Your Testimony?

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Jul 9, 2014
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#1
What is your testimony, is a lot of time a question we get asked in how we meet Christ. I just curious have you ever just grown up knowing God existed, and certain circumstances just lead you to believe. How do you know if you truly saved, if so does life change once you know you are truly saved? I really don't have a a testimony per say. Did you write your testimony, or did you just let God speak through you?
 
U

Ugly

Guest
#2
I was raised being taught God existed.
I was saved at 14 and looking back I realize how much changed after that, but I wasn't getting reinforced or taught well afterwards.
When I finally did get teaching it was bad teaching. And by then much of the change had gone away from lack of teaching and support.
Years later I was making such ungodly decisions i reconsidered my spiritual life and decided to start over. I realized much of my walk was based on upholding my Christian image and less on trying to live it.
I wasn't rebelling against God so much as I was wanting to see if I still believed as a Christian, or at all.
I attempted to start as an atheist and see where I ended up believing was truth. My atheism was extremely short lived as I'd seen too much to think "something" beyond us didn't exist.
It took a few years but I eventually came to the conclusion the God of the bible was the source of truth.
 
R

renewed_hope

Guest
#3
I have been saved for about 23 years now and to be honest my testimony is something that is continually being written. Trials and tribulation come that may try to make us question it, but it either makes our faith stronger or fall apart, it's our choice. People may share a piece of their testimony, but it's never the full piece of the puzzle 😊
 

student

Senior Member
Jul 20, 2010
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#4
I was raised in the church. I grew up in the church when I switched churches. The Holy Spirit is often the greatest part of my testimony. He moves in the most beautiful ways. Like Psalm 91 when my son was at war in IRaq. I started to think, "What if..." in that what if he doesn't make it home. I couldn't finish the thought, the Holy spirit was so powerful. His entire unit came home. Another time, a friend in hospice, the Holy SPirit shooed me out the door to see him on a saturday. ( I was thinking of waiting until Sunday...due to church was in the same town. I went and then it snowed...a blizzard...no movement for two days....Tuesday morning he died. Safe and sound in the Father's arms now. Be baptized with water, then be baptized with the Holy SPirit. YOu'll understand..God will run to you. -student
 

EmilyFoster

Well-known member
Jul 10, 2018
1,352
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#5
I was born and raised in another faith. I married a Christian and started attending church on and off for a few years. But it was in the year 2008 that God spoke to me in a personal and powerful way and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Since then I have felt His love and grace upon me and my family. And, there is no turning back.
 

KALYNA18

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2016
1,664
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#6
I a while back was posting on here as jkalyna, lost password or something. I posted my tesimory, and am not ashamed of what the hands of God have done. My new now testimoney is short, not a lot of damages, but a lot of blessings. One thing I've learned in the christian's life is to have a prayer life. To read and know what the word says, and not what another's point of views are, and opinions. This could be very damaging to put another before Christ. WE are not to have idols. There is so much talk about church church church, but you leave the church and never hear the name of Jesus mentioned, or the scriptures read, only mentioned in the songs. Water slides will have one on the floor, dabbling in a little of the purity of God's living waters, instead of being as the scriopture s say, deep calleth unto deep. The bible verse that says, "depart from me for I never knew you." To me this means, you don't know who God really is, as we cannot come to the Father unless through his Son, Jesus Christ. To grow, into him, takes maturity, as the word says, we come to him as babies, desiring the milk, but yet some never grow up to feed on the meat of the Word. To me growing up is maturing bearing fruits, which are on the vine of Love, for God is Love, it says, I am the vine you are the branches. Maturing is watching your mouth, knowing the Word, and what it says, to not just be HEARERS OF THE WORD, but doers. of It. Yes, many are called but few are chosen, This is right from the bible. It's not about Church, it's about Jesus, it's not about being friendly it's about being loving, and loving unconditionally. Some don't like to hear the truth. Will share more another time.
 

KALYNA18

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2016
1,664
359
83
#7
What is your testimony, is a lot of time a question we get asked in how we meet Christ. I just curious have you ever just grown up knowing God existed, and certain circumstances just lead you to believe. How do you know if you truly saved, if so does life change once you know you are truly saved? I really don't have a a testimony per say. Did you write your testimony, or did you just let God speak through you?
Thank you for sharing this. WE encourage one another, we are to build up one another. Let the first wash the feet of the least one of these.
 

student

Senior Member
Jul 20, 2010
1,031
154
63
#8
What is your testimony, is a lot of time a question we get asked in how we meet Christ. I just curious have you ever just grown up knowing God existed, and certain circumstances just lead you to believe. How do you know if you truly saved, if so does life change once you know you are truly saved? I really don't have a a testimony per say. Did you write your testimony, or did you just let God speak through you?
I just realized all your questions may not have been answered.
Have I grown up knowing God existed? Yes. I was raised in a small town but I grew up elsewhere. I grew up In Christ. I'm still growing, learning, trying to help as best I can those who don't know the love of Jesus. Many people don't KNOW Jesus. They know OF Jesus. I try to be the heart for those who are alone. It's rewarding at the very least and beneficial to me at the great end of the spectrum. I NEED it so I give it.
The circum stances that led me to believe...Fear. Suicide attempts. Voices in the dark...and light not God's. Going to church was the most beneficial. I was on a website for addiction. I quit drinking with the help of God. In those 'rooms'...I learned...one thing. Find a seat one week and then the next week...find that seat again and again and again. Call it your own if you like but don't be dismayed another takes your seat...be thankful they're there and find another seat. KEep coming.
I have rarely attended a meeting for addictions. I rarely miss a Sunday meeting.
How do I know I am truly saved...I gave my heart to Jesus. That sounds surreal. It is in a way. God is so good. He gave us Jesus. Jesus gave us Himself to save us from a fate worse than any other. He gives me daily a sign that He is here. Finding my lost car keys in a pile of paperwork or my cat coming home after a long prayer or the inclination I need a new - well, different car only weeks before the tranny went out (I ignored that heeding because I didn't think I could afford a different car) , my child returening from an Army mission. All ways He presents His presence to me.
How do I know I"m truly saved...I die daily ..accept Jesus in my heart daily and lean not on my own understanding.
Did I write my testimony? I physically write. At times...God offers the words. Not knowing if they're benefical to someone else...they do indeed fit the moment. I am sometimes amazed...at what I thought I did..and suddenly realize it was all His work through me.
LIke this...I was reviewing the post and realized I missed it.

I hope this answers your questions better. Be blessed in your day. Jesus loves you. -student
 

student

Senior Member
Jul 20, 2010
1,031
154
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#9
The best moments of Christ in my life are waking up and the first thing on my mind...is to say "Hello Jesus". That realization that He is right here always and He isn't going to leave. Trust me, I've been a stubborn runaway of Christ...asking HIm to please go away...because I failed so badly in my estimation. He who began a good work in you WILL continue...those are my favorite words.
Choosing Jesus daily...it's the best medicine...money can't buy it, stuff won't replace it...people can't eradicate it or orchestrate it. It's something you must do for yourself. Love -student
 

Jimbone

Senior Member
Aug 22, 2014
2,694
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#11
I was not raised in the church at all, and in sin I loved the idea of no accountability in an indifferent universe. Of course I didn't think that way about it, or think at all really, always to busy being "entertained". I was blessed with a very radical, overnight, road to Damascus kind of rebirth trough the toughest struggle of my life, so far. I had long ago left behind the real craziness, as far as drug dealing, big money, clubs, doing what ever drug is available goes, and with the same girl from high school I really wanted to do the "right" things. My wife was saved shortly after our first son was born, and also when God started the softening of my heart. After a bit of time I even went up front and repeated "the prayer", was even dunked underwater for good measure, but did not know Him. I would like to add at this point that I do believe God was drawing me in at this point, I believe that He had a purpose for that misunderstanding inside me, but I do not believe I was saved at all. There was no change in me, not in what I did, how I thought, how I reacted, or my general interest in God's word to us.

Anyway time goes on and everything is going good, well subjectively anyway, in truth I was enslaved to a pain pill addiction, as was my wife, and honestly growing further from God in general. It got to the point I wanted to do something about the addiction, but knew "I" was powerless on my own. I ended up going to the methadone clinic for help, and honestly it worked. I got on schedule, I got on budget, and by worldly standards was doing well. I remember one day as I was leaving work I was thinking to myself "I'm 31, I just paid off all the credit cards, have money in the bank, am leaving my awesome job to hop on my motorcycle, with my long Viking braid hanging down my back, going home to the mother of my two children, who I've been with since high school, and is making my favorite dinner, and those 2 awesome sons. I got life whooped, look at all "I'VE" done." Man wasn't I impressed with myself? I woke up 19 days later in the hospital wondering what happen.

It turns out an SUV didn't see me and was trying to "shoot the gap", but misjudged. I don't remember the accident at all, but I must have seen it coming because I left about 30 feet of rubber trying to stop, but ended up hitting it so hard it flipped it, lol the SUV flipped, and I flopped. I broke both wrist, 3 ribs, punctured a lung, fractured my right scapula (the shoulder blade aka the hardest bone in the human body, that's right I go big or home), but the worst damage was nerve damage. When I pretty much shoulder blocked the SUV over, my head and shoulder were separated so far that it pulled my Brachial Plexus (the nerve that controls the upper and lower arm and the hand) out of the spine roots and all. So it left me with a flail arm, or an arm that has no function or feeling, or has no actual feeling, but I find the same principle of phantom pain comes into play because it feels like it is literally burning, while being crushed in a vice, in waves, and all the time. This was my right arm too by the way, and I was of course right handed.

This stared a downward spiral that completely crushed me, my arm couldn't be fixed, I wasn't going to get any kind of compensation or settlements, no outs at all, my arm hurt all the time, and even worse I didn't want to be on pain pills again at all, besides they didn't even work anyway the pain wasn't actual "pain" in the same sense. All these things consumed me to the point I just wanted to die, I wanted to kill myself so bad and it shot through my head every five minutes of every day for two solid years, I could not help it and I could not stop it, even worse I had an easy out, I had an arm I could not feel at all, and I knew I could slit my wrist without even having to feel the bite of the blade. I had a checklist I would go through, it went like this, "my wife can find someone to love and take care of her no problem, my job can replace me, my dad will get over it eventually, but I would get to my boys and I knew that no one could love them, or would be willing to go as far for them as I would, that and I just couldn't leave them with, my dad killed himself", so I was stuck.

On 9-29-13 this all came to a head. I was in my room at home alone, I was never alone, but was then. At this point if I had ever believed in God, I didn't now. I was at a place where nothing could help my situation. At this time modern medicine and science couldn't fit my problem, God couldn't, or ant least wasn't fixing my problem, my family, therapy, work, drugs,, none of it could help me. The worst part, and the hardest thing to face was that I had no power at all, in any way, to fix my own problem, I was powerless. When I hit my knees I did not call out to God or Jesus, in my mind I thought I already knew what all that was, I tried it and found it lacking, so I was not seeking that at this time. I hit my knees in crushed and utter defeat. I was crying out, but not Jesus name, I was crying out "I can't do this anymore, I can't do this anymore, I can't do this anymore. World I tried, you win, I can't do this and I QUIT!!!!!!!," That was it, I picked my blubbering, broken, failure of a self up and went to bed.

I want to emphasize again that I to that point had suicidal thoughts at least once every five minutes for 2 solid years nonstop. Anyway I got up that morning and went to work as always, it wasn't until lunch that it hit me, and when it did it was like getting hit with a pallet of bricks, like an atomic bomb in my head I realized "I haven't thought about killing myself all day"!!!!! I was floored, and at that moment I KNEW two things, first was that whatever happened it was from God, and two was the Jesus was His Son. Of course this lead me strait to His word and for the first time I started reading the bible. I read and read for a bit, but He lead me and after a short time I was just like "I think I was born again", I was in shock. I had to drag my jaw around for a couple months completely awestruck "it's real". That day when I got home I was different, two quick examples before I wrap it up in thanks and praise to Jesus. I have love video games since I was a small child, and carried that all the way through to my adult life. I never let it get out of control or anything, but did spend a lot on it, and did sacrifice a lot of time to it, anyway I never looked at it at a problem or something I needed to work on, it was just my downtime hobby. Well that day I got home and turned on the 360 and all I could think of is "I wonder what my boys are doing, man there is probably something better I can feed my mind than GTA5, man I'm in my room playing games, my oldest is in his playing games, my youngest is in his room watching TV or playing games, and my wife is on the couch reading, there's got to be a better use of my time. I shut it off and 5 years later it's still off.

Second and last example is the same day with porn. Again I never struggled with these things, there was just nothing at all wrong with them in my mind. (video game I still don't see as "wrong", just not beneficial for me)
I pulled up some porn first chance I got, as per usual, and all I can think about is "I wonder what lead this woman to do this for a living? Then I wonder what she tells little Johnny in the future when him and tom are online and mommy pops up on the screen? Then the real clincher was I wonder what her father thinks about seeing his baby girl doing this?" that was it, God changed my heart, rewrote my priorities, open my eyes to see things in truth, and I could no longer get pleasure from so much potential pain.

I like to share these changes to testify that God changed me, I was reconciled to God through Jesus, and my spirit was made alive, I was indwelt by His Spirit and made whole as I was created to be, and praise our God for loving us first to make a way to redeem His creation and change the very hearts of men to seek righteousness. Amazing Grace.
 
Feb 28, 2016
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#12
just WOW, Jim!
thanks so much for such a personal/powerful share and witness -
GBY and yours sweetheart -
how great and precious our Holy Saviour is...

and how wonderful it is to be shown by our Saviour when we are
fooled by the world into believing lies and deceits and
false conversion...

Praise God for His un-imaginable, Loving gifts...
 

dpdaniel

Junior Member
Jun 30, 2013
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#13
I am 55 yrs old now. Saved at the age of 15 my testimony is - Saved by Grace, Kept by Grace & Living by Grace a life for my Masters glory thanking my Savior and redeemer Lord Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit.