Child of Theos

    My name is Patrick Neiswinger and I am the proud owner of this 1968 IH Cub Cadet 105 lawn and garden tractor. In my early childhood, my grandfather mowed his yard with a Cub Cadet 124, which featured the three speed manual transmission. He came across this 105 at a good price and decided to use it for a parts tractor for the parts that were interchangeable with his 124. Well, that was his original plan, but sometimes grandchildren can make plans change. Shortly after they got it home, I saw it, and fell in love with it. The old 10hp Kohler engine ran very well, and grandpa realized that it was in a lot better shape than he originally realized. He saw how much I loved driving it around so he took the deck off and let me drive it around. Throughout my childhood I drove it all over the farm. A few years later, while driving it during the summer I got very hot and decided that it needed an "air conditioner." So we went out into the parts shed and found a dash mounted electric fan that was taken out of a semi. With a couple of bolts and some wire we had it mounted to the fender and blowing air in no time. I ran my 105 all the way from when I was about 7 up to my Sophomore year in college. Many, Many miles I put on it growing up.
    During the summer of my Sophomore year in college, I decided that my tractor needed a little cosmetic work. The paint was very faded and the rims and hood were beginning to rust. So I took it into our shop and disassembled it. After a new paint job and some minor mechanical fixes, I had my 105 looking and running like new.

    As much as I love talking about my tractor there is something even more exciting for me to talk about. There is something about me that you should know. My life is like my old tractor in a way. As I stated before, this tractor, prior to restoration, was really not in that bad of shape. The fenders were straight, the hood was in good shape, mechanically there were just a few problems. My life, growing up was a lot like that. I grew up in church, I never drank, smoked, did drugs, or any terrible things. But at nine years old I realized that something was missing in my life. I was missing God. I was unsaved and on my way to hell. So at nine years old I put my faith and trust and Jesus Christ and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior.
    How did I do this you ask. Well, this is the thing I am excited to tell you about.
    First of all, I realized I am a sinner. In God's Word we read these words, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."(Rom. 3:23) It also says in Romans 3:10-12, "...There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They all are gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."  These verses made me realize that I was a sinner.
    Secondly, I realized that I deserved to die in my sin and go to a place of punishment called hell. In Romans 6:23a, we read the following: "For the wages of sin is death..." In this verse, death refers to eternal punishment in hell. Wages is something that we earn for the things we do. For example, you may have a job. At that job you receive a paycheck, which contains the wages that you earned for your work. This is the same idea that is presented in this verse. Because we are sinners the wages or penalty for our sin is death in a place called hell. But thankfully that is not the end of this verse.
    Thirdly, I realized that God sent His Son to die in my place so that I don't have to go to hell. As I stated in the previous paragraph that Rom. 6:23 continues. The verse in its entirety reads: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." It says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." I came to the realization that God sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me and for my sins so that I don't have to go to hell.

    Finally, I realized that all I had to do was  put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9-
10 says, "That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Then in Romans 10:13, the Bible says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." I then realized that in order to be saved all I had to do was call on the Lord and Believe on Him. That's all there is to it, it is just simply believing on Jesus Christ.
   
Have you ever believed on Jesus Christ?  If not, I hope that by reading this tract you will trust Christ as your Lord and Savior. ~ Patrick Neiswinger