The Lord is wonderful and worthy to be praised!! He has done so much! May He receive all the glory!! I've decided to share my testimony so that you can see how great God is and so that you can have hope in salvation. The following is my personal testimony of how the Lord God has saved me by His marvelous grace:
As I was growing up, my family went to a number of different churches and denominations. I heard the Gospel many times and I considered myself to be a Christian. I knew Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but I never took it personally - that it was for me He died, for my transgressions. At the end of church services in most of the churches I've been to, they would have an invitation. "With eyes closed, heads bowed..." I heard the sinner's prayer countless times. I got "saved" (supposedly) so many times that I can't even remember every time. Every once in a while I thought about the terrors of Hell, so I would quickly close my eyes and pray the sinner's prayer. I would ask God for forgiveness of my sins and ask Jesus to come into my heart. I never felt saved, but it temporarily eased my conscience. Sometimes, when I tried to go to sleep at night, I thought about how terrible it would be to spend eternity engulfed in unquenchable fire, but then I would try to push the thought out of my mind and plan on dealing with it when it comes. Without a doubt, I knew (or so I thought) that I would be going to Hell when I died. I remember at school one time a nonbeliever friend told me, "I'll see you in Heaven," and I said something like, "No you won't. That's not where we're going." I didn't ever try too hard to become a true Christian because I knew that I wasn't good enough and that I would never be good enough. I was right - no one's good enough, we're all desperately wicked. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). I felt like there was no point in even trying to change or trying to become a better person, so all I did was pray, wishing that I'd go to Heaven when I died. I used to say that if I had three wishes, the first one would be for me to go to Heaven, even though I thought it was nearly impossible - that's why it was a wish, not a hope. Maybe when I was in about 10th grade, I felt the urge to tear my Harry Potter poster off the wall in my room. I gave into the conviction, took it down, tore it in half, and threw it away. I knew that witchcraft was wrong and that God wouldn't want me to entertain myself with it. Around the beginning of 11th grade, I felt the Holy Spirit really start convicting me and bringing to memory things that I used to hear at church (I haven't been attending a church in a few years by this time). I was convicted to stop listening to secular music and soon I dug my Bible out of my bottom drawer. I tried to read it, but I didn't know where to start. I decided to read out of the New Testament but I didn't know where it was. Later I joined the "Christians in Action" club at school. I felt God working in me. I remember one day I was in my room by myself and I realized how sinful I was and how I basically ignored God for so long, living however I wanted. I truly repented and put my faith in Christ. I felt that I might actually be saved. Jesus saved me! It was nothing that I did, it was ALL Him!! If I did anything then I would deserve at least some of the credit in my salvation, but I didn't do anything. I can't do anything to earn my salvation. He did everything and deserves ALL the credit!! In the following days I was full of joy. During P.E. class at school, when we walked laps, I prayed to God the whole time. I never liked P.E., but I came to the point where I almost looked forward to it so that I could just walk and pray. Soon after, my family started getting in contact with old friends from one of the churches we used to go to. We started going back to church and for different reasons we switched churches and moved around a bit. Certain beliefs of mine were different back then, but within the last year or so, God has revealed to my family specific truths from His Word. We started to pray for a church to finally get settled into and so we visited many different churches. We attended a church for about a year but never became members there. I'm very thankful for that church and how the Lord used it in our lives. During that time we were straightening out our beliefs, and studying the Bible to figure out what our personal beliefs were instead of just trusting what the past churches that we attended told us. As I was reading and learning what the Bible really said, I came to the realization that I'm saved. I'm really saved! I'm a daughter of the King! I finally had complete assurance of salvation. This is something that I needed for so long since, naturally, I'm a doubter. The thoughts of not being good enough crept back into my mind without even realizing that I was trusting partly in myself and not fully in Christ. Now I have no doubt about my salvation. It's real! It is God who saved me! God had used all of these circumstances to help me grow closer to Him and have a stronger relationship with Him. Within the past few weeks, the Lord has led us to a good biblical church. I truly feel that this is where He wants us. We actually came across this specific church earlier, but our beliefs were different then and we didn't even want to visit it, but He led us back to this church. God has revealed the truths of Scripture to us, but there's still a lot to learn. I won't completely understand everything there is to know about God, but I'm glad that I know the small amount that I do know. I look back on who I was before salvation and who I am now. I'm a new creature. I used to not think that this could really happen to anybody, but now I know it can happen. I've witnessed it. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). I know I'm not perfect. I know I fail Him everyday. I know I'm weak. I know I need a Savior. Christ has saved me! Now I want to obey Him. I'm still growing in Him. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). If He can save me, trust me, He can save you too. He is mighty to save!! May He alone receive ALL the glory forever!! He saved a wretch like me!!!
"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have now received the atonement." Romans 5:8-11