I was not raised in a Christian home, and my parents were divorced when I was about 9 years old. But one thing I remember quite clearly is something my Dad told me…..he said “Always talk to God because He loves you and He will listen to you.” So I always did. I always believed in God and that Jesus was God’s Son but I was not saved until much later in my life. What’s even more amazing about what my Dad told me was, at the time he told me that, he wasn’t a saved man either. But my Dad had grandparents that he spent time with, in the summers of his childhood, and they were christians and told him about God and Jesus. My Dad received Christ as his Saviour when he was around 40 years old and he has told me that he is so thankful that he survived Vietnam and a myriad of other events in his life because, now being a saved man and older and wiser, he can see how easily he could have died….and then gone to hell…..for eternity. He is thankful for the protection and mercy of God in his life.
My Mom is not saved. I have witnessed to my Mom and was told by her not to do so anymore......so I respect her wishes and don’t. God showed me that He doesn’t force anyone to accept Him so I shouldn’t either. He showed me that I am responsible for sharing the Gospel, not whether the person accepts it or not. I love my Mom very much and I pray for her and hope she will accept Jesus as her Saviour before it’s too late.
I was saved from the penalty of my sin on April 4, 1993. Before then, I had made a profession of Christ (sometime around 1988) but there was never a change in my life. During my first profession, I went forward at an invitation, they showed me verses from the Bible and asked me some questions. I must have answered correctly because they wrote my name down and told me to come back next week for Baptism. I did get Baptized, but that time all I got was wet.
My wonderful husband and I got married in December of 1991 and in January of 1993 we started attending an Independent Baptist Church. We sat through sermons from the Bible and my heart was stirred. I LOVED hearing the sermons, but during the invitation time I felt anxious. I kept telling myself that I was saved…I mean I had made it public and been baptized and everything. Then I talked to the Pastor’s wife and she told me that she had made a profession of faith as a child but in her early 20’s she was unsure of her salvation so she made sure. I had never heard of that before but I thought about it for a while and after white-knuckling it through the invitations for a couple of months, I decided to quit fighting it and go forward and get saved. That time was sooooo different! I know we don’t base our salvation on ‘feelings’ but I remember feeling like 'Christian' did in the book “The Pilgrim’s Progress”…like my burden had been taken off of my back and I felt so light and free and clean! Then my main focus became wanting to learn about God and read His Word. I threw out most of my books and music and movies and my Pastor’s wife helped me to replace them with books and music that would please God. I truly believe that I was not saved during my first profession. The Scriptures that convinced me were “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble”. (James 2:19) I mean just ‘believing’ wasn’t enough because devils believe and they aren’t saved. The other Scripture that convinced me was “Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Those are the two verses that caused me to be under deep conviction during the invitation time at Church.
I am so THANKFUL that God removed the blinders from my eyes and for the Holy Spirit convicting me of my sin and need for the Saviour. I don't know how I would ever get through my life without God because He NEVER changes! In this ever-changing world He is the one stable thing that always stays the same. People come and go and sometimes let me down (as I'm sure I do them, as well) but God is always there! He is the one Person that I can count on because He's promised that "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5b) and "...neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
