I'm saved and I know that I am

[Guest koppen]

I was saved when I was about 7 years old and baptized, however, I don't think I truly understood what it meant because after that I was baptized about three more times...LOL...

Anyway..I went on with my life just going through the motions, looking for answers in ALL the wrong places. By the time I was 18 I had lived a life of a 40 year-old with some terrible life experiences. My birth father was EXTREMELY abusive to my mother verbally and physically, I witnessed it all. Then my mother divorced him and left us alone with no money. We struggled. But my mother ALWAYS looked to the Lord. She had us in church every time the doors where open. She laid a very STRONG Christian foundation for us to follow throughout our years. My brothers left and went to Alaska with my father, So then it was me and my mother. I became VERY VERY ill at the age of 7, diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. Life took another turn we never expected. I was sick ALL the time. My mother never left my side ALWAYS praying for me, God gave me life. I never realized this until I got older. Instead of blaming GOD for all the terrible things in my life I began thanking God for life and everything He had blessed me with.

I come from a LONG line of ministers with the Assemblies of God belief...My great great grand father planted the very first AG church her in Texas. His name was Pa Land... I believe that his obedience has led to the many blessing passed to each of us in this family because through his obedience and faithfulness we found the Lord from the foundations he laid for the family.

Theres most of my story....I could write a book on the wild turns of my life....There is so much more I could tell.

[Adstar]

I do not know the exact date when i believed in the real Jesus it was after a friend gave me a bible when i was 17. As long as i remember i believed in God. That is the God of Abraham. So i was interested in growing in knowledge of Him and was happy to recieve such a gift. So i opened up to page one and started reading and over the next months kept on reading untill the end of the book of Revelation. Well before the end i knew that the jesus that i had been indoctrinated into following was another jesus and not the true Messiah Jesus. So i was happy to accept The Word, Jesus, as my Savor and Lord

All Praise The Ancient Of Days

[wondering04]

It will be two years this January that I got saved and it is a miracle that I ever came to Christ.

When I was 8 I gave up on God, deciding that the wall next to my bed netted better results than praying to God. I still haven't fully sorted out his silence at that time, but from that time on I never spoke with God in prayer. My father reverted to his childhood religion of Christian Scientist after a heart attack. He brought terror to me by forcing me to read the Bible outloud to him, and throwing things at me if I stopped too long at a comma, too short at a semicolon, etc. After awhile I used to break out into a cold sweat just touching a Bible. It took about a year before I ever read out loud in Bible study. Fortunately no one threw anything at me, and my pastor even had me speak in front of the congregation once, and no one threw anything.

I spent 40 years in active rebellion, with the plan that if my parents claimed to be Christian, I wanted to be anything but. I had my innocence taken by my father, so figured what was their to preserve. I lived the classic hippie life style and delved deeply into the occult and new age thinking. Of course, the damage done to me as a child also meant that I was unable to form a relationship with even the false gods and idols of those religions, much less Christ and God.

When my first son was born my husband decided we must attend mass, so I pew sat for 10 years. At some point I decided to give God one last chance and read the Bible from cover to cover. The first reading I got how God hardened certain people's hearts and how Christ could not work with those who could not believe in Him. I figured I was sunk. But fortunately I was led to a Bible study where they were studying the book of Romans. Boy is Romans difficult with anger at God.

I still go to mass with my husband, but attend my Bible based church as often as I can without alienating my husband. But when I would attend four years ago, I sat in the back and simple words like, "God loves you" would make me fume. I raged at God for a very long time. Steve Solomon (from praise in the night) came to a church near us and I went to see him as I had been blessed by his radio show. He prophesized over me (I was one of the two people who did not go forward at an altar call so he came to me). He told me that God was going to pull the tares out of my mind, and truthfully he has been doing so. It is quite painful as things are being uprooted. In the midst of my raging, I also apologized to God about the raging, and got the distinct impression that God was glad I was talking to him, something I hadn't done for 40 years. He did not mind the raging. I doubt He would be so tolerant now, but I am glad that back then he did not get angry.

I got up the courage to speak with my pastor. We spent two years wrestling with God issues. In fairness to him, he tried to get me to say the sinner's prayer each and every time we talked, but there was much garbage that needed sorting out. I spent a period that I call the sin of the week, where I would bring one of my past transgressions to my pastor, sure that God couldn't forgive that, and he would point out in the scripture where God could forgive that. My breaking point came when I realized that I had broken every one of the ten commandments (I had an abortion which, as a child I justified because I would not be a fit mom), but still it was murder. I was broken, and then my pastor took me to the altar and we said the sinner's prayer. In obedience to God, a few weeks later I was baptized.

I wish I could say that my walk with God is smooth. It isn't, but I also know that I would rather this rough walk with God than walking in the ways I used to walk. And I see growth and change. I guess there is still much damage that needs repairing, but my heart is to keep reaching towards God.

Heather

[stillwaters]

The Lord came for me and I was saved at age 27...I believe He called me when I was a child but I was too scared to go a Sunday school class with a little friend. After I accepted the Lord, I remembered that time and could recognize the Lord's Spirit calling me then.

My life would have been much easier if I had gone as a child to Jesus...but He did not forget me. He brought me in thru a cousin who prayed for me and told me to read John's gospel. When I read that the Father Loved the Son and had given everything into His hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. Jn.3:35-36

Something about God loving His son got to me...I am still fascinated by their relationship. If God could and did love Jesus...I better love Jesus too.

I'm 58 now. Have had a lot of years in the wilderness...had lots of personal problems from an abusive past. The Lord has done amazing healings for me and continues to heal my soul.

[Guest Called]

This is a wonderful topic KitKat! Good idea!

I walked the aisle of a church when I was 5 years old. Looking back though, I don't think that I completely understood sin and what true repentance is. I then rededicated my life to Jesus at 17, but needless to say my actions following were not consistent with being a Christian. I had no fruit. I guess you could say I was lukewarm for most of my Christian walk. I grew up in church and I said the sinner's prayer twice and I meant it, but I didn't forsake all to follow Him. I still wanted my little sins here and there.

I finally gave it all to Jesus about 2 years ago. I had a true revelation of the cross and my sin and I experienced true repentance and I finally realized that I am nothing but a sinner and I needed a Savior. I have not looked back since!

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

Although looking at this it looks like I was saved three times! HA! I guess I would have to say that I was truly saved 2 years ago, when I finally just surrendered my whole life to Him. God is so amazing and we are so blessed that He has made a way for us to live with Him for eternity.

God Bless,

Debbie

[Guest Thomas I believe]

Amen Kat... Thank God for your family and your parents. I was 20 When i was saved. The Infinite wisdom and Love of Our Lord Jesus can get us through anything. Praise God Always!! Michael