My Dear Siestas,
There is simply no time on the annual calendar more precious and profound to us in Christendom than this. I was reflecting a moment ago how rarely we could land on a day or a weekend that most of us were having the same kinds of thoughts. Even Christmas has our attentions strewn among many things but Good Friday, for all of us who follow hard after Jesus Christ, only one.
I told the Lord a little while ago that I supposed, if we really fathomed the depth of Christ’s sufferings and the heights of our redemption because of it, we surely would not be able to lift our faces from the floor. The reality is, we can’t comprehend it. But we can well sit and reflect. We can well glance back over our pasts just long enough to realize afresh what God did for us on Good Friday so many years ago. We can well plead for Him to break through all of our distractions and self absorptions and make Jesus the dearer to us. We can well ask that we would allow our circumstances to make us the nearer to Him. We can well picture every challenge in our lives, every difficulty, every loss, every sickness, every sin, every defeat, and every heartbreak as the soil beneath Christ’s Cross, left beyond choice but to move that it might be planted in the depths with a victorious thud.
“And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He nevertheless made you alive with Him, having forgiven ALL your transgressions. He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. Disarming the rulers and authorities, He has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:13-15 NET
The power of the Cross has taken our disgrace and publically heaped it on our enemy.
I told Amanda yesterday that I could not think of a sweeter and more powerful way for us to observe Good Friday on this blog than to invite you to share your own story (in short form please) of your salvation. We have learned so much about one another through various journeys here but this will be the first time we’ve actually given our testimonies of salvation. When did you receive Christ as your personal Savior? How old were you and what were the circumstances leading up to your decision?
I cannot convey how much these testimonies will increase my appreciation of the power of the Cross this day. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!
Blessed Good Friday, my dear sisters.
Tags: Easter
Riding in a pickup on my way to a counseling session with husband #3, in the midst of an affair. Had been feeling God’s pull to repent (grew up in church, there every Sunday as an adult, thought I was saved as a teenager at youth group retreat) Bent my head to pray and on the radio was “Follow you Jesus”. He took my hand and led me up that hill and left it all there with him. I have never felt so loved in all my life! I finally surrendered, put my faith in HIM, repented and confessed. My husband has forgiven me, and I have seen the Mighty healing hand of God! Jesus sweet Jesus, my Savior and Lord!
I was saved when i was 13 at a friend’s funeral. She tragically died in a car crash on her way to school one morning with her grandmother. I often look back to that day and wonder how many students came to a saving faith in Christ that day as a result of her death. She did not die in vain! Praise the Lord for my salvation!!
wow- praise the Lord!
I have been in church all of my life and had lives a life of trying to do the things that I had been taught were the outwardly characteristic of a Christian. At 40 years old I laid aside all of the “works” and saw that I did not have a relationship with the Lord. On that day he revealed himself to me and I was gloriously saved. I have never been the same again. He dealt with me for many years and I tried to earn his love by doing thing. It was impossible. Now I do things for the Lord because he loves me and I want to please Him; I know that I will be going to heaven — before I did things to earn place in heaven and it doesn’t work that way. There is a lot of difference in the “do-betters” and salvation. I praise God that I know what salvation is! I just love Him soooo!
My Grandma led me to Christ, I was 5 years old, sitting on a blue bedspread in the room she made for me in her house. While my parents’ faith wavered over the years of my childhood, she remained faithful. She saw to it that I went to VBS, SS, and heard Bible stories. I am thankful for her influence, changed me forever.
My parents played a HUGE part in me becoming a Believer as a wee 5 year old. Because I was so young, my relationship with the Lord has seen many “graduations” (as I’m sure most could testify!) He went from being my Savior, to my Father (as a little girl it was hard for me to fathom Him being more loving than my sweet Daddy), to my Friend (when friends were slim-to-none in Middle School and most of High School), to my Love (when my heart was all but cremated 4 years ago.) Through each season He’s played many roles: Comforter, Protector, Provider, Director, Romancer… and honestly the greatest growth came after the broken heart when HE, in His love, pieced it back together again and began romancing me to no end!!! I’m such a stinkin’ sinner though! AGhh! And HATE having to ask Him to forgive me for the same junk over and over and over again! HATE. IT. I pray this weekend the reality of the Cross would be so fresh for us all. And that the sins which so easily entangle would break so that we may dance in awe of our Precious, Powerful, Gracious, Mighty, Redeeming SAVIOR! “Dance with me Oh Lover of my Soul, to the Song of all Songs…” =)
Blessings!
Lynsie, 25, single, MS
Hi Beth and Siestas!
What a great post- a wonderful way to commemorate this Good Friday. I was seven years old when I heard about the Lamb’s Book of Life during Vacation Bible School at my grandmother’s church. I came home with a deep conviction that I wanted my name in this Book, and my mom and grandmother prayed with me to receive Christ. I can’t say that I knew all the doctrines and whys and hows of salvation at the time, but I came to Christ with a childlike faith and He saved me at that moment. Incidentally, my grandmother who was so instrumental in my salvation and Christian growth is spending her first Easter in heaven this year and though I miss her dearly, I know I will see her for eternity someday.
Becky P, Charlotte NC
I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was 13. My grandmother passed away when I was 12 after a lengthy battle with cancer. In the midst of all this she was talking about being with the master and how happy she was to be going home. She suffered so much that this impacted me a great deal. I wish I had been baptized before she died but I didn’t. I know she is safe and well in heaven and I want to go there too.
I was about six or seven and I was in Sunday School when I accepted Christ. I didn’t fully get it at the time, but it’s the best choice I’ve made in my 25 soon to be 26 years of life. 🙂 On a side note, bethie I LOVED you on KLOVE yesterday 🙂
I was 12 years old when I called upon Jesus my Savior. I don’t think at that young of an an age you really understand fully what it means, but I know inside I knew I was differant from other kids and my friends in High school. Not until I got to my late teens did I fully understand all that Christ has done and would do in my life. I believe in the age of accountability where at some point in life God leads us to a fork in the road and that is where we choose which path we will take, I took the path of Christ and I am SOOOO thankful and grateful to the Lord that i did!! Thank you Jesus for your endless Love and your victory over the sting of death at the cross, I can only imagine what I’ll do in heaven when I see you! Praise and Glory to Christ forever!
Happy Resurrection Day everyone!
I had walked the isle and was baptized in a tiny country church, when I was a little girl….
Laying in a hospital bed, nine months pregnant. Thirty years old. They had tipped the bottom end of the bed up to stop the contractions. That was very needful at the time, you see my baby was sunny-side up and the cord was trying to come out first, cutting off oxygen and there was only a matter of 15 minutes to get her out or we both could have gone. I was looking up at the little plastic squares covering the light above my bed. I was scared… It had been years since I had talked to God, and the only prayer I knew was Psalm 23. I prayed that prayer and I’ve never been without Him since….
oh yes everything was fine and she was beautiful..(still is)..
I was 12 when I realized Jesus wasn’t a religion, but a personal God. Easter is my absolute favorite holiday, way more than Christmas, I never was able to say that honestly until a couple years ago, when Christmas didn’t hold the same meaning for me as Easter had. Where in the world would we be if Jesus didn’t become our sin and raise from the dead? I LOVE the song that goes, “death could not hold Him down, for He is risen….. seated upon the throne, He is the Lamb of God!!!!” Let us adore Him continually…:)
I had just turned 12 years old. I grew up in a very abusive alcoholic home. Though we had gone to church for a few years, it was far from your typical Christian home. I remember being afraid as a little kid, and riding my bike to get away from the danger in my house. I would ride to the church and have a sense of peace come over me. I knew at 8 years of age, that the message I heard at the church was where I would find true peace. Then I went to a Billy Graham movie called “The Restless Ones”. It was the teenagers purposeless life that got my atention. One ended up taking their own life because their life had no purpose. I had no driving purpose and lots of times hated my life. What was the purpose of living? I would wake up and then have to be on guard all day for safety sake. I wanted my safety in God’s hands. Being 12, there were a lot of questions I had nd no one to ask. So my relationship grew very slowly. It has been trial and error, with an emphasis on the error part. But, God never gave up on my stumbling around. He just continually put people in my life to guide me with love toward a much deeper relationship. My faith has evolved over 43 years. I am forever thankful to my God, that he can take a messed up, hurt little girl and show her the princess she is inside. His faithfulness has helped me believe God, not just believe in Him. Thanks Beth, you have played a huge part over the past 3 years for putting that faith development in fast forward!
Have a very blessed Easter, full of the Savior and loved ones!
Jan
Hello from Alaska!
I was saved at the age of 13, and raised in a Christian home. My mother always took me and my 5 brothers and sisters to church. Dad didn’t go, although he was saved. He said he didnt like the hypocrites there…they should “practice what they preach”..that might be true, “but we are ALL sinners in need of a saviour dad”! Being part of a church body is so very important, and in my growing up years, it was everything! Children need a good Christian influence, and “church”, happens to be the best place to meet other believers. I understand how my dad feels, but I also understand, that the Lord wants me to “forgive” and to “trust Him” for the outcome. The Lord has been truly EVERYTHING to me
I was 17 years old. A couple of classmates started talking to me about the Saving Grace of Jesus. I first laughed in their face. I was an unchurched sexually abused 17 year old who was angry at the world. At a music contest in a little school in Iowa that is no longer there I got down on my knees and gave my life to Christ. Since that time he has held me close even through some really dark nights. Praise be His Holy Name!!!
Almost 6 years ago, when I was 41, God lead my family to walk into a great Bible teaching church after a lifetime of attending a Church out of obligation. Faith comes from hearing the Word and that day I did!!! A couple of months later I was invited to Beth’s Breaking Free study and I can’t even begin to recount the ways that has changed my life. I now host Beth Moore studies in my home….we just finished our 7th together:) Grace beyond measure!! He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!!
I made my profession of faith on April 26, 1959 and was baptized on July 12th of the same year. If my memory is correct it was during a revival at my little Baptist church in Riesel, Tx. The deacons in our church wanted to baptize me in a creek, but at 7 yrs old, NO WAY was I going in that water that might have snakes in it!! (I wonder if that’s where my fear of water began?!) The baptistry in our church worked for me!! My Daddy was a deacon and my Mama was a church secretary for most of my teen years. We went to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night and any other time there was something going on!! I loved being there, although at the time I didn’t realize why!
There I was surrounded by friends that believed in Jesus and wanted to live for him.
As I’m growing older (not old yet), I realize I’ve been trying to control most aspects of my life. And thanks to Beth’s So Long Insecurities, I’m seeing a lot of my fears come to the surface and even seeing the need to do some rededicating of my life to our awesome Jesus. Especially this weekend, when I think of what He’s done for me, it’s time to do EVERYTHING for Him!
Easter blessings to all!
Bobbie
I was raised Catholic. So religion was always in my life I’ve always prayed. When I was 13 I ask Christ into my life with very little change. My 20’s were a mess of drugs and sex. The Lord brought into my life a beautiful Christian man, I still was a mess but healing. In my 30’s I did weigh down workshop and that was a huge change for me. I begin spending time with the Lord every morning. I then did an altar call at our Church and was baptized. I praise the Lord for his patience with me. my life could have been so much different.
I received Christ when I was between 8-10 years old at Vacation Bible School. I dont thing I really understood the gravity of what I was doing other than I loved the Lord so much and wanted to be with Him for eternity. About 14 months ago a rededicated my life to Him in asking Him to transform my life. I climbed on the altar and now wish to live my life only for Him and for His glory! He has not disappointed! It has been a year of up and downs but knowing that He is changing me both from the inside and the out.
Love you all so so much, and wish you all a blessed Easter!
April S.
Port Orchard, WA
At 14 I realized that He cared. At 25 I learned that He is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do…and now I’m learning to trust Him a little more every day, with the big things and the little things. We still have a long way to go, but, at least we’re walking it together!
Around the age of 12, I had those dreaded braces. At the end of one of my appointments my orthodontist asked if he could speak to me. He was concerned because he could tell I was grinding my teeth and felt I was stressed. I don’t remember what he said but he gave me a book titled “God is Love”. I wasn’t sure how to take it. I placed the book on a shelf. Fast forward three years, and many small things God continued to do to get my attention.
At the age of 15 I got very sick and we realized I had a Kidney Stone. I suffered for 10 days and was in the hospital. On the evening of the 10th day, I prayed and said, “God if you are real you will take this Kidney Stone away. If you do, I will believe in you.” I fell asleep, and the next morning went to use the bathroom. When I got up and looked down there was this huge spiky looking thing in the toilet. I called the nurse and she said, “You passed your stone.” I immediately remembered my pray. My family was not believers (still are not) and so I didn’t know where to turn. I looked for that book my orthodontist gave me everywhere and finally found it on top of a high shelf covered in dust. I cleaned it off and began reading it. At the same time God began bringing new friends into my life who happened to be Christians =). They started asking me to go to church.
On the weekend of my 16th birthday I began going. I went every Sunday evening for 3 months. I had so many questions, and I had friends who were supportive and patient through my seeking. It was a Friday evening as I was talking to one of these friends, that I shared I wanted to give my life to the Lord. She said I could do it right then, but I wanted to wait and publicly walk down the aisle on Sunday evening. On October 24, 1982, at Harvest Christian Fellowship, Pastor Raul Reese was guest speaking. I couldn’t wait for him to finish the message and give the invitation. As soon as he did I sprinted to the front and prayed for Christ to enter my heart and life.
I will never forget that evening. I will never forget my first Easter as I attended Sunrise Service. I finally understood exactly what Easter meant. God had taught me so much those first 6 months. I learned about forgiveness and that His sacrifice also allowed us to have a personal relationship with Him. His Word has been my treasured gift. I’m so grateful for His presence these last 28 years. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.
I pray that I celebrate not just once a year, but every day of my life!
Traci, 40’s, Married – Corona, CA
I woke up one night at the age of 4 and knew that I couldn’t go for another day without having Jesus in my heart so I asked him there. Fast forward through the years of knowing but not following, but at 18 I found myself alone and pregnant. I recommitted my life and decided to follow Him. A lot of life has happened since then, including a husband and 4 more children and at 30 I feel like following Jesus to the cross is a daily decision.
i ‘walked the aisle’ at age 8, but realized at the age of 16 that what i had done wasn’t really ‘real’. we were having a youth revival at our church and i realized i needed more than head knowledge, i needed faith. however, i still didn’t realize the significance of a personal relationship with Jesus until i was about 23. i pray that my children fully ‘get it’ now and that it doesn’t take them 23 years!
When I was 4 years old, I remember sitting in the little tiny Baptist church we attended at the time with an older lady and talking about Jesus. I told my mother that I had gotten saved, and I remember that her response was that she had wanted to do that with me. However, several years later, when I was maybe 8-10, my mother came into my bedroom and asked me if I remembered my salvation experience. I couldn’t remember the details other than sitting there with that lady, and she told me I needed to really think about if I had really asked Jesus into my heart. As soon as my mom left my room, I got down on my knees in my closet and wept, and absolutely made sure I had a personal relationship with my Jesus. I guess that’s the first time I ever cried because I loved Jesus so much. So, I don’t have a specific date for sure, which drives me crazy because I’m a big “date” person when it comes to special days; but regardless, I know my heart belongs to my Savior!
I accepted Christ as a very young child. However, during my HS years I caved to peer pressure and did not live for Him. It was half-way through my senior year in HS that I rededicated my life and have not looked back since then. I had the opportunity to attend a Christian college and for the first time every experience Christian friendships. My faith grew by leaps and bounds during this time of my life. And, I have been serving HIM every since, heart aches, losses, marriage, 3 beautiful children, leading Bible studies….I couldn’t do it without my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Lord!! HALLELUJAH Sunday is coming. Easter is my favorite holiday..there is nothing like waking up Sunday, after pondering his death at a Good Friday service and throughout the day on Saturday, and have your first thought be “HE IS RISEN!!”
I was 6 – it was April in Hobbs, New Mexico, 1977. I had wanted for weeks and weeks to go up front at the invitation. Being the independant gal I am – even back then – I didn’t tell my parents or anyone. One Sunday morning – I would be willing to bet “I surrender All” was the hymn. I made my decision and walked out from my place in the pew, out in the aisle, and then right up front to tell the pastor I was ready to invite Jesus in my heart. My family was shocked. My mom tells me I was shaking and 100% convinced! And I really was! After meeting with the pastor , I was baptized a few weeks later. That started my journey. Sadly – I was an immature Christian for the next 27 years – never quite moving forward. I thought it was all about me choosing Him and it was good enough. I found myself at Niagara Falls one April in my mid 30s. I was in the area on a business trip and wanted to see the falls. My life changed that day. I had been listening to Matthew West’s song “More” on the way down from Toronto. ((Know the one? All about God choosing me. Loving me more than the sun, than the stars, that I am made for him.)) Well – I was already tender to Him – but by the time I stood in front of the falls – seeing the incredible beauty before me – it was like my heart split wide open! He really loves me more than this? He made this for me? I felt God’s overwhelming power and love. I felt chosen. I felt loved. The feeling was similar to when I was 6 – but this time I realized that He chose Me! I felt like a princess. Like someone truly special and pursued! My life has never been the same. I used to think people were fruitcakes who said they were passionately in love with Christ. Now I can say with out any doubt that Jesus is the love of my life.
I just had the same experience just this past week at the Grand Canyon and Sedona…..I was struck by the beauty of it all and then he spoke to my heart and said “I made this for you to enjoy but you are my most beloved creation of all” to think that the same God that made all this created us….I stand in awe.
My husband and I were (without the other knowing) trying to figure out the finances of separating and divorcing. A co-worker invited us to church and then to a marriage retreat. Individually, we thought in our heads, “If I go to this church-based marriage retreat and then file for separation and divorce, then I can use the marriage retreat as a “Hey, I gave it MY best shot” excuse. Within a month, I got baptized, celebrated our anniversary the next day, and the day after that my DH got baptized. When we were going through the process of really knowing what brokenness meant, he had to come clean about his adultery. I need to confess how yucky and controlling I had been for the first 10 years of our marriage. Quite honestly, I probably would have had an affair on me if I could have worked that out. And now, God has put our marriage back together and we have been blessed with a healthy son. We are also blessed to be able to share our story with other couples who are struggling.
Peace,
Kim Feth
Apex, NC
I was raised in the church. So from as far back as my mind can reach- I knew God. I was baptized at the average age of 12. God became personal and Christ my true Savior, however, at the age of 24. My husband (my High School sweetheart and first love) left me for another woman. The affair had gone on for over a year. It was a horrible time. I blamed God more so than any of the true players in the game. I didn’t speak to Him for months. I turned to alcohol and men to prove myself attractive, exciting, and challenging. The more I drank and the more men that “dropped in” to my life- the worst I felt. My changing moment was this: unable to take it any longer, unable to take a deep breath any longer from the increasingly emptiness inside me- I prayed. First on my couch, still angry, but opening those lines again. I ended face down on my floor weeping as loudly as I’ve ever wept in my life- pleading and calling loudly for the emotional reprive that I knew only He could give me. And then, ya’ll, like a warm blanket, He covered me with what I know was His Holy Spirit. I took the deepest breath I’d taken in months and I felt peace and stillness inside. Jesus became my Savior that day. MY Savior. MY Redeemer. I returned to Church (the same one my husband & I had worshipped at)- not the easiest days- but my Savior was with me and in His goodness, 2 years later- He sent me a new man to love me, right through those same doors another had walked out.
Thank you Jesus for loving me like you do. Keep saving me.
I was raised Catholic and was continually asked to church by two guys i worked with during college. I did not think that it would be holy enough but I went anyway because truth be told I had a crush on one of them. We went to Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and Greg Laurie spoke of Heaven and hell as real places and of a Savior that I did not even know I could have a relationship with, even after 12 years of Catholic education and Mass every Sunday. Hearing those words 13 years ago radically changed my life and sent me on a journey that I am so blessed to be on!
I was 8 years old when God so powerfully revealed Himself to me that I could not resist walking to the altar of my home church. My father had abandoned my mom and I the year previous, but God revealed Himself as my Heavenly Father who would never leave me or forsake me……and He NEVER has. I realized though I was not at fault for my earthly father’s poor choices, I was sinful too and I needed a Savior. Now at the age of 55, a grammy for heaven’s sake. I look back over a life which has been transformed (and continues to be) from the inside out. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
My favorite topic to talk about – what Jesus has done for me! I was raised hearing about God in church, but no life or love was present in those words. With a past of sexual abuse and substance abuse as a young girl, I grew up heaping one mess on top of another. By the time I was 30 my train was off the track! At thirty years of age God met me with His powerful love that He has for me and saved my very soul! I am now free and more whole and healthier than I have ever been! The Resurrection of Christ was my resurrection as well! I have been a new creature in Christ for 10 1/2 glorious years! Praise His Holy Name – To this day, I am in awe of how He found me in the darkest, tightest pit one could possibly hide themselves in, and He drew me out and set my feet upon a Solid Rock!
I was baptized young but the pastor had larengitis the day I was supposed to talk to him so we didn’t get to talk before my baptism. Later at age 18 when I was reading a tract at the kitchen table is when I believe I was really saved. Sometime after that I had believer’s baptism.I don’t remember the date.
One day I was in the pews and felt a need to come forward. I was saved and felt no call on my life and didn’t go.It was a powerful call. I sometimes wonder if I was supposed to lead the way for someone who didn’t want to go down the aisle first. No one came forward that day.
I was raised in a loving Christian home, surrounded by parents, grandparents, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins who all love Jesus! What a priviledge! I vividly remember at the age of 5 kneeling by our living room couch with our preacher, Bro. Philly, and asking Jesus to come into my heart! I have struggled ALOT through the years wondering if that was real and did I understand at that age? I have come to realize that I did not understand all I needed to know at that age, but it was genuine and I believe that is when I was “saved”! I am in my 40’s now, and realizing more about God’s love for ME! I have twin daughters that are 10 years old and we study our Bibles together often! I love their love for Jesus! Beth, I met you and prayed with you in OKC at a Living Proof Live event a few years ago where I decided that day that “I know that I know that I am a daughter of the King and will live with Him in Heaven one day”. No more doubts for me! Just working every day to learn more and to raise my daughters in His love with confidence in their love for Him!
I grew up in a home where we didn’t go to church and I would ask why, because all of my friends went. I would get an answer where we didn’t have time. Mom worked nights and Dad worked days. Anyway I was 32 yrs. old,January 2006, when I fully accepted Jesus as my Savior. I had been going to the PH Church I attend now for little over a year, some friends invited me to go. I had been fighting against what the Lord was telling me, until one day my daughter and I were going to town and she asked me when was I going to quit drinking? That had the most powerful affect on me. God was telling me to give Him everything, which is hard to do. Since then I have not only quit drinking, I no longer smoke either. God took those things away from me. I couldn’t do that by myself. I praise Him everyday for all the blessings He given to my family and me.
I’m proof that miracles happen. I’ve seen it and I am living it.
Ipray God bless everyone in this wonderful group and their families during the Glorious Holiday.
Dawn
married
30’s
Mount Olive, NC
I grew up in the Mormon church. Something was always missing. My family had fallen out of attending Sunday morning service, and when I was 14 I asked if we could return because I felt like I needed something. We returned to the church, and I was taught about a vindictive God who looks for only those that are like Him in perfection to surround Himself with. It just didn’t fit somehow. A friend at school asked if her youth group could kidnap me to play volleyball one night, and I met a group of people who were sincere and happy and seemed to have what I felt I was missing. They told me that God loved me (without being perfect first) and I was sold. My family joined me at my friend’s church and a few months later I knew I had found what was missing…Jesus. I don’t know the day because for me it was more of a process than a one day revelation. Over several months, my mom, my dad, my sister, my uncle and my grandmother also met Christ. And my aunt returned to Jesus. I was baptized on the same day as my mom and dad. It was an exciting time, and we had a lot of great people around us that were having as much fun with it as my family was.
I was blessed (like so many other Siestas) to be raised in a loving, Christian family. I thought I’d probably been born in Sunday School! When I was about 13, I chose to go through confirmation class at our Presbyterian church in order to become a member. As part of the class exercises, we had to write out our testimony. I wrote that at a youth group retreat a few months earlier, I had accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. While I remember that time, what really began the journey of submitting to Christ’s Lordship in my life began on Palm Sunday that year (1985). As I stood in front of my church family to become a member and be baptized, I was convicted by the Spirit… He impressed upon me the need to start ACTING as if He was my Lord if I was going to stand in front of all those people and SAY that He was my Lord. I love Him so much more today than I did all those years ago, and ever so much more humbled by the depth of His love and sacrifice for me! Happy Easter, everyone!
January 10, 1997. Under arrest for my second (in three months) DUI offense in Mecklenberg County Jail in Charlotte, NC. Lying on a cot, under a blanket that was more holes than cover, my head on a pillow that was in fact a folded washcloth, this drug addict and alcoholic of nearly 25 years cried out to Him: “God, I cannot do this anymore. You have got to take this from me!” And I heard him say, “All you had to do was ask.” There’s been, since that day, no looking back. I’m still clean and sober because I am His.
Oh wow. Where to begin? I was saved when I was around 9 years old – I can’t remember the exact age – I had been in church ever since pre-school and I remember always listening intently to the sermons – I didn’t want to go to Children’s church because I actually understood/”got into” the adult messages and worship songs (at least that’s how I remember it! My parents may tell you differently?) It was very dear to my heart and I felt God tugging at me. The seed was being planted. I had a friend who invited me to her church on Wednesday nights to “AWANAS” (not even sure what that stands for?) but I remember being loved on as if I were the most special person in the room by those leaders who went through the books with me and helped me memorize Scripture. This was when I really started reading the Bible for myself that I began to really understand what it all meant/was about. I don’t know how long I waited and begged to be Baptized but it seemed like forever. It may have just been that the next church date to be baptized hadn’t come up yet, or my parents thought I wasn’t quite ready – I’m not sure either way. I had already asked Jesus into my heart. One day my oldest sister, who came to live with us/our dad because she was having some problems at home with her mom, came to me and told me she had decided to follow Christ (it was a divine appointment that she came to live with us because prior to this I am not sure if she had gone to church) and asked me if I wanted to be baptized at the same time as her because she thought it would be really special and knew I had wanted to be baptized but was also a little scared to go by myself. I just KNOW my face lit up that very moment! Looking back it’s crazy to think a 9 year old kid would get that excited about something. Looking back I know I understood it, by that reaction. To this day it is a very special memory between my sister and I because of all that our family has gone through (probably similar trials that every family goes through…) and our family has seen and is still seeing God’s redemptive work!
If I got into the rest of my testimony (life experiences, decisions, etc.), it would be so long, so I won’t say all the details but wish I could! I just know that when I was saved, the Holy Spirit came to live inside me. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized I am empowered because of the Spirit but only if I made the decision to let Him work on me to make me more like Him. He didn’t just come to save – not to put that lightly though, of course – We need saved from the enemy – but He came to heal and to transform so we could also be saved from ourselves. So, being saved started off as wanting to have a relationship with God and be with Him forever in heaven but it wasn’t until I got older that it is not just victory over literal death. When songs say, “Death has lost it’s sting,” I praise God that we get to live forever with Him! But then I remember, it is also victory here, today, in everyday small and large things here on Earth! I don’t even know if that makes sense? I think I am rambling and said the same thing twice. 🙂
Mom explained to ten-year-old-me that Jesus could live in my heart. I remember lying on the floor soon after that conversation. A sunbeam slanted across the floor, and the floating flecks of dust reminded me of Jesus. An inexpilcable but holy moment. I wanted Him in.
Beth,
I thank God for you & your ministry. God has brought me out of the pit, after losing my way.. Of course, God never lost track of me, as He has drawn me back to Himself.. I have grown so much in Christ, on this journey to recovery, physically & spiritually.. God is so awesome! Please pray for my family.. Many needs.. financially, physically, & especially spiritually. God knows our needs before we even ask.. and I thank you for prayer & for your contribution to my spiritual growth.. thanks so much for letting God use you in a mighty way. God bless you..
Barb
I was 6. My parents were at home one night praying with my 7yr old sister the prayer of salvation. I asked if they would pray with me that I wanted Jesus in my heart too. My parents thought I was too young and that I should wait until I was old enough to understand. Thank the Lord for this stubborn heart because there was no way this girl was going to wait another minute. I just marched myself upstairs to my room, kneeled beside my bed and prayed the best I knew how. I told Jesus I loved Him more than anything and that I wanted to serve Him with my life. I asked Him to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart. I was in love with Him and have been ever since.
Just telling this story brings me to tears! He is my life and His blessings are never ending!
Praise the Lord! Jesus is Risen!!!
Pam
Florida
I was 20 years old when I was delivered from a life of abuse and sin. Because of abandonment by my natural father, tragic death of my only brother and oldest sibling, and emotional and physical abuse by my step father, I was living a life of unimaginable sin. I was broken to say the least and every word (lie) that came out of my mouth and action that took place in my life reflected utter despair. I didn’t look like it though….I was taught that “it’s not how you feel, it’s how you look” so I looked pretty good. It was easier for me to lie than tell the truth, I smoked, drank, stole and had no address to call my own; I left home at 18 years old. I hated myself and made sure everyone who knew me did as well.
I tried to get better on my own and made some progress until one beautiful spring day 23 years ago, I looked in the sky and realized I had no hope without Jesus. I was laying on the floor in the living room, looking out a sliding glass window. Before I even realized what had happened, I was in the bathroom looking at myself in the mirror and a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WOMAN WAS LOOKING BACK AT ME. I felt as though I were weightless….oh the glory of God ran through my entire body and I have never, ever been the same!!! I have often wondered if the glowing and absolutely beautiful woman I saw in the mirror that day could have been a glimpse of how He sees me. Although there have been many struggles and much darkness since that precious moment, I have never been able to lie or steal again, I have never even tried. I don’t drink, smoke,or swear. No one who knows me now even believes I ever did any of those things. Because I knew nothing of the bible or the process of christianity, I was baptized 16 years later with my husband and 3 year old daughter watching. I tell people that now that I’m done with those immediate phsical and obvious sins, I am free to deal with ancient sin in my life and the LORD is changing my heritage. He surely has redeemed me from the pit and crowned me with love and compassion.
I was 41 years old when I finally went down on my knees and truly believed. I lived the better part of my life as a “surface” believer. I thought I was saved but always wondered why I had no desire to read the Bible or go to church. I would see people in church raise their hands during worship or be moved to tears over the Pastor’s message and I wondered how I could get myself to feel that way. I wanted to feel it so badly, but never did. God did not give up on me. He kept pursuing me and putting me with people and in situations that finally led my heart to truly believe. It was the most amazing moment. I finally “got” it.
My 1st name means resurrection and my middle name means Pesach (Pascale) so I really have not had a chance of escaping the salvation tot he uttermost!! I love and enjoy Easter more and more every year.
Voted “least likely”, I studied and read everything spiritual (including years of witchcraft), but never would I be a Christian nor would I be one of those people who went to church. Then I had a confrontational question posed to myself after reading a gift given, “My Utmost for His Highest” I realized that i like everthing that it said except the name Jesus. Considering myself “open minded” I set out to prove to myself that I am the woman I thought I was! The Lord can even use PRIDE and I am living proof of that. So I started watching someone on TV and was invited to say the sinners prayer and I performed what I thought would be the end of the experiment. I proved I could go to the inth degree, the ultimate. Jesus took it seriously and by the end of that year, I was at Times Sqaure Chruch, every time the door was open, including worship with the maintence team at 8am Monday thru Friday and could not get enough of the Bible and up at 4am every morning to pray. He produced joy in me that has never stopped and somedays, I can not stop my feet from dancing. I can’t begin to tell you what He has conquered in me, He is my MASTER and I am happily His slave. My salvation is nothing that I did, but all that He did on the that day from Gethsemene to Golgotha. PRAISE HIM 15 years later I am beside myself in love with the Author and Finisher of our faith!
My testimony isn’t memorable in the sense that I can recall an exact day, time, or place that I was saved…..I had been raised in a family with plenty of verbal, physical, and emotional abuse. We went to church occasionally, and I thought of God as someone who lived in the clouds and who would punish me if I were bad and reward me if were good (good ole’ performance-based religion.)
After growing up, marrying, and having two children, my husband left me for another woman. Then, after being single for some years, I met my now-husband who was a believer, but hadn’t been going to church. Our marriage was good in so many ways, but I really felt a huge lack spiritually, which was ironic since I didn’t really understand what that could even mean. I started having a deep longing for a church community. During this period, I had an hour in the car of commuting time each day, and I began listening to Christian radio, and also listening to Christian books on tape. I feel like God was wooing me to Him in the way that I would best respond. Isn’t that just like Him? I was finally able to convince my husband that we needed to find a church home. It has taken us a while to settle in the place where we feel God wants us to be. But it has been a glorious journey and every day I continue to be amazed by His great love and compassion. I am finally learning what a father should be, and I am grateful for God’s parenting.
If this is beth moore you are very good at preaching
This is truly beautiful to read. All these testimonies could be made into a book and it would sell!
My story is so similar to many of the others. I was raised in a Christian home. Made some kind of commitment in my early teen years. I had a hunger for the Lord, but also a hunger for the world…friends, acceptance, etc. I was very active in my youth group, but would “party”, on the light side, with my school friends. But, the summer before I went away to college, I fully gave my life to Christ….I knew I didn’t have an 11pm curfew to keep me out of trouble. I no longer had to answer to my parents…full independence was coming my way. SO ~ I told my best friend and future roommate (who wasn’t a Christian) I wasn’t going to drink or party anymore…I wasn’t going to “hook-up” with another guy until I met the guy I would marry. Christ became the LORD of my life that summer. As a bonus, my roommate accepted Christ a few months into the semester. And believe it or not, I met my future husband that 1st semester at school too. Precious memories, thank you Lord for loving me!
It was January 15, 1997 and I was 39. I had been going to church but was only enjoying the fellowship. In July 1996 a wonderful airforce couple moved into our area for a year and ‘happened’ upon our church. I joined a bible study with them in September and they prayed for me constantly; I like to say that they loved me into the Kingdom. They took me into their family and accepted me as I was. That Christmas I went to visit my family and while there I couldn’t get the words of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen out of head – except I had the wrong words. I would go for a 3 mile walk every day and the words that played over and over in my head were Christ died for us when we were gone astray to save us all from our sin, to the tune of GRYMG. I knew they weren’t the exact words but I couldn’t think of what they were supposed to be. I was there for over a week and every day it was the same thing. It was driving me CRAZY! On the last day i started to think that maybe God was speaking to me. (I’m a little slow to catch on!) When I returned home, I told Ann what happened. She asked me what I was going to do about it. I said, well I need to think about it. She smiled. Then a couple of weeks later I was out to dinner with her and she asked about it again. That night I prayed to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior. I really think it was their unconditional love and their constant prayers that melted my heart enough to hear God speak directly to me.
I was a 27-year-old pastor’s wife and young mom of two little boys aged 4 and 1 when I was saved. You see, I was a “card-toting, rule-following, oldest daughter of a U.S. Marine, always GOOD girl!” I walked an aisle as a 9 year old girl and filled out a little membership card, but I never met Jesus – never confessed my sins or asked Him into my heart – I don’t even remember doing anything except filling out that little card! Everyone said I had “joined the church.” But nothing changed, I was still just a little “goody goody girl.” (For fear of my father – not Jesus!)
It wasn’t until I began dating and eventually marrying a precious man of God that I realized my lostness. (Church folks really like for their pastor’s wives to attend church, and boy was I ever under the Word on a regular basis – at least 3 times a week!) As the Holy Spirit of God began drawing me to Himself, I was filled with pride and “stuffed it,” for many months for fear of what the church members would say if they found out I was a phony!
But hallelujah one glorious Sunday morning (July 7, 1985) I could stuff it no longer. I knew I was lost and God was dealing with my heart so strongly that I left the choir loft, came down to the front and told the Pastor that I had never been saved. He was so startled (remember, I was an AGG – always good girl) that he asked me to have a seat on the front pew and “fill out a card.” I actually told him that filling out that card was what had gotten me off to the wrong start all those years ago, and that I knew exactly what I needed to do! I fell to my knees at the altar and asked the Lord Jesus to save my soul and forgive me for all my sins – and for thinking that my goodness and good deeds would get me to heaven one day! He saved me and I’ll tell you this – I have NEVER gotten over it. My joy is complete in Him!
There were lots of surprised church members, none more so than my own husband (the worship pastor), but I praise God that He kept wooing my heart to Him in spite of my pride. Twelve days after I was saved, my precious sister Jean, two years younger than me, was killed in a car accident. It was and still remains the tragedy of our lives. In fact, as my Mom and I were walking this morning, we cried together as we realized that this July 19 will be 25 years since Jean died. She lived on this earth for as long as she’s been gone…she was 25 years old when she died.
Because I was so close to God at the time of her death, He used me to minister to my parents and two younger sisters like no other time. And because of HIS GLORIOUS RESURRECTION, I know I shall see Jean again one day…
Thank you sweet Beth for this precious opportunity to share my salvation experience. I never weary of doing so.
I love you,
Jan
I wish I remembered the exact date/year. I wish my mom did too! But more than that, I know that I know that God moved in my heart as a 6 or 7 year old kid in my living room on the couch. I remember worrying that I would get in trouble for getting up after bed time to talk to mom about it, but knowing that I needed to…that I had to. So I did…and did not get in trouble, but rather got the ultimate healing!
I became saved at the age of 38 years (I am now 42). Since I developed a close, intimate relationship with Jesus, my life has been changed 100%!!!
I live my life for Him now.
Your wonderful books have helped me so much, Beth! God bless you 🙂