Testimony Time: How I Came To Christ

Hello there Chosen, so happy to have you with me.

I wonder if you’re thinking to yourself why I hadn’t written about this before. If I were you, I’d be thinking that exact thing. Actually, I asked myself why I didn’t. The idea to write my testimony only came to me about a week ago and I was excited about it but somehow didn’t quite get to it until now. However, I trust that it has happened in God’s perfect timing.

It took me quite a while to get here. And though I’m not quite a finished product, I’ve been through many iterations. Nonetheless, I can confidently say I am where God wants me to be at this point in my life. I can’t quite cover everything in this article since it has been literally every moment in my life that has culminated and led me to the present but I hope I cover a number of the significant areas.

As a child, I grew up with the knowledge of God, as with most children in Jamaica, thankfully.
However, my parents weren’t, and still aren’t Christians. They insisted, notwithstanding that I attended church growing up. As I can remember, maybe around the age of eight we got some new neighbours who got saved a little while after they moved next to us. By that time, our families became friends so we did lots of things together including going to church. Well, the church part was just me, and not so much my parents. Myself and those neighbours became well integrated in church life. This was a church of the Church of God denomination so I was used to a lot of ‘noise’ i.e. lots of singing, dancing, musical instruments, loud preaching and people getting into ‘spirit’. As a matter of fact, I eventually one day myself got into ‘spirit’ too, as this was normal for any member of the church including children. I wanted to get baptized, as did my neighbours but my mother didn’t quite allow it. Something about her being responsible for my sins until I became thirteen was the reason given for not allowing me to. Friends, I’ve yet to probe her about that or research it myself so don’t ask me about that yet lol.

By the time I became a teenager, my parents had separated and I was living elsewhere with my mother, and there was an upsurge of violence in the vicinity of the church so my church attendance dwindled until it became non-existent at that church. I remember I still had that want for the knowledge of God, so I signed up for a mailbox bible course where I completed written lessons and posted them to the host. As a matter of fact, I considered myself saved because I learnt that all I needed to do was believe God in my heart and confess my sins with my mouth and I would be saved, which I did…err…a number of times. Now I know some more, in addition to that. If you haven’t read my article entitled Responding to Your Calling: Discovering Your Purpose, please do right after you’re finished reading this one. I would go to church with new neighbours every now and again but nothing too serious because “mi saved aready”. Then high school came along and the usual teenage happenings, so I got quite distracted and wasn’t really focused on God, even though I still did acknowledge him.

So, lots and lots of ‘life’ happened and I became an adult. I eventually went to The Bahamas for two years for school and during that time I really got close to God again. Chosen, its noteworthy that whenever we don’t feel close to God it’s always on account of our doing or our inaction because the Bible tells us “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day and for ever” http://bit.ly/Hebrews13-8. I went through some trying times but with Jehovah Jireh, I made it through. I did feel like getting baptized then but felt more like I should wait, since I didn’t plan on making there my home. When I came back home, I realized that I left a life here and even though I resisted for a while eventually got back into that life. Without getting into too many details at this time; I partied occasionally, drank socially and oh, I had a boyfriend that I was eventually with for over a decade. So I wasn’t quite a saint but by worldly standards, I was quite fine. On the 2^nd of April 2016 at approximately 5:56AM, after coming from a party while travelling with two of my friends, the vehicle we were travelling in collided at an intersection with a taxi then overturned after hitting a curb. One of my friends hurt her eye, the other was physically uninjured for the most part, the taxi driver (only occupant of the other vehicle) was fine and I was unscathed. I was in disbelief that after all that had happened, there was only the mentioned injury. I knew undoubtedly that it was God. Nevertheless, I still didn’t get baptized. After all I wasn’t consistently going to any church and I did not want to use that experience to make a promise to God and not keep it. Then with introspection sometime after, I started going to a Brethren Church that one of my friends attend but I still felt as though something was lacking.

I eventually went back to my usual ways, although I didn’t attend any parties for quite some time.  With time passing, I got involved in things of the world more than before. Even though I knew that it was God who saved me, I was also thinking that I only have one life and I better enjoy it. When the year 2017 just began, a friend of mine invited me to church with him. I however declined for that occasion since I was becoming a regular at the church I was attending and I didn’t want to spend the first Sunday of the year at a different or new church. It happened that I eventually took up the invitation on August 6, 2017. The service was really good, I felt the presence of the Lord the strongest I had in a long while. Towards the end of the service, I decided that I would go to the altar for prayer, because prayer is always good, right? Yes, and God had other plans for me more than just prayer. Within a little while of worshipping and praising God, I started to stutter on my words. Then eventually I started uttering things I didn’t understand. When I finally opened my eyes, there was a host of persons around me encouraging me along. The Holy Spirit had come upon me. In hindsight, that was a refilling since my getting in Spirit days. I am so happy that he has never left me nor forsaken me. To God be the glory.

I was at that point, still hesitant to get baptized because I knew I would have to do an ‘about turn’ after all I was ‘living my best life’. So I continued along because I felt like I wasn’t ready to make any major change in my life, however not as comfortable as I was before. Friends, there was really a stirring up in my soul and I wanted more. The other church was just not doing it for me anymore so I stopped going. I started to go to this new church whenever my friend who had invited me would be able to take me. That wasn’t very often, as he had relocated to a community that wasn’t close to me.

I continued for quite some time trying to be as ‘normal’ as possible with these two forces pulling me in the opposite direction of each other. Chosen, when the Holy Spirit dwells within you, you cannot be living in sin and feel comfortable. My conviction would not allow me to be in peace. Towards the end of the year 2018 while reviewing and writing my goals, I wrote down getting baptized as one of my goals for 2019. I didn’t have a plan as to when exactly but I knew I needed to. The new year came, and I started to think about it much more, but I had questions. One Sunday, the feeling of needing to be baptized felt so overwhelming but that was one of the very few Sundays that there was no altar call and I was scared to take the first step forward in that big change. Then during the course of that week I spoke with two persons from the church, whom I was getting to know and they identified with my questions and encouraged me in my decision.  The next week I planned on going to a funeral, so I went but my desire to be baptized was so strong that when I got back in town after the funeral, I went to evening service then got baptized at the night of January 27, 2019 at Pentecostal Sanctuary (United Pentecostal Church).

Mighty God, you did it in me! I felt so relieved and so happy. I felt the burden I was carrying lifted. I thank God that he waited on me. Now friends, I still have questions but I trust God to reveal to me what he intends for me to know in his time. And I know it’s not all rainbows and chocolate from here. There will be storms at times before some rainbows come. And I don’t believe it’s once saved always saved, read John 15:6 here http://bit.ly/2VBWOeT. I didn’t share it with much persons at the time, not because I was ashamed or anything of the sort but because I wasn’t really a sharer with my personal life and also because in a way I wanted to bask in the feeling without much intrusion for a while. When I did share with a particular friend out of the need to explain why I wouldn’t be partaking in a certain activity, the response I got was something to the effect that that’s how all new Christians behave but they’ll give me some time. I just laughed, I know I’m not perfect but I’ve made up my mind for Christ and it is him that will keep me. And that goes for anyone who wants to try to use anything I did in my past against me. I have been forgiven and now free from condemnation. Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Since baptism, I have continued worshipping at Pentecostal Sanctuary and must say I have integrated well in church and I’m happy being a Christian. This is a better life and my best life (eternal life) is to come.

So there you have it friends, my coming to Christ. And that’s how I know I am Chosen.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions of this nature or you just need someone to pray with you.

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MeMe is a young Christian of the Pentecostal Apostolic denomination and is based in Kingston, Jamaica. Thoughts of a Chosen Generation will speak to young to middle age Christians, and aspiring Christians where they will get guidance for Christian living for the benefit of their spiritual and personal development. To learn more about Christianity, you may make contact using the below handle, leave a comment requesting that you be contacted or send a message using the contact form found under resources.                             

                                                               

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