My Testimony

Hello, My name is Scott Adkins.

I believe people are going to find healing in my wounds. I believe my greatest life messages and my most effective ministry will come out of my deepest hurts, the things I'm most reluctant to share. The things I'm most embarrassed about and most ashamed of are the very tools God is using to powerfully heal others. I had to make a decision whether I wanted to impress people or influence them. People needed to trust me or they wouldn't listen to me.

  I was an alcoholic, a heavy drug addict, a liar, a thief, and  a cheat. I was more interested in running the streets and serving the devil than I was serving God. A time when the "things of the world"..."the lusts of the flesh" ruled my life. I was more interested in "impressing people" than "influencing them." Life was all about "Me" and what "I" was gonna get out of it. I didn't care who I hurt (mom, dad, close family, or friends.) Nobody trusted me and nobody wanted to be around me. I had a chip on my shoulder, walking around with a "tough guy" attitude (look at me..cant you see how tough I am?)  I was an "IDIOT!"  

   I wasn't the best person in the world to hang around or even to be friends with. I was living a life of sin and serving the devil day and night. I was in and out of trouble most of my life. County jails, Prisons, Re-Hab Centers, probation officers, parole officers, counselors, treatment facilities, AA meetings, anger management classes, you name it...I probably went through it. The devil stole numerous years of my life before I realized what hit me. He tricked me day in and day out and I fell for his lies, his deception every time. His goal was to destroy my life, to keep me sick, to keep me addicted, to keep me in bondage, in my mind, and in every area of my life. 
   The good thing was..."I was Saved!" The sad thing was..I was "half-stepping" with God. I had the answers to all my problems for all those years and didn't apply them to my life. One day, as I was (once again) sitting in the county jail, I made a decision to rededicate my life to serving the Lord with all my heart, all my soul, everything I had inside me. I  got down on my knees and asked God to forgive me for all the wrongs I committed against Him and others. To help me understand His way, His will for my life. I asked him for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of His word. All I wanted was a change in my life. I didn't know how He was gonna do it, but my trust was in Him to work this out. To show me a better way. 
   As I took time to read my Bible, I was led to Isaiah 35:8 where it said..."In a moment He (God) can unravel the most complicated situations and fill you with an unexplainable peace. He (God) can make a way where there is no way." The key for me was a humble acceptance of "His way" and not "my own." I had to throw out my way, and as we all know, my way "sucked!" The first step I had to take was to forget my past mistakes and failures and walk in the higher things in God. To leave my past behind and allow God to work in my life. To let go of some of my old routines. Develop some new habits and make some new friends that would support the change I was making. Philippians 3:13-14 says... "Forgetting those things which are behind and reach forth unto those things which are before. Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." And in Romans 13:12-14 it says..."Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill it's lusts." 
   I refused to sit around and accept failure, poverty, sickness and defeat, so I got in the Word and stayed in the Word. I found out my Covenant rights and started confessing them everyday over my life. I learned that if I would keep His word before my eyes, let it get down into my heart, it would come out of my mouth in  Faith-filled words that would change my life and my circumstances. I had to prepare myself, prepare in advance because I knew the devil would try to tempt me in areas I was weak. I learned not to let the devil make a move (tempt me) and then try to fight him with the Word. I knew if I waited until the last minute to take a stand against him, I would lose the many battles I faced. My Victory was won during the days, weeks, attending church, and spending time with God in prayer. I had Victory over my temptations because I built a foundation on the Word of God.  I knew I could speak to my situation and it would change. God is a Redeemer, a Restorer, a Re-builder, and a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 
   God never "almost" delivers you from your destruction. God never "almost" restores what was lost to those who walk in Faith and are obedient to His word. God delivered me of a life filled with bondage. He set me free from my addictions. And if He did it for me, He'll do it for you! Joshua 1:8 says... "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then YOU SHALL HAVE GOOD SUCCESS!"

   Success for someone like me isn't about giving some spectacular testimony. Success happens when you live and breathe the revelation of the Word of God. When others not only hear your words but see the change in your life, and choose to follow Christ because of it.