What God Has Done in My Life

When I was about 13 or 14 years old, I visited a youth group meeting at a local church. The man leading the youth group asked the question "If you were to die tonight, do you know for sure that you would go to heaven?" He explained that our sin has separated us from God. There is punishment for our sin which is eternal separation from God in hell. The penalty had to be paid. Because God loved us but cannot tolerate our sin He sent His son Jesus to come to this earth and live a sinless life. Jesus was crucified on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. All we need to do is cry out to God that we are a sinner and we want to change and accept the gift that He has given to us, that we want Jesus to be our Savior and Lord of our life. I prayed that night.

I accepted Christ as my Savior that night but I didn't really give my life over to Him. I didn't understand what it meant to live for the Lord and at that point, I just wanted to have my fun as a teenager. My life was so fun, I became more depressed than I already was and ended up trying to take my own life. Thanks be to God, I failed.

That was approximately 23 years ago. In the years between, I got married to a man who was also saved but also not living for the Lord. We had 2 beautiful daughters. We had marriage problems due mainly to our own selfishness. I yelled at my children probably on a daily basis. I just felt a nagging sense that there had to be more to this life, I often wondered if it was God. Many times, I thought about going to church but I thought that I needed to get my act together first.

In June of 2000, we started going to church and it changed our family forever. My husband and I re-dedicated ourselves to the Lord and in fact got down on our knees and wept over our sin and all the years that we had wasted. We got baptized by immersion in August of 2000. I could barely speak in giving my testimony. All I knew was that I felt like I was finally home, like this is what I had been searching for all of those years. I began to realize that being a Christian was more than staying out of hell. It was living a life pleasing to God. It means reading and studying the Bible and doing what it says. It means spending time in prayer each day with a heavenly father who loves you like no earthly father ever could. It means following in the footsteps of Jesus. We will never live a perfect sinless life on this earth but we are called to grow more Christlike.

Within the year following, both of our daughters got saved and they were baptized in November 2001. I have seen them grow to have a heart for the Lord and what He wants for their lives. I didn't see big changes immediately. I started homeschooling my younger daughter when she was starting 6th grade, which was 2 years ago. Then my older daughter wanted to try it out last year. They are both still at home. Wow, what an amazing difference I have seen in them since leaving public school. They have grown tremendously in their faith. They have time to do devotions. They are working out of Christian textbooks, which teach so much more than academics. They hear Christian radio being at home. We get to talk so much more about what is going on in their lives. It has been an overwhelming blessing to spend this much time with them, especially since our oldest daughter is finishing high school next year. The time passes so quickly! There are days when I think, "You can't be grown already, I still have so much to teach you!".

God has changed me from mean, self-centered, resentful and selfish into a kinder, giving, loving forgiving person. He has made life worth living. My marriage is better and I am a better mother. Being a Christian doesn't mean life is perfect with no problems. I know that when problems come, God is there and He is in control.

I have grown to love the Lord with all my heart. I want to become more Christlike with each passing day. God is so amazing, the way He continues to grow us and change us. He doesn't give up, He just keeps teaching us the same lesson over again until we finally get it.

What about you? Do you know for sure that you are going to heaven? Do you feel like there is a hole in your heart that nothing seems to be able to fill? You can know for sure that you are going to heaven and God is the only one who can fill that hole in your heart.

If you would like to accept Christ as your personal Savior:
Admit to God that you are a sinner in need of a Savior.
Tell Him that you want to accept Christ as your Savior, that you believe that Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin.
Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life, tell Him that you have made a mess of your life and that you want to surrender it to Him.

If you prayed that prayer, the next thing that you need to do is get a Bible and start reading in the New Testament. Find a church in your area that preaches the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. Ask God, He will lead you. If you prayed this prayer, please leave a note on the guestbook below.