Testimonies - Shaw Grigsby
Shaw Grigsby
Shaw Grigsby
2002 and 2003
ESPN Outdoor Games
Gold Medalist
By 1989 I considered myself a proficient bass fisherman, one
who had realized major accomplishments in the sport. But something was missing.
That's hard to explain, because I had the best wife in the world, great kids,
and was pursuing my dream of making a living as a professional angler. I had
everything but it was not enough. Then Terry Chupp gave me a tape. Let me
explain. When anglers check into a B.A.S.S. tournament, there is a long line of
people who represent equipment manufacturers. They give us bags of stuff, hoping
we are using their lure or their fishing line when we win the tournament. They
know that if we like the products, we will talk them up. And when pros start
talking about equipment, other anglers will buy that equipment. Terry
Chupp had a booth at the sign-ins and gave out Bibles. Who cares? I thought. I
took a lot of Bibles from Terry and stuck them in the corner. Then he gave me a
tape and said it was Hank Parker's testimony.
I didn't know what a testimony was, but I did know Hank
Parker was one of the premier anglers in this sport. I put the tape in my
suitcase. In November I was coming back from a tournament in Lake Havasu, out in
Arizona. Dad was sleeping. I don't know why, but I pulled the Hank Parker
tape from my suitcase and put it in the tape deck. As I listened to the tape, I
suddenly realized why I was not happy. I suddenly realized that even
though I thought I had everything, I did not have the one thing that was
most important. I did not have God in my life.
On January 22, 1990, I was fishing a tournament on Lake Okeechobee
and went out to dinner with Terry Chupp. We went to a Chinese restaurant. Terry
preached the gospel to me that night. And then over a bowl of
sweet-and-sour-soup, he and I prayed.
I placed third in that tournament, began catching lots
of fish, and realized that now I was complete. I was truly happy. And I
began seeing signs that I was being protected. I had fished a tournament
in Texas and was passing through Shreveport when I pulled into a service station
for gas. Another bass fisherman, Steve Daniels, was behind me. He followed
me into the service station, got out of his car and said, “You need to check
your tire. I saw sparks flying from it.” The bearing on the trailer had
burned out. I interrupted my trip and went to a nearby motel while the bearings
were replaced. I was on the way back to the service station when the
transmission in my truck failed. I was near a boat dealer who knew me. I
had done a favor for him earlier and forgotten about it. But he hadn't.
And he took care of me. If my competitor had not stopped me when he did, I would
not have noticed the problem with the bearings until I was past Shreveport
and into that lonesome stretch of highway going toward Monroe. There is nothing
along that stretch of road. And most likely that is where my transmission
would have failed. Repairing the bearings and the truck would have been very
difficult out there. It would have taken awhile. But it happened in downtown
Shreveport. You might say, “You were lucky that this happened where it did.” But
it wasn't luck. It was time for the bearings to burn out and the transmission to
fail, and it could have happened in a really bad place. But it happened
where the repair work was easy. A lot of things happen to us that we call luck
or coincidence when it is neither.
On the first night of a fishing tournament, the Christian
Anglers always meet. Out of around 300 fishermen, we might have as many as 90
show up for meetings. I’d say a third or more of the professional anglers are
serious Christians. My life changed when I became a Christian. With my new
faith, I realized that with Jesus I was strong enough to handle whatever came
into my life. Because Jesus has made such a big difference in my life and the
peace and joy that I have in Him, I pray you will welcome Him into yours
as well.
Shaw
Grigsby
If
you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you can do so just like
Shaw. It is the easiest thing you have ever done in your life. And it doesn't
matter how bad or good you may have been. Jesus loves you and died for you
in spite of the things you have done. All you have to do is acknowledge your
need of a Savior and accept Him.
Romans 3:23 says, ‘Yes, all
have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal; yet now God declares us
“not guilty“ of offending Him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in His kindness
freely takes away our sins’.
Romans 6:23 says, ‘For the wages of sin
is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord’
Romans 10:9&10 says, ‘For if you tell
others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord, and believe in your
own heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by
believing in his heart that man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he
tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation.’ Living
Bible
God wants you to experience life in a way that only He
who created you can give. He is reaching out to you right now and saying,
‘Come unto
me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’ Matt 11:28
KJV. All you have to do is accept it. You can do so by saying this
prayer and meaning it in your heart.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I come to you and ask you to
forgive me of my sin. I believe that Jesus Christ died for me and rose again to
set me free. Lord Jesus, come into my heart, come into my life, be my Lord and
my Savior. I thank you now that I am saved I am your child and I will serve you
all the days of my life. Amen
If you prayed that prayer you have now become a child
of God. Your name is written in the Lamb's Book Of Life and you are going to
live for eternity with God. Do like Romans 10:9&10 says and tell
somebody.
If you would like a Bible or literature that will help you in
this new life, or to locate a church near you or maybe you have a prayer
request, please call us at (618)235-6373 and we will be happy to assist
you in whatever way we can. God bless you and welcome to the Family Of
God!!!
David Harbison Ministries
Copyright 2002