Lamar Odom gets saved, says Jesus kept him alive after near-death experience
Former NBA star Lamar Odom got saved over the weekend and joined the ranks of celebrities who've given their lives to Jesus Christ this year.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the two-time NBA champion said he “got saved” over the weekend at The Word Church in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.
Odom said he was grateful to be “walking with the Lord” and acknowledged The Word Church founder and Senior Pastor R.A. Vernon for leading him to dedicate his life to Christ.
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“Nowadays I’m doing the best I can in walking with the Lord,” he wrote. “Thanks to Pastor Vernon @drravernon, I got saved at @thewordchurch this weekend,” Odom wrote on Instagram.
He then praised Jesus for keeping him alive after he nearly died from a drug overdose at a Nevada brothel in 2015. He was in a coma and had a 50 percent chance of survival.
“I had to show Jesus my appreciation for keeping me alive!” Odom testified.
The athlete posted a photo of himself with his hands lifted in surrender as the pastor laid hands on him. Odom’s girlfriend, Sabrina Parr, stood by his side and shared her admiration for him in a comment under his post.
“Nothing better than a man of God! Keeping pushing through life baby!! God willing I’ll be right here by your side!!!!” she wrote.
Lamar has been candid about his struggles with sex and drug addiction in his new memoir, Darkness to Light that was released earlier this year.
In May, Odom told CNN that God helped him through the darkest period of his life.
“The strength in God, the strength in my family for never giving up on me, that’s who I live for now,” he said. “I lived selfishly for a long time. I’ll be an addict for as long as I live.
“When you’re sober, you’re present. And when you’re present, you kind of understand the consequences and repercussions of what you do, and therefore I have no will to do any drug that isn’t marijuana. I understand the consequences and repercussions of getting high.”
He added, “I’m trying to go forward and trying to move forward. If I do drugs, that’s moving back yards. If I live moving backward, that means I’m living to die.”
