Good living and going to church and helping the
poor are good things to do but they won't get you to heaven with
God. You must trust in Jesus Christ alone and God will give
you the gift of eternal life with Him in heaven.
Does
this make sense to you?
If
it does then bow your head and pray these words and allow God to
come into your heart today and be saved and receive your precious
gift of eternal life.
Talk
to God right now:
Dear
God I know I am a sinner. I know my sin deserves to be
punished. I believe that Jesus Christ is your son and that
He died for me on the cross and rose from the dead to be my
Savior. Please forgive me of my sin and thank you for saving
me from death and giving me eternal life in heaven with you.
Help me to live a good life here on earth as a saint and live in
my heart forever. Amen.
If
you earnestly prayed this prayer you are now a saint, a Christian.
(2nd Timothy chapter 3 verses16 and 17) Now, you need to know more
about your father God, and you will want to get a copy of The Holy
Bible and read all about God and His son Jesus Christ. You
could start by reading the book of Philippians. (Philippians
chapter 4 verses 6 and 7) Pray to God every day and tell Him
what's on your mind. (Hebrews chapter 10 verses 24 and 25)
Find a good bible preaching and teaching church where you can grow
as a Christian. (Matthew chapter 4 verse 19) And last but
not least, tell others about Him so they can also know about
eternity with God.
If
you would like, I will send you a Bible to read, if you will send
me your address.
Welcome
to the Kingdom
of God!
Your
friend in Christ Jesus,
Moni
For more
information about becoming a Christian:
http://www.perryville.org/know-god/
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