Hello 
Here is my testimony, sorry it's a little long..haha..I couldn't stop writing! lol
I grew up in a non religious home, but I believe that God was leading me to Himself all my life. I just didn't know it then. As a child, I always believed that there's a God. When I was in grade 5, I got a Bible at my school and started reading it. I didn't really understand most of it but I was touched by how Jesus loved the poor and the broken. My family was going through a difficult time and sometimes I would pray to Him for help. He answered my prayers
Then, my family became Christian (Orthodox), and we were all baptized. I believed that Christ died for my salvation and rose again from the dead, but I didn't really give my heart to Him then.
When I began going to high school, I pretty much forgot about Him. I loved my school, I made some great friends, but I mostly thought about myself and what I wanted to do with my life. In grade 12, I still believed in God but I wasn't really sure about Christianity. I only went to church on Christmas and Easter.
I took a philosophy class, and came up with some of my own ideas. I believed that all religions were more or less equally true, and for me faith was just an essay topic, not a way of life. I wrote about God, but I didn't follow Him. Sadly, I became sort of arrogant and thought I had all the answers. I didn’t really think about Jesus. Eventually, I became an agnostic. Once, I even wrote an essay against the existence of God.
Then, I came to university, and lived in a dorm with two other girls. My new friends partied a lot and went out drinking and clubbing. I tried this a couple of times, but decided it wasn't for me, and focused more on my studies. I began reading CS Lewis' books, and I felt a new world opening up before me. I never saw Christianity in such a way before. Finally, I was convinced that Jesus is God, not just a nice guy who lived two thousand years ago and gave some good advice. But I felt alone most of the time and couldn't relate to anyone I knew. I didn't feel close to God but I really wanted to know Him, I just didn't know how. I didn’t believe that going to church or talking to a priest would help me, so I didn’t try it. Thankfully, God provided a way.
Then, I met two girls from Campus for Christ, and they invited me to their meeting. It took me several months, but eventually I decided to come. Everyone was really friendly, and I made some great friends there. I saw that they prayed together, shared their experiences with one another, and seemed to rely on Jesus for everything. This surprised me, because I couldn't understand why people would care so much about their faith. To me, it was more of an intellectual hobby. I was blessed to meet strong Christians who showed me how amazing God is. I was also surprised that they worshipped God using music (especially such contemporary music!), and how personal it all seemed to them. During worship, I felt shy and afraid to sing things like “Lord I give you my heart, I give you my soul, I live for You alone…”, etc. I saw my friends singing with their eyes closed and their hands raised to heaven, and I wanted to feel like they did, but couldn’t.
I heard them talk a lot about 'accepting Christ'. I thought I had accepted Christ a long time ago (and maybe I became a Christian when I was baptized, only God knows), but I wanted to be closer to Him. I didn't feel that I had a personal relationship with God, and I didn't rely on Him and couldn't find the strength to obey His commands. One day, I prayed to Jesus and told Him that I wanted Him to be my everything and to love Him fully. I told Him to take control of my life and help me obey Him. I felt guilty and unworthy because of my sins, and I asked Him to forgive me.
I felt a change in me because suddenly, I felt really close to Jesus and I wanted to just love Him more and more. I finally felt forgiven and free. I realized that I shouldn't make excuses for my sins, but just ask God for forgiveness and let Him change me. I began praying more, reading the Bible, and I joined a discipleship group. I felt that He was guiding me and giving me strength to follow Him, and I felt a joy in me that I’ve never known before. Suddenly, all the songs seemed very relevant and I could say the words and know that I mean them. I learned how to pray. I still have a long way to go, because I make a lot of mistakes and wish I could obey God better. But I feel that He is helping me, and I know that He would be with me always. I believe that I’ll never have enough good deeds to get me into heaven, but I don’t have to try to earn my way there because salvation isn’t something we deserve. Lol I know that I don’t deserve it, and that’s why I’m thankful. I want to obey His commands out of love, not because I have to. All my hope is in Jesus, and I wouldn’t want to leave Him for anything – I pray that I wouldn’t. Praise God
This past year, I feel that my life has really changed, and I decided to attend a church. I began going to a non denominational Protestant church in my area, and so far it’s been a great experience and I’ve learned a lot. I accept all types of Christianity, and I don’t think it matters if you’re Protestant, Orthodox, or Catholic; what matters is that you believe in Jesus and love Him, and love others. I believe that my baptism was real, because even then I believed in Jesus, in my small childish way…it’s not up to me to say when exactly I was saved, but my life really changed when I accepted Christ and decided to follow Him. That is when I became ‘His’. All that matters is that now, I feel closer to God than ever before, and I hope that I would become a better Christian in the future.
So..that's what happened to me
Thanks for reading!!
Here is my testimony, sorry it's a little long..haha..I couldn't stop writing! lolI grew up in a non religious home, but I believe that God was leading me to Himself all my life. I just didn't know it then. As a child, I always believed that there's a God. When I was in grade 5, I got a Bible at my school and started reading it. I didn't really understand most of it but I was touched by how Jesus loved the poor and the broken. My family was going through a difficult time and sometimes I would pray to Him for help. He answered my prayers
Then, my family became Christian (Orthodox), and we were all baptized. I believed that Christ died for my salvation and rose again from the dead, but I didn't really give my heart to Him then.
When I began going to high school, I pretty much forgot about Him. I loved my school, I made some great friends, but I mostly thought about myself and what I wanted to do with my life. In grade 12, I still believed in God but I wasn't really sure about Christianity. I only went to church on Christmas and Easter.
I took a philosophy class, and came up with some of my own ideas. I believed that all religions were more or less equally true, and for me faith was just an essay topic, not a way of life. I wrote about God, but I didn't follow Him. Sadly, I became sort of arrogant and thought I had all the answers. I didn’t really think about Jesus. Eventually, I became an agnostic. Once, I even wrote an essay against the existence of God.
Then, I came to university, and lived in a dorm with two other girls. My new friends partied a lot and went out drinking and clubbing. I tried this a couple of times, but decided it wasn't for me, and focused more on my studies. I began reading CS Lewis' books, and I felt a new world opening up before me. I never saw Christianity in such a way before. Finally, I was convinced that Jesus is God, not just a nice guy who lived two thousand years ago and gave some good advice. But I felt alone most of the time and couldn't relate to anyone I knew. I didn't feel close to God but I really wanted to know Him, I just didn't know how. I didn’t believe that going to church or talking to a priest would help me, so I didn’t try it. Thankfully, God provided a way.
Then, I met two girls from Campus for Christ, and they invited me to their meeting. It took me several months, but eventually I decided to come. Everyone was really friendly, and I made some great friends there. I saw that they prayed together, shared their experiences with one another, and seemed to rely on Jesus for everything. This surprised me, because I couldn't understand why people would care so much about their faith. To me, it was more of an intellectual hobby. I was blessed to meet strong Christians who showed me how amazing God is. I was also surprised that they worshipped God using music (especially such contemporary music!), and how personal it all seemed to them. During worship, I felt shy and afraid to sing things like “Lord I give you my heart, I give you my soul, I live for You alone…”, etc. I saw my friends singing with their eyes closed and their hands raised to heaven, and I wanted to feel like they did, but couldn’t.
I heard them talk a lot about 'accepting Christ'. I thought I had accepted Christ a long time ago (and maybe I became a Christian when I was baptized, only God knows), but I wanted to be closer to Him. I didn't feel that I had a personal relationship with God, and I didn't rely on Him and couldn't find the strength to obey His commands. One day, I prayed to Jesus and told Him that I wanted Him to be my everything and to love Him fully. I told Him to take control of my life and help me obey Him. I felt guilty and unworthy because of my sins, and I asked Him to forgive me.
I felt a change in me because suddenly, I felt really close to Jesus and I wanted to just love Him more and more. I finally felt forgiven and free. I realized that I shouldn't make excuses for my sins, but just ask God for forgiveness and let Him change me. I began praying more, reading the Bible, and I joined a discipleship group. I felt that He was guiding me and giving me strength to follow Him, and I felt a joy in me that I’ve never known before. Suddenly, all the songs seemed very relevant and I could say the words and know that I mean them. I learned how to pray. I still have a long way to go, because I make a lot of mistakes and wish I could obey God better. But I feel that He is helping me, and I know that He would be with me always. I believe that I’ll never have enough good deeds to get me into heaven, but I don’t have to try to earn my way there because salvation isn’t something we deserve. Lol I know that I don’t deserve it, and that’s why I’m thankful. I want to obey His commands out of love, not because I have to. All my hope is in Jesus, and I wouldn’t want to leave Him for anything – I pray that I wouldn’t. Praise God
This past year, I feel that my life has really changed, and I decided to attend a church. I began going to a non denominational Protestant church in my area, and so far it’s been a great experience and I’ve learned a lot. I accept all types of Christianity, and I don’t think it matters if you’re Protestant, Orthodox, or Catholic; what matters is that you believe in Jesus and love Him, and love others. I believe that my baptism was real, because even then I believed in Jesus, in my small childish way…it’s not up to me to say when exactly I was saved, but my life really changed when I accepted Christ and decided to follow Him. That is when I became ‘His’. All that matters is that now, I feel closer to God than ever before, and I hope that I would become a better Christian in the future.
So..that's what happened to me
Thanks for reading!!
