You want some answers?You may not believe in God, many claim not to and it is your choice. You may believe in "some sort of supreme being or influence but not God "per se" , that also is your choice. You may believe in God but "can't stand the hypocrisy in churches today". You may believe that there are many ways to God and ultimately all "religions" end up at the same place. You may believe that the Bible is nothing more than a set of stories that outline moral structures for life. Well, people believe many things and have many questions about God. I don't have the answers and I don't claim to have them. I can't directly answer any questions you have about life, because I didn't write the book on it, I can point you to the One who did write the book and Who is also THE answer. One of the things I can and will do is tell you about Jesus and what He means to me and why I love Him. Read onI have been blessed by being brought up in a family that knew Jesus. My family has attended church for as long as I can remember. Both my parents were saved when I was small so I suppose it was natural for me to show some sort of interest in God and have some belief in Him. I just accepted that this Jesus was the Son of God because the people around me told me so. I attended Sunday School and accepted the Bible stories I was told as the truth. I was just a childThen, when I was about seven I stood in front of the church with others and made the salvation prayer, I asked Jesus to come into my life and to forgive me of my sins ( I was baptised when I was nine). I was just seven and many said and have said "what sort of sins could a child of seven have done that were so bad". People said that I was just doing it to please my parents and I didn't know any better. "I just did it for Mum and Dad"Over a period of time I told myself the same thing and almost began to believe it. After all I couldn't have really given my heart to Jesus because people who did that were changed somehow. I didn't feel any different. Yet I knew I had accepted Him as my Saviour I just hadn't received that "experience" that good testimonies are made of. no blinding flash of light, no dreams, no visions, no audible voice. I just felt the same way I always had. As far as I knew I hadn't even been that bad anyway I mean I was no criminal, I hadn't been running from God like others I heard of. I thought I had a boring testimony, it could be summed up in a few words. "I was born into a Christian family, I became a Christian and carried on as before." I spent ages looking for that one experience that would liven up my testimony. Something that would cause people to see just what God could do. I kept waiting - no flash of light. I kept waiting - still no flash of light. If something did happen, like if I had a prayer answered, I would judge it and tell myself that it might have been God but it wasn't the "experience" I was waiting for. Eventually I asked God for it. "Give me some sort of miraculous experience" I asked.
Or did it? My life was "boring"One day, (I can't say exactly when because I don't know if it happened at an exact point in time or over a period of time) I began to look back at my life in frustration that it was "boring". I began to look back at various events like things at school, my first job, my first car, my first car accident. No they all went without real problem, no one was hurt, and I came through them without a problem. No troubles there then, so therefore no need for God to intervene. I looked at many events in that way I slowly I saw a pattern forming. I realised that I'd had what I considered a normal, "boring" life. Then I realised that there were many who would consider my life a luxury. I am not boasting or being big headed, just admitting that I’m better off than I thought. I can remember people telling me I was "lucky" to have parents like mine, or even to have them at all, yet I had considered them part of the package. I remember people telling me I was "lucky" to have all the things I had yet I had taken them for granted. I realised that Jesus had been in my life from such an early age that I had take Him for granted. I had come to expect the blessings he poured upon me as part of every day life. I had been looking for this miraculous "experience" and I hadn't realised that my life was one! I stood, aged seven, in that church and told God I was sorry and I asked Him to forgive me. I asked Jesus to come into my heart and be with me always. Well God did forgive me, because Jesus gave His own life in place of mine. Jesus did come into my heart and He never left it, because I asked Him to. Imagine, a child made a plea to the Son of Almighty God and He not only heard, He answered. He stayed and kept me throughout my life He enabled me to share in blessings that others didn't have. All those times when I thought he had nothing to do, He had got there first and made it easier for me. He has been with me all my life and I have largely ignored Him, yet He hasn't left, got frustrated or angry, He didn't complain, He never stopped loving me, no matter what I did. So what's special about me?So I asked myself "Why should I get this treatment? What have I done to deserve this? What special about me then?" The answer came. Not in a flash of light, not audibly, not in a vision and not by somebody else coming to me and saying "God told me to tell you this.." The answer was already there, I knew it all along and it was part of what I had considered my "boring" testimony. There is nor has never been any difference between me and anyone else, except Jesus. There is nothing special about me, I am just normal. The reason I get this treatment from God is because I asked for it. Not directly, but I asked I asked God to forgive my sins, I asked Him to accept Jesus' blood as payment, I asked Jesus to become my personal Saviour and I asked the Holy Spirit to be part of my life. The rest of it, all the blessings, all the times He looked after me, all the patience He had, all the guidance that I often ignored, all the Love. All that was part of the package and there's much more besides. Why I Love JesusSo you want to know why I love Jesus? It's because He is special, it's because he did nothing to deserve the death He endured for me, it's because He promised to be with me and even though I took Hi for granted and ignored Him, He kept His promise. It's because no matter what I do, He'll always love me. Because He doesn't judge my deeds the way I judged His, He forgives them. It's because He has enabled me to have the best, most exciting part of any testimony anybody could have, and it cost me nothing. I love Jesus because He paid for my sins with His life, not because I asked Him to, not because He had to, but because He wanted to, because He loves me. I love Him because He kept His promise when I didn't keep mine and because He never let go. For too long, I felt like I had done nothing bad enough (big headed, I know) for Him to save me from - but I WAS WRONG. Salvation isn't about what you've done or been, it's about what you haven't done and been. There was nothing special about me, I was and am no different to anyone else and Jesus died for me in the same way and with the same love He has for you. Part of why Jesus died was so that we (you and me) could have return to the sort of relationship with Our Father (The One who gave us our very lives) that mankind was made for. Realisation that what we are, in our very nature, has kept us away from God and the love He has for us, is a big part of salvation but it's not all of it. Salvation is a beginning that has no end. It really happenedAs I look back over my life now, I can see moments when He was right there in front of Me and at the time I knew it, but I allowed the memory to fade. I know now that I have had the visions, heard the voice, had those "miraculous experiences", I had just dismissed them as not good enough! Thankfully the memories haven't all disappeared. For instance I can clearly remember my baptism when I was ten. As I went under the water the pastor's face changed into the face of Jesus, I couldn't tell you what he looks like but I know it was Him. Afterward I convinced myself that it must have been the distortion caused by the water over my eyes, but in my heart I know that's not true. I know that, like the bible says, when I went under I died with Christ and the He Himself pulled me out and raised me as a new creation. Glory to God! Hallelujah! and Amen. I'm still lookingDon't get me wrong, I haven't given up on those experiences I was seeking, but I have changed my opinion of what constitutes miraculous. Those miraculous experiences will and have come, because God is faithful even when we are not. however, now I also appreciate that everything God does is a miracle, because they are all things that wouldn't happen without Him. He gives me every breath I take. He opens every flower petal one by one. He causes the sun to shine, He makes the rain fall to refresh the ground. So what this means is that I still want the Lord to do something miraculous in my life, but not for my benefit but for His glory. Everything He does for me is a miracle so I know I can rejoice in Him in everything. I'm not perfectOf course , knowing this is not the answer to everything, and it doesn't mean that I get it right. But the whole point of what Jesus did for me is so that I can afford to make mistakes because He paid my price for them. So now what?Would you like to know Jesus in the way He wants you to? Maybe you've never met Him, maybe you have but you've ignored Him like I did. Either way, He is right there with His hand outstretched waiting for you to just turn and see Him there. He loves you as much as He loved the disciples, as much as loves the people who are in Bible. He has no favouritism, He died for all of us. My God is the God of Love and He has so much love to give you if you will only let Him. He asks nothing except that you acknowledge that love and what it did for you. THE SALVATION PRAYER If you want to do something now, then you can say this prayer, like the prayer I made when I was seven. God will hear it, He is longing to hear you say it and when He does He'll answer it and make the promise that is part of that answer. He'll never leave you nor forsake you and He will perfect that work which He has begun in you today.
Say this prayer aloud and open your heart to God.
Dear Lord Jesus, I want to know You in a special way.
Amen! If you prayed that prayer then you should know that as you did the whole of heaven rejoiced for you! We are talking serious rejoicing here, God, the angels, everybody! Please e-mail me and let me know, so that I can rejoice with you and pray for you. If you still aren't sure, that's okay but if you have any questions you can e-mail me . I would ask that you don't just e-mail abuse at me (it has been known) but if you have a genuine question please ask.So What Now?If you prayed the prayer above and have accepted Jesus as your Saviour and Lord, then you should find a local church and tell someone there that you have given your heart to Jesus. If you have a couple of local churches and aren't sure which one to go to, pray. Ask Jesus to guide you to the one He wants you to go to, His answer may be something simple like it being the closest one, or maybe a friend or neighbour attends, but He will answer. Above all, don't be embarrassed to tell the people at the church what it is you've done, If they are in Christ they will rejoice with you. Please let me know how you get on, I would love to hear from you. This Testimony was created by "Crimperman"crimperman@enterprise.net using
The name "Crimperman" and this testimony and its contents (unless otherwise noted) all copyright ©1997 Ryan P. Cartwright.......9/97 This testimony used by permission from Ryan P. Cartwright. |