David Rutkin M.Div.

Army Chaplain & Author

Hello, and thank you for visiting my site! This is my story: 

I was raised in a Christian family and grew up going to a small local church in Tampa, FL. I grew up in a close-knit Christian home and have two older brothers. My parents are very dedicated Christians. I always enjoyed church and learning the Word of God. I still feel to this day that my childhood church pastor is one of the most knowledgeable students of the Bible and he was able to articulate the Word of God in the most easy and understandable format. Growing up, I always felt that I was put on this Earth for a reason (as my father instilled this notion in me throughout my youth). I have possessed a love for God and His Word for really as long as I can remember. My children (Kenady my daughter and Jaxon my son) were my motivation for writing my first book Nothing But the Truth; they gave me ample purpose to do what I do for the glory of God. Throughout my life, I have served locally in various churches and studied the Bible and Christian resources consistently. However, I did not begin a full-time Christian career until 2021 at the age of 36. 

In 2017, I joined the FL Army National Guard. At the time, I had a wonderful civilian job, but felt something missing in my career. After working in my civilian company for nearly 10 years and despite advancing in my career, I still felt that I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be. I didn’t feel complete fulfillment in my life and couldn’t see myself enduring through this career for another 25-30 years. It was around summertime in 2017, when I overheard about good opportunities with the military; a recruiter expressed they were offering incentives for joining and it sparked my interest. I have always had great admiration for the U.S. Armed forces, and I am also a history buff. Therefore, I decided to pursue a part-time career in the military. I joined the FL Army National Guard at age 33 and was surprised at how God seemed to make the process so seamless and easy. I had prayed about it before ever joining and I truly felt God calling me to join. At this time, I was applying for a promotional position at my work, and despite all the instances of favor that I was going to get the position, I did not. This actually happened with 3 different positions in close proximity which I went for, and honestly it seemed that they were all sure opportunities that favored me. However, I did not receive any of them. Deep in prayer with God, I felt that He did not allow me to obtain these positions in my civilian career because He had something else in store for me. God was calling me to join the Army, and even more specifically a full-time Christian career as an Army Chaplain.

Originally, I joined the FL Army National Guard and was going to pursue OCS (Officer Candidate School) since I already had my undergraduate degree. Everything had worked out in my favor with joining the military. Process was seamless and I know God was behind the scenes in working everything out for me. As I went through and completed BCT (Basic Combat Training/Bootcamp), I felt compelled and called by God to become a Military Chaplain. Basic training was the hardest thing I had ever endured (both physically and mentally). I missed my family dearly each day I was away from them! However, I also grew deeply in my relationship with God. I attended church each Sunday during BCT and was in awe of all the Soldiers in uniform so thirsty to hear the Word of God. My battle buddies were also very hungry for the Word, and I was delighted to be able to talk with them. The only book we had during BCT was the Holy Bible, and it was such a joy to be able to teach them the knowledge I had acquired over the years and speak the Gospel of Jesus Christ so freely. This is when I knew that I wanted to be an Army Chaplain. I truly felt called by God to serve Him full-time as an Army Chaplain; He laid this passion and desire on my heart. I realized that my passion and dedication to God’s Word throughout my life was a clear epiphany that I needed to utilize my knowledge gained to impart on the world for God’s glory. After BCT, I completed publishing my book Nothing But the Truth which I had begun prior to going, and I also decided to write a Gospel tract which simply explains the Gospel message of Jesus Christ for salvation. I embarked on seminary school for a few years completing my Master of Divinity from Liberty University so that I could begin an Army Chaplain career. This is where my current story resides and my purpose for this website is to simply point people towards Jesus Christ and help explain Scriptural Truths. The Bible is the most amazing Book to study and has a lifetime of joy offered to all who read it, believe it, and obey it. 

My Salvation Experience

To be honest, I don't know the exact date of my salvation experience. However, I can say that I began to investigate my beliefs and what my church and parents had taught me my whole life probably beginning in my high school days. I wanted to make sure that I understood clearly what they were teaching me was true and made sense, and most importantly in accordance to what the Bible teaches. I knew the Bible was God’s Word and true because I had felt the presence of God during prayer and study of the Scriptures throughout my life. However, I still questioned if I was just believing what my parents told me and what my church was telling me. So I set a goal to read through the entire Bible and I completed that task within a year. Of course, I didn’t understand everything I read but I did learn a lot, and I gained a hunger to want to learn more and more of God’s Word. The amazing thing about God’s Word is that, as a believer, each time you read it, you learn more through the guiding of the Holy Spirit. 

My salvation experience was understanding clearly the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and accepting Christ as my personal Savior. Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life as the Son of God. He is God in the flesh. He shed His sinless blood and died on the cross to pay for all my sins, was buried, and rose from the grave the 3rd day just like the Bible teaches. I accepted Jesus Christ as my substitute by faith in His finished work at Calvary. He paid my sin debt on the cross fully (all my past, present, and future sins forgiven by Christ’s shed blood), and I trust in Him alone as my only hope of reaching Heaven. I am saved eternally because I don’t have any sins to pay for. Jesus has paid my sin debt by His shed blood. I can never lose my salvation. My faith rests in what Jesus Christ did for me, and my salvation is secure in God’s hands. My salvation is dependent all on what Christ has done for me and He is holding on to me for all eternity. (See Statement of Faith)

Sharing the Gospel with someone

Once I understood clearly the salvation plan, I then began to want to serve Christ. Serving Christ is extremely important in the believer’s life and comes after the salvation experience. As mentioned, I have personally written a salvation gospel tract (available on this site for purchase) and try to hand them out frequently explaining the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to people I come in contact with. I do believe the most important thing a Christian can do is to win souls for Christ. An individual cannot begin to live for Christ until they have first accepted Christ as their Savior, receiving the new birth by their faith. When sharing the Gospel, I believe there are certain points which need to be made and I usually follow this format: I let a person know that God is perfect, and Heaven is a perfect place. We are all sinners by nature. We have all done things wrong in our lives and even 1 lie is enough to be unable to enter into God’s perfect Heaven. God loves all people (sinners), but hates our sin because our sin separates us from God. We are in trouble in our present state as sinners. The Bible says the wages of sin is death (separation from God in a place called Hell), BUT the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (see Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life and died on the cross as our substitute to pay for our sins. He was buried and rose from the grave for our justification. When a person accepts (receives by faith) Christ’s payment on the cross for their sins, trusting in Jesus Christ alone for the salvation of their soul; then God sees them as perfect, righteous people because He sees them (In Christ). God justifies the believer because of their faith in His Son and His finished work on the cross as their substitute. This is the new birth of the believer. Once someone has been saved, they can and should then begin to live for Christ. We live for Christ (or serve Christ) by yielding to the Holy Spirit who lives inside of all believers. We were saved by grace through faith. And we live the Christian life by grace through faith. Claiming God’s promises in His Word and applying them to our lives is being faithfully obedient to Him. Share the Gospel with someone today! My tract is available on this website to help start the conversation with someone or to leave with one to read when time does not permit a conversation.

Synopsis of my book "Nothing But the Truth"

Have you ever wondered what your purpose in this life is? Have you ever had questions or doubts about your eternal destiny? Do you have questions about various Bible topics, or concerns about so-called “difficult passages” from the Bible? Perhaps you have a notion for God, and would like to know what religion is all about? Christianity is not a religion, but rather a relationship with God. In the contents of this book, I will help to explain the simple message of Jesus Christ, and how an individual can know for sure from the Word of God that they have everlasting life. This is the most important decision you will ever make in this world. Where am I going to go when I die? You can find out the clear answer, backed up by Holy Scripture inside this book. You will also find out other truths contained in the Word of God that can help wherever you may be in your Christian walk. The grand subject of this book is the clear plan of Salvation, which is available to all people through the Grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Bible is the authority for all Christian related matters. It is God’s spoken words for mankind to understand who He is and what His plan is for each and every person. Life goes by very quickly. All people need to realize their purpose on this Earth according to God’s spoken Words, and we have that availability through the Holy Bible. God created the universe, laid out His plan for mankind, and it is our job to discover it and embrace it accordingly. Your individual life will take on new meaning and make much more sense when you discover it through God’s Word. Experience the Peace of God and Truth of His Words, and I assure you that you won’t be disappointed. 

God bless you all! 

David Rutkin M.Div. (Army Chaplain & Author)