I grow up in the church, going every Sunday with my great-grandmother and doing whatever I was told. I usually fell asleep because I would get cold. When I was 11yos, I wanted to be baptised so I took the right hand of fellowship and was baptised. I received my offering envelopes with my personal number on them. My aunt explained the importance of giving and that I should put aside a little every week to give to the Lord. This was my life every summer I visited Virginia. In New York, I would only go to church on Easter or when invited by a friend. My parents weren't church goers. When I moved back to Virginia, after graduating from high school, I began attending my childhood church regularly. I joined the choir, I participated in Wednesday night prayer meetings, I lead childrens church and Sunday school. I had a mentor who taught me how to cross-reference scriptures so that I could create lessons for Sunday school ~ these were for the teens, we didn't have books like the adults. I worked with the missionette program and helped coordinate programs for the youth. I was a very active youth in the church.
At one of our missionette programs, my mentor was talking with the girls about what Jesus did for us and how we should be thankful to Him for all that He's done. She proceed to explain that if we didn't accept this free gift, we would go to hell. Now, I was her assistant and I was standing in the front of the group. However, when she started talking about accepting the Lord Jesus and living versus dying, I moved to the back of the room and began to think about what she said. I was 18yos and had never, to my knowledge, confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior and accepted this free gift. I had only been accepted as a member of the church and been baptised, which I almost drowned ~ thats another story. I realized that I had no right to stand before these girls and tell them they needed to be saved when in fact I was going to hell myself. I immediately asked God for forgiveness and I prayed the prayer of salvation with the other girls. I rejoiced in the fact that I wasn't going to hell and that my God loved me so much that He allowed me to serve even though I had not made Jesus my Lord.
However, it would be 10 yrs later before the Lord captured my heart. I was at a campmeeting listening to Ellen Parsley and began to feel convicted. I knew that I had accepted Jesus as my Lord but I hadn't actually allowed Him to be Lord in my life. I was miserable, lonely and in need of my Savior. Praise God, He knew and met me where I was and cleansed me of my sins and restored me to fellowship with Him. I prayed 1 John 1:9 and knew in my heart that my relationship with Him was restored. Some would probably say that was the day I got saved. No, that was the day I allowed my salvation to become real in my life and I would never be the same again.
My life has been full since that fateful day more than 20yrs ago, when I first made my confession unto salvation. I have walked some long roads alone and I know when I've been carried. The times I've been alone are when I didn't trust the Lord and the times I was carried, I fully depended on Him according to His word. You too can have this. It really isn't hard nor troublesome. It only requires an open heart and mind, a willingness to let go and let God.
If you have never made Jesus the Lord of your life, I invite you today to take a moment and ask Him. He is waiting and has been for this very moment when you would acknowledge Him. He will never leave you nor forsake you. This I can assure you is true. If you are ready to give Him His rightfully place in your heart, pray this prayer:
Lord, I thank you for what you've done for me. For forgiving me of all my sins, for dying in my place and never giving up on me. Lord, I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that you are the risen Son of God and the Lord and Savior of my life. Therefore, I will walk in newness of life as a new creation alive in You. Thank you, Lord for loving me, cleansing me and saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.
If you have prayed the salvation prayer but you've fallen away from God ~ read 1 John 1:9 and repeat the above prayer and allow God to restore you to fellowship with Him again.
~ Be Blessed ~
To click here, to read other wonderful testimonies.
Thankyou for sharing this with me, and everyone whom God leads here to read this. I was reading your thankfulness blogs and was struck with a feeling of "gentleness" with what I was reading.
and that was before I realised what the name of your blog was... so a good choice of name :)
hug
Posted by
Anonymous |
5:07 AM
What a wonderful story and very similar to many others I would guess. Praise the Lord that we are saved even when we have not been sanctified but that He mnages to gt ahold of our hearts and sanctify us at the right time. Thank you so much for sharing your testimony and joining our little study (as the others keep calling it.) Feel free to do the other parts as you feel led.
Posted by
Heather |
7:51 AM