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Hi,
my name is Catherine and I was saved in 1986 at the age of
twenty-six. Although I had asked Jesus to come into my heart
several years earlier in a Bible camp, I later realized I did not
really understand what I was doing but was just afraid of go too
hell. I was raised in a Methodist church where I was taught that we
go to heaven by being baptized which was what I really believed
until a lady from a nearby independent Baptist church asked me if I
was really sure I was saved. I of course insisted that I was saved
because I clearly remembered asking Jesus to be my Savior as a
child. She challenged me as to why I was living the ways I did. See,
among other things, I was an alcoholic and a terrible mother. My
life was full of every kind of garbage and there was no peace and no
evidence of Christ in my life at all. In fact, I often felt empty
and lonely inside even though I had friends and an active social
life. I knew something was missing in my life, I just didn't know
what. I remember sitting on my porch wondering what in world I would
do if I did not drink all the time, I couldn't think of anything.
Finally, the lady said that if I was really saved, that I needed to
rededicate my life to Jesus and I agreed that it would be a good
thing. Inside, I was hoping that this would make the difference that
I needed in my life. I went to the church with her and talked to
some of the people who told me that I needed to be baptized to join
the church. They showed me that the Bible clearly teaches this, and
that being baptized has nothing to do with going to heaven. I all
became very clear to me that I had never really been saved at all.
They sowed me in God's Work that I was a sinner (which was easy to
believe) and that it was that sin which separated me from God. That
explained why I felt so empty inside like something was missing. The
Bible said that God could not allow any sin in Heaven because of His
holiness so if I wanted to be close to Him now and go to Heaven
someday, I had to get my sin taken care of; or I would end up in the
place where sin is allowed, hell. God's Word went on to say that the
price to pay for my sin was so high that there was nothing that I or
anyone else could do to pay the debt for my crimes against God. So,
God Himself became a man so He could pay the price for me. Jesus
took all my sin upon Himself and was nailed to a cross. He died to
pay for my debt of sin, then rose up from the dead to conquer death
for me. God's gift of salvation was free to me, though it cost Him
so much. All I needed to do was to tell God that I was sorry for my
sin, and ask Him to please forgive me. I needed Him to come into my
heart to be my Lord so that my life would be pleasing to Him. In my
heart I could feel God telling me that everything these people were
showing me was true. So I prayed, and Jesus really did come into my
heart just like He said He would. Soon after I was baptized into
that true church of God. My life has never been the same and I've
never regretted my decision. It was more than turning over a new
leaf. it was a new me. No wonder God says we're born again. Now, I'm
not empty or alone any more.
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