From Skepticism to Faith: The Transformative Power of the Bible

Graham's journey began with an unexpected desire to read the Bible, leading him to a church that follows the Bible, and ultimately to dedicating His life to God.

Suddenly Compelled to Read the Bible

One morning, Graham woke up with a sudden conviction: “I must read the Bible! I’ve got to read the Bible!” while wondering where it came from.

“I felt I needed to read the Bible. I've got to read the Bible, and I just ignored it. But that thought didn't go anywhere. I just kept on feeling that I must read the Bible.”

“I need to get a Bible,” he said to his wife, Jayne.

“Why?” she asked.

“I just feel that I need to read the Bible,” he replied.

That came as a surprise to both. Graham recalls, “I was the one who’s always said the Bible is just a book written by men to control people, and you know I don’t believe the Bible. I’ve never read it, so I couldn’t really critique it, but I did. And then to want to read the Bible, I was so shocked to know why.”

Compelled by God, they both began searching for a Bible.

In Search of a Bible

They decided to contact Jayne’s aunty to give her the great news and to ask for advice on what Bible they should get – as she was the only person in the family that regularly attended Sunday church.

So Jayne rang her aunty. “You’re not going to believe this. Graham wants to read the Bible. As you know about the Bible, which one is the best to get?”

“I have to confess I don’t have a Bible, and I’ve never read it,” her aunty confessed.

As she hasn’t been able to recommend which Bible they should get, in the end Jayne found and got a NKJV Bible with a reading plan at the back. Then Graham started reading the Bible every day – in the morning, in the evening, and even in the lunch break at work.

In Search of a Church

Graham had been reading the Bible every day for about a year. Then one day he had another sudden compelling conviction: “I feel like maybe we should be part of a church.” Thinking that “maybe if we joined a church or did some Bible studies, maybe that would help us” to understand the Bible more.

His wife Jayne was brought up as a Catholic originally, so they started to look for a Catholic church and find out what they would be required to join the church.

At this stage Graham was going through the Bible, “I didn't understand all that I read, but what stood out was the Commandments. In the Bible, it tells us about the Sabbath, which is Saturday, the seventh day of the week. But the Catholic church doesn’t keep the Sabbath and neither do the other churches. Also it says about idolatry, don't make a graven image, don't bow down to a graven image. But the Catholic church uses Mary, other saints, and rosary beads, and they go against what the Bible is teaching.”

This led them to explore different churches in their local area. “But we were stuck. We've got all this information. And we realized what the Bible is telling us. But we don't know what to do, because no one worships on Saturday.” By this stage they have only heard about the Jews. But he said, “I’m not prepared to become a Jew.”

So it happened that one-night Graham was looking on YouTube. As he was browsing through the videos, he came across “A trip into the supernatural”, an interview with Roger Morneau. He started watching it, and during that interview they heard for the first time about Seventh-day Adventists who worship God on Saturday (Sabbath).

Then he turned to Jayne asking, “Have you ever heard of Seventh-day Adventists?”

“No, I never heard of them,” she replied wondering who they are. So she immediately went to search for a Seventh-day Adventist church online. Then with excitement she said, “There's one in Wrexham! Next week we'll go.”

Though there were lots of churches around, Graham recalls, “It was like we were driven to go there. We have our Bibles ready thinking, ‘This is the place, this is it! This is where we've been sent to!’”

Divine Guidance Through the Bible

Reflecting on his journey, he shared with conviction and enthusiasm the impact that reading the Bible had on his life and how God used it to lead him to His church. “Why was I driven to read the Bible first? And why was I not driven to go to church first? Looking back, if I hadn't read the Bible first, I think I would now be a Catholic and would have probably joined the church and followed the information given. But by reading the Bible first, I was led to follow the Bible and ultimately was directed to the church that follows the Biblical teachings, including the Sabbath.

“I wasn't asking for God. I never started saying, ‘Is there a God?’ and praying. It was just the desire to read the Bible. I didn’t have anything to do with religion, because I was just so against it. I couldn't explain to somebody why an atheist suddenly wants to read the Bible. And now I couldn't imagine not reading the Bible.”

Pr David Mano, Graham and Jayne, Pr Graham Allcock

After one year of attending the church and continuing in Bible studies, Graham and his wife Jayne got baptised giving their hearts and consecrating their lives to their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Graham and Jayne found not just a church, but a family—a community that welcomed them, supported them, helped them to grow spiritually on their journey with God. With each passing day, they continue to learn, grow, and share their faith, driven by the same compelling conviction that first led Graham to read the Bible.