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𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨: 𝙅𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙎𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙣 He grew up in the Reed City area as a Baptist, and at about 15, he felt called to preach and began studying the Bible in earnest. Within two years, he became friends with a group whose influence took him away from God, much like Jonah (without the
boat). He landed in jail more than once and resembled what many would call a typical teenager running from God. All this despite attending church regularly, even running the soundboard at church services, and being in a family that was very involved in church.

The next few years were a dark time for Jeremy. He walked away from God and all that he’d been taught about God, even making fun of Christians. He believed God existed but didn’t want to know Him personally. Yet after a time, he started emerging from the darkness and building a business that looked like the success he’d always wanted. He began a friendship with Jamie, the sister of a friend he’d worked with, and things were moving forward nicely, or were they?

In 2019, with all that he thought would bring him happiness, Jeremy felt empty and miserable. “I’m making more money than ever, but I’m drinking every day to forget my misery; there must be more to life than this!” From the world’s view, Jeremy had a
normal, great life. Such is the world’s wisdom.

Early into 2020, the COVID-19 experience gave Jeremy time to reflect further. Not knowing how long the shutdown would last, he planted a garden, and the Holy Spirit used the agricultural cycle to open Jeremy’s eyes to his own situation. Humanity started in a garden (Eden) and will be gardeners again in the Earth recreated (Isaiah 66). To go from a handful of seeds that produce enough food from the soil to feed multiple families is the essence of God’s creative power. Though he didn’t comprehend it then, this experience gave Jeremy direction toward the “more” he wanted yet didn’t have.

However, Jeremy’s business resumed in only a few weeks, as COVID-19 briefly paused it.

Two years zoomed by, and he still longed for “more” and now realized God must be who he lacked. But who was God? Jeremy wasn’t sure. He hadn’t opened a Bible in nearly a decade, yet he prayed to whoever God is that He would reveal Himself to Jeremy to help him figure out the path to happiness.

In February 2022, while Jeremy was home praying, God spoke to him, not with an audible voice, but with a clear and deep impression: “Your past life is the best you’ll ever have. With all the sin in your life, despite all the money you’re gaining, your life will not get better unless you surrender your life to Me.” That was a galvanizing moment for Jeremy. He cried for two hours after receiving that message, and his girlfriend Jamie wondered what was happening as this was unlike him. Upon finally being able to speak clearly, he shared with Jamie all that he’d been wrestling with: the emptiness, praying to God, and what God told him.

This propelled Jeremy and Jamie forward (both were raised Christian), and Jeremy began reading the Bible, mostly listening while on the road. His work involves much driving, and from February to June, he’d listened to the entire Bible. Praise God! Jeremy states, “I heard so many things in the Bible that I never knew were in there!” I realized much of what I was taught wasn’t from the Bible.” A
battle raged within Jeremy, the contest between the traditions he’d been taught and what the Bible actually said. Shocked, he wondered if he’d been lied to or misguided by well-meaning people.

While working in Baldwin, MI, Jeremy didn’t have his regular radio station available, so he began flipping through the radio dial and found a station with a preacher who was speaking about the love of God. His words confirmed what Jeremy had found in the Bible and impressed Jeremy in a way unlike he’d ever felt previously. Circumstances repeated two weeks later, and he discovered he’d been listening to Strong Tower Radio. He knew nothing about Seventh-day Adventists and did some research. He discovered Amazing Facts (AF), and then through Strong Tower listening, he learned of 3ABN. All these new things they were saying, yet everything he heard, whether STR, AF, or 3ABN, aligned with what he’d been reading/listening to in the Bible!

For the first time, someone else was telling him the truth, sharing what the Bible actually says, not some revisionist history or human tradition! It wasn’t easy, however, as Jeremy was not only being called to leave behind what he’d been taught and now recognized wasn’t Biblical but also to move forward into much new truth he’d never heard before! He was being convicted of many things and realized that changes were warranted, yet he didn’t know where to go to accomplish those changes!

Jeremy wanted to find a church that kept the seventh-day Sabbath and browsed Facebook to see what he could find.

He’s heard numerous preachers on STR, yet hadn’t heard one locally that he recognized. [the story isn’t over; there’s more to share in future newsletters!] He found a sermon by pastor Ariel Roldan at the Cadillac church and was drawn to that same Biblical accuracy of the STR preachers. In February 2023, a year after that
galvanizing message from God, Jeremy ventured into the Cadillac Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was his first time in a church in almost 20 years! He was warmly
welcomed and realized that this was the answer to his prayer. Jeremy wanted a physical person, beyond radio and TV, with whom to study God’s word, and God provided local pastor Ariel Roldan.

They studied the Bible together and in August 2023, Jeremy made two significant changes: he married Jamie, and he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ, signified by baptism at the Cadillac Seventh-day Adventist Church. Glory hallelujah!

Jeremy said, “Without God, the Bible, and Strong Tower Radio, I wouldn’t be here today. My life is a million times better; even on my worst days I’m joyful and at peace.” The Holy Spirit reaches people through many avenues and frequently uses radio. Praise God for another changed and changing life and more fruit from your support of STR!