Wiley’s Story

I am a professional bull rider from Fort Hall, Idaho. As much as I enjoy riding bulls, I am much more passionate about my relationship with Jesus Christ.  I have been a Christian since I was 18 years old. How I came to know Jesus as my savior is an interesting story that has shown me how wonderful God is.

I have always believed in a creator, but like so many people in this world, I didn’t know the truth about him. My ignorant belief in a god that I didn’t know made me fearful of death. I was curious to know him and whether or not I would go to heaven when I died. 

A friend of my mother’s was a Born-Again Christian, so I asked her what it takes for a person to go to heaven when they die. She told me that I needed to make Jesus my savior and ask God to forgive my sins. I did just as she said, but there was a problem, because I asked Jesus into my heart, but I didn’t give Him my life.

I went about living my way, but every time I did something wrong I had this little voice inside my head that would just keep eating away at me until I confessed it and asked God to forgive me. This is not saying that I was doing really bad things, but even the “little” sins would bother me. I never felt completely confident that I knew God personally, and I continued to live this way until I was eighteen years old.

Right around my eighteenth birthday I disobeyed my mom and she made me go to church with her. I was happy to go, because I thought that maybe if I went to church I would feel better about myself. I wasn’t happy with the way my life was going; something was missing.

When I went to church and saw the love that the people had for each other and for God, something clicked. God touched my heart and I knew that I had found what I was looking for. I learned that I could never earn God’s favor, but Jesus made it possible for me to be forgiven and have eternal life by dying for my sins on the cross. That day I repented of my sins and trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. This time I was surrendering my entire life to God.

I knew the road that I was choosing was not going to be easy, and there were a lot of things that were going to change in my life, but it didn’t matter to me. In light of what the Bible said about God’s love, there was no other choice to make. I was answering the call that God had put on my life, and I was willing to do whatever God wanted me to do. 

Since the day that I committed my life to Christ, my eyes have been opened to so many amazing things that God is doing.  My life now has purpose and I know where I will spend eternity. Everyday I fall more in love with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

I desperately want to reach people with God’s plan of salvation. In order to do that effectively, I must keep my eyes on him and my ears open to his voice. I must continue to love God and love people. We have to put God first in our lives and be willing to do what he wants us to do. Everything falls into place when we let God do the work.

Sincerely,
Wiley Petersen