My Testimony
The first time I had any kind of interest in God and learning about Him was the summer before 6th grade. I got a Bible,
but never read it much. For 6th grade I went to a private school in Colorado. Near the end of the year I had a lot of doubts
about what I was being taught about God. I also had many doubts and fears concerning the afterlife. I decided I didn't
believe in the afterlife, but I was still afraid of it because I was worried that I could be wrong and end up in some kind of
eternal punishment because I didn't believe in any religion.
Right before the end of my 6th grade year I moved to Florida. I had many doubts and fears so I did a lot of thinking and
studying to try to be sure that I wouldn't go to hell. I tried to find reasons for not believing in the afterlife or in any religions.
I spent many hours studying different things so that I could be confident that I was safe from hell. I eventually came to the
conclusion that even though I have many reasons for not believing in it, I wanted to be a Christian. I figured it's better to be safe
than sorry.
My fears and doubts didn't stop, although they weren't nearly as frequent. I considered myself to be saved Christian, but
I was never sure if I really was. I was not devoted to God at all. I still didn't know much about God or know him very well.
I never felt his presence in my life. Even though I thought I was saved, I had an intense fear of death because I didn't know
what was really going to happen to me when I die.
One time in 10th grade in my history class I read in out History book about the Catholic church teaching that paricipation
in sacraments was nessessary to be saved. I didn't really think that much of it until one day I went home and decided to do
some research about the Catholic church, and I found out that Catholics do believe that the sacraments are necessary for
salvation. I thought to myself "what if the Catholics are right?, this would mean that I am not saved". The thought
frightened me to the point that I started shaking, and I had to go wash my face off just to calm myself down. It was really a
scary expierience that I will never forget. After doing some more research I figured out that the Catholics are wrong. The
Bible says very clearly that we are saved through faith in Christ, and not by anything else (Romans 3:28, Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 5:6).
Even though these fears stayed with me, I trusted that God would not let me go to hell. God knew that I would do
anything to avoid the fires of hell, and I trusted that he would help me.
I started going to a church and a youth group. The summer of 2000 our youth group went to a youth convention. It was
definately the greatest expierience of my life. The first night at the conference David Nassar talked about his testimony and about
how reading the Bible changed his life. He made me realize that I should do more for God and I should read His word
because it will help me know Him better.
The second night Tony Nolan spoke. Tony spoke about hell and the fear he had of it when he was younger. I felt like I kind of related to what he was saying. For the first time I saw someone who actually knows how it feels to have such a major fear of hell in their life. Tony also talked about a large group of people who, when they die, will expect to walk right into the gates of Heaven, only to be told by God "Go away, I never knew you". They are turned away becuase they have never truly accepted Christ and trusted them with their hearts. Tony's words really got to me, but what got to me even more was the LORD's Holy Spirit telling me that I was not right with God yet, and that I needed to do what it takes to come to faith in Christ. I knew I had to make a change in my life. I didn't know if it was going to be soon or later. Then God really touched my heart in a way that I can't explain. It was like nothing I have ever expierienced before. Right then I knew what I had to do. I knew I could not leave that confernce area before I was right with God and knew it. Nony asked those who have made the decision to accept Christ to come to the stage, then he asked us to go to the back of the conference area. Then I prayed with a volunteer and accepted Christ into my heart. I don't remember what words I said, but I do remember what I felt inside. All I wanted at that point and time was JESUS. I wanted Him to come into my life. After I had prayed to accept Christ into my life I felt something else that I can't really explain. Every time I think about it I want to praise the Lord. It was such a burden lifted away from me. Now I could live my life withought fear. I could live with God by my side.
Immediatly after accepting Christ, I was very quiet and didn't want to talk to anyone. I just stood there in silence. I was
reflecting on my new realtionship with God, and what it means to me. I felt so peaceful inside, again it's hard to explain how
I felt. God has changed me and my life in many ways. I love God and want to live for Him. Life is a lot better and has
meaning and I have purpose. God has wonderful plan for everyone's life, and I want to do God's will for my life so I can
live the abundant life he has planned for me.
Sometimes God's presence in my life isn't as strong as other times. Many times I fail to keep God as my top priority. Other times God is the center of my life and constantly helps me through my problems and troubles. I always have God with me to help me. I realize the importance of prayer and studying the Bible. The Bible is the most reliable source of truth we have. That is why it is important to know God's word. It also teaches us about God and haw we should live for His glory. Many people can try to tell us things that arren't true, but we can always trust the Bible as the untlimate source of truth. Prayer is simply talking to God. It is difficult to have a persoanl relationship with God without talking to Him, so we need to pray to God often, even if we have no particular needs at the time. We can always tell God what He means to us and ask Him to help us become better Christians."What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?" -- 1 Corinthians 4:7. This is one of my favorit verses becuase to me it is saying that everything good comes from God. Everything thing that happens good in my life I can credit God for and praise Him. Knowing this has helped me constantly want to live my life for God and constantly give thanks to Him for everyhting he does for me.
E-Mail me: clermontflorida@teamfca.com