• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

How i became a Christian

MoNiCa4316

Totus Tuus
Jun 28, 2007
18,882
1,654
✟49,687.00
Faith
Catholic
Marital Status
Private
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 :D

Thanks for reading!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tarika