A man from New Jersey who formerly lived a gay lifestyle revealed in a podcast interview with renowned pro-lifer Abby Johnson that he is able to live the best life with his wife and three kids because of a covenant he made with God.
The Christian Post said Brian Wheelock guested Johnson's recent "Politely Rude" podcast together with his wife, Pam, to discuss his faith journey and how his covenant with God strengthened him against succumbing to moments of same-sex attraction.
Wheelock disclosed that he had been living a decade-long gay lifestyle when he decided to put on paper a vow he made to Jesus regarding his temptations and earthly desires. This covenant, he said, was made twenty years ago as his way of honoring God and abstaining from being involved in same-sex relationships.
As per Wheelock, that covenant kept him from having the impulse to act on his same-sex attractions ever since. Wheelock's married life of 17 years and his three daughters are proof of that covenant's power. He has also, since then, shared to others the power of making and committing to a covenant with God in breaking free from their addictions and from vices.
"My wife Pam and I have been married 16.5 years, but this is not the path I've been on for a lot of my life. I actually lived a homosexual lifestyle for many years and was pursuing that for at least 10 years of my life," Wheelock said.
Wheelock, who grew up in a loving home and occasionally attended church as a child, shared that he had always thought his gay lifestyle was "where my life was going to go" and that it defined who he was, such that it wasn't just "a little bit of a phase" in his life. He narrated that he became exposed to same-sex encounters at an early age when he spent sleepovers with boys aged 12 to 14. This became a part of his lifestyle up until after college when he was involved in a work abroad program for a year in Ireland and London.
During this time, he really "dove into that life" that he went home each night with different people after going to bars, which in turn caused him to suffer "depression." This behavior was augmented by his addiction to pornography.
"Like I couldn't get enough. It was creating this insatiable desire, and I started worrying about getting sick, some kind of infectious disease," Wheelock divulged.
"I would actually go get tested for HIV and I [would] have to wait three days for my results. Now, the three days was when I was most like a Christian. Those three days was when I suddenly believed in God again. Ready to just listen to 'OK, God I'm going to be good. I'm not going to do that again.' And then I'd get the negative test result. And guess what? I was back out that night hooking up with somebody else. Our flesh is so ridiculous, you know," he added.
Wheelock's conversion came one day when he received a vision from God showing him that his life "is not the path I have for you." The vision showed his future of being married to a woman and having three daughters.
"God took that and captured my heart and showed me 'Brian, this is what I have for you. This is the vision I'm giving you. This is the future. This is the path I have set before you. I'm the right path. The life you're living is not the best for you.' And God began to open my eyes suddenly to a bigger picture," Wheelock recalled.
This vision then prompted him to attend church as soon as he returned home to New Jersey. He found a non-denominational church through a phone book search and attended there where he declared and accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior through public profession during an altar call.
Wheelock said his path to conversion was not smooth. He experienced "falling back" when he returned to London and auditioned for an acting part in a theater. He eventually returned to New Jersey after two months because he did not get the part he auditioned for "by the grace of God."
Upon his return, he engaged himself in church programs that resulted to him meeting God-centered male friends and putting him "on the right path." He made his "covenant of purity" to God on January 14, 2003, which became his "battle plan" in life. and led him to become a sought-after Christian speaker at various events and churches. He and his wife has come out with their own podcast, "The Pam & Brian Show."
Listen to Brian and Pam Wheelock talk to Abby Johnson about his faith journey below:
