I grew up with two brothers and two sisters. I’m the middle child. My mom and dad fought a lot or so it seemed to me. There were threats of divorce which made me feel very insecure as a child. I would seclude myself in my room and cry and cry. I often cried myself to sleep. It broke my heart that my parents didn’t get along. It wasn’t always bad, but I never knew when the next emotional blow up would be. It was like living on the edge of a cliff; never knowing when a big wind would blow me over the edge. There was no religious training at home, but my mom always had us sit and watch the Billy Graham crusades that were on TV. I also was exposed to the Bible story movies that were shown on Sundays on TV. It wasn’t until I was about 7 years old that my older sister started taking the five of us children to church because she got her license to drive.
As I sat and listened to the sermons, I knew there was something better than what I had. I went to Sunday School and Sunday morning worship just about every Sunday. I loved going to church. It was a place where I felt loved and secure. The people there were different from what I experienced at home. These people were happy. As I got older, I began to understand why they were happy. They were Christians. Well, I decided I wanted to know what I needed to do to become a Christian. I listened to the pastor and to the evangelists who came. I was 11 years old when all alone in my bedroom, I knelt on my bed at the window sill and I prayed and asked God to be my Lord and Savior. At that time, I fully understood that Jesus is God’s Son; that He died on a cross for my sin; and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day after He died. It was just that simple.
I had learned that Jesus had to come to earth in the form of a baby, live a perfect life and die for the sins of all people. I learned that everyone has sinned and needs God’s forgiveness. The Bible tells us that we have “all sinned and come short of the God’s glory.” We must understand that God’s forgiveness is in Jesus only and nothing else; not by doing good things for others; not by getting baptized. The Bible says that “In Him [Jesus] we have redemption (we’ve been bought and made free from the bondage of sin) through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins according to His unconditional forgiveness.” There is nothing that we can do to earn our way to Heaven and have eternal life. The Bible explains it this way, “By grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it’s God’s gift--it’s not from works, so that no one can boast about what he or she did to get into heaven.” As sinners we have to repent, which means we have to turn away from our sins and instead turn to Jesus. We must give up any sinful habits that we have. Now, the greatest news that we can learn from the Bible is that “if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our Heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness (or blamelessness), and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.” Salvation is the promise of eternal life and deliverance from the consequences of one’s actions or sins.
Becoming a follower of Christ has given me confidence and a sense of security like I’d never experienced before. I finally have someone in my life who I know will never leave me. With Jesus, I’ve been able to get through some very desperate situations. Becoming a Christian doesn’t come with the guarantee that I’ll never have problems. I’ve lived long enough to have gone through many rough times. But, I don’t have to worry about how things are going to turn out. As a child of God, I know He’s going to take care of me. I don’t feel like that young girl all alone in her room crying. Instead of falling asleep crying over a situation, I find myself sometimes falling asleep talking to God, my Father in heaven. Jesus’ love keeps me from being blown over the edge of that cliff I was clinging to. It may get a little gusty from time to time, but I know when all is said and done, that when I die, I’ll go to heaven.
Even though I’m a preacher’s wife, I’m not perfect. We are all sinners; you, me, everyone. No one is perfect nor has lived a perfect life. Even though I was young when I became a Christian, my childhood was not a picture-perfect one. If there’s anyone here who doesn’t understand everything I just said and wants to ask questions, feel free to contact me. I hope you all enjoy that same security and peace that I was able to find?
As I sat and listened to the sermons, I knew there was something better than what I had. I went to Sunday School and Sunday morning worship just about every Sunday. I loved going to church. It was a place where I felt loved and secure. The people there were different from what I experienced at home. These people were happy. As I got older, I began to understand why they were happy. They were Christians. Well, I decided I wanted to know what I needed to do to become a Christian. I listened to the pastor and to the evangelists who came. I was 11 years old when all alone in my bedroom, I knelt on my bed at the window sill and I prayed and asked God to be my Lord and Savior. At that time, I fully understood that Jesus is God’s Son; that He died on a cross for my sin; and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day after He died. It was just that simple.
I had learned that Jesus had to come to earth in the form of a baby, live a perfect life and die for the sins of all people. I learned that everyone has sinned and needs God’s forgiveness. The Bible tells us that we have “all sinned and come short of the God’s glory.” We must understand that God’s forgiveness is in Jesus only and nothing else; not by doing good things for others; not by getting baptized. The Bible says that “In Him [Jesus] we have redemption (we’ve been bought and made free from the bondage of sin) through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins according to His unconditional forgiveness.” There is nothing that we can do to earn our way to Heaven and have eternal life. The Bible explains it this way, “By grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it’s God’s gift--it’s not from works, so that no one can boast about what he or she did to get into heaven.” As sinners we have to repent, which means we have to turn away from our sins and instead turn to Jesus. We must give up any sinful habits that we have. Now, the greatest news that we can learn from the Bible is that “if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our Heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness (or blamelessness), and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.” Salvation is the promise of eternal life and deliverance from the consequences of one’s actions or sins.
Becoming a follower of Christ has given me confidence and a sense of security like I’d never experienced before. I finally have someone in my life who I know will never leave me. With Jesus, I’ve been able to get through some very desperate situations. Becoming a Christian doesn’t come with the guarantee that I’ll never have problems. I’ve lived long enough to have gone through many rough times. But, I don’t have to worry about how things are going to turn out. As a child of God, I know He’s going to take care of me. I don’t feel like that young girl all alone in her room crying. Instead of falling asleep crying over a situation, I find myself sometimes falling asleep talking to God, my Father in heaven. Jesus’ love keeps me from being blown over the edge of that cliff I was clinging to. It may get a little gusty from time to time, but I know when all is said and done, that when I die, I’ll go to heaven.
Even though I’m a preacher’s wife, I’m not perfect. We are all sinners; you, me, everyone. No one is perfect nor has lived a perfect life. Even though I was young when I became a Christian, my childhood was not a picture-perfect one. If there’s anyone here who doesn’t understand everything I just said and wants to ask questions, feel free to contact me. I hope you all enjoy that same security and peace that I was able to find?
