A Testimony of Salvation

I am unsure of my age the day I stepped away from God.  I believe I was a teen.  I was raised in a Christian home, one where we attended church regularly, went to church functions, and were taught to pray.  I also joined the church when I was twelve and thought I was born again, but I had no idea what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus. One day a woman from church who was a friend of my mother’s stopped by our house for a visit.  During their conversation she told my mother that the Lord had shown her that He had a special plan for my brother’s life.  I do not remember being jealous by the news, but I was keenly aware that she didn’t mention my name.  I thought God must not have a special plan for me. So from there I made the leap that God didn’t care about me, and I made the decision to step away from God.  I don’t remember the decision being a conscious one, however, when I would come to a crossroads in my life and weighing my options, “I remember thinking what does it matter, God doesn’t care about me.”  That decision and those words cost me dearly. In 1990 I don’t think I really understood the degree of my brokenness, but in that brokenness I decided to give God another try.  I committed to reading the entire Bible and it changed me.  I’ve heard it said that the Bible is the only book that reads you.  God’s Words convicted my heart and it shone a light on my brokenness that has been healed through repentance, love and forgiveness.  I was ashamed of my thought that God didn’t care for me, as it clearly states in His Word that He died for me.  Could there be any higher sacrifice or greater love? Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  I deserved to be punished for my sins, but Jesus took my sin upon Himself.  A debt He willingly paid.  My reading of the Bible created a hunger and thirst for God’s Word that could only be satisfied by Heavenly truths, not things of this world.   If you are searching for truth, pick up the Bible, a love letter that was specifically written for you and see if it doesn’t change your life.

Mary M. - VA

Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12 (NIV)