Cedars, February 2018

February 2018 13 ART & ENTERTAINMENT he had learned from New Age to regain his mental health. He used magic crystals, spells, astrology and meditation. He even tried counseling, yoga and kinesiology. Nothing was working until the day Clark read a New Age article about Christ. “I stopped using drugs, but what I re- ally needed was Jesus,” Clark said. “While I was still stubborn ... Jesus met me where I was at in a New Age article to heal me from spiritual warfare.” He read Luke 6:28, which says, “Bless those who curse you,” and decided that since he had been open-minded to so many other healing solutions, Christianity was worth a second try. Clark prayed to Jesus, and he immediately experienced relief. “I felt His power push back the oppres- sion that I was experiencing. It was amaz- ing, and it was nothing that I did, other than surrender to Jesus,” Clark said. From that point on, Clark said he be- gan habitually reading the Bible and gain- ing Christian insight. Watching videos from Stephen Dollins, a Christian who used to be a high priest at a pagan church, was a vali- dating and liberating experience for him. Additionally, Clark met a youth pastor and his wife who formerly practiced witch- craft and had since been converted to Chris- tianity. Her story impacted Clark greatly, and the broken pieces of his life began fall- ing into place and his relationships were renewed. “They restored my understanding of who God is from a pantheistic view of God,” Clark said. “Very quickly, I was restored to functional relief from anxiety and paranoia. I recommitted my life to Jesus after that.” Just weeks later, Clark felt a calling to ministry. Though Cedarville had previously not been an option, he coincidentally was spending time with friends who were driv- ing a student back to campus, and Clark felt God nudging him to apply. Several weeks later, he was accepted and enrolled for fall semester 2017 as a psychology major, but quickly changed to Biblical studies. Clark said Cedarville is the ideal envi- ronment to grow in his relationship with God. He said he greatly enjoys chapel, Bible classes, SGA prayer nights, and volunteer opportunities. His girlfriend, sophomore nursing student Rachel Lynch, spoke of Clark’s dedication to his faith “He is so passionate about the Lord that it inspires me to be more passionate about the Lord,” Lynch said. “When you in- teract with someone who is truly pursuing the Lord, it really shows. You can tell the impact that God had on his life, and that has changed his heart, so everything that flows from it now looks like Christ.” Clark said that from this point on, he will do whatever God asks of him and seek to become an open vessel for God to use for His glory. He admitted that if he had not gone through the struggles that he did, his faith would not be as strong now. “Where I was at that point in life, the truth hurt, and I would run away from it un- til I was ready for it. When I was ready for truth, it was Jesus who gave it to me,” Clark said. “It’s so much easier for me to grasp onto truth now, because it’s truth that set me free and allowed me to heal.” As he looks back on his life, he realizes that the truth that is the power of the Bible kept resurfacing. “The Bible is healing me, in a way that no drug, no crystal, no magic spell, no New Age meditation or soul mate search was helping me heal,” Clark said. “The Bible is the most important thing in all of existence.” Going forward, Clark hopes to use his testimony to bring others to Christ, espe- cially fellow New Agers. “Jesus is Lord of everything seen and unseen, and he called me out of the wilder- ness of sin that continued until I was 25. I’m a very open person, and I’m going to be authentic because God is authentic and exposes every part of Himself to us through the Bible.” Clark is amazed at the change Christ brought about in him and claims that since coming to faith, he has realized how foolish he was to stray. “Christianity is the most real, most spiritual, most amazing thing in all of our lives. It’s so much more than a religion, it’s a relationship with God.” Katie Milligan is a freshman English ma- jor. She enjoys taking Polaroid photos, eat- ing pasta, and watching Disney movies. Photo by Naomi Howard Cameron Clark got several tattoos during his travels that reflect his previous involvement in New Age philosophy. www.resoundradio.com Listen Online Now! Student Focused Radio 24/7