Sunday morning, I shared with you a view of the last hours of Christ's life, as viewed by a Roman centurion (following Matthew 27). After witnessing the bizzarre events of the day - three hours of mid-day darkness, an earthquake, the veil in the temple ripped from top to bottom, tombs being opened - Matthew records the following:
Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping
guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things
that were happening, became very frightened and said,
"Truly this was the Son of God!"
So what did it take for you to be convinced? Even if you grew up in church with the Bible as a part of your everyday life, there had to be a point when you decided for yourself that Jesus really is who he claimed to be. What was it? Perhaps I should ask who it was that helped you to this place. I suspect some of you came to faith in Christ after overcoming one last obstacle, that one thing that was just hard to swallow. What was that obstacle, and how did you get past it.
Privileged to grow up in a Christian home where church attendance was a weekly event I became familiar with the teachings of the Bible about Jesus, sin, heaven and hell. Around the age of nine, the reality of my own sinfulness began to sink in as the Holy Spirit began to bring conviction to my life. About this time, I heard my father share a testimony in a church. He talked about knowing that when he died, he would go to heaven because of Jesus. At that moment, I realized that I did not know for sure I would go to heaven. That began to work on me. Not long after that, our family attended a Billy Graham Crusade service in Nashville, TN. As I listened to the message that night, I clearly understood that Jesus had died for me and my sin. The offer of salvation was made and I by faith received Jesus as my Savior that night. It has been so wonderful to live ever since with the blessed assurance of knowing that because of Jesus, I will go to heaven when I die. Levi Parish
ReplyDeleteI had grown up in the church and God was a part of our family life. I was 10 years old and we were having a Gospel Meeting with Jeff Walling preaching at the high school in Conroe, TX. He preached a lesson about being "cold", "hot", or "lukewarm" from Revelation 3 and he used chairs as visual aids. I remember realizing that I would be sitting in the "lukewarm" chair and I didn't want to stay there. I wanted to be baptized, feel confident of my salvation, and be in the "hot" chair. My dad was out-of-town and my mom had me talk to our preacher who decided that I knew what it meant to be baptized. I couldn't even wait for my dad to get home, I felt such an overwhelming need to be baptized. I have lived since then knowing that I am a Christian who is promised eternal life, growing in my spiritual walk through the years. Stephanie Holcomb
ReplyDeleteI did not grow up in a Christian home but I had a grandmother that took me to church every sunday. I was baptized as a teen but not sure that I really understood other than not wanting to go to Hell! It was not until having a second diagnosis of breast cancer that I started searching for the meaning of life. I just could not believe that you are born, live here on earth for a few years and that is all there is. I believe that God allowed the cancer so that I would get to the point where I would truly surrender to him. It was a sermon that Stan Williams preached also about the chairs, when I realized I had not really understood until then what it really meant to be baptized and I knew I wanted to be in the right chair and did not want to have any doubts so I was baptized that day. I am thankful for a grandmother that loved me enough to help lay the foundation that when I was ready I knew where to look. Lorrie Centeno
ReplyDeleteI grew up knowing of Christ through my grandmother, a dedicated and devote Christian who was always in her bible. Most of what I knew of Christ was superficial. Around 14 years old my grandmother decided she was not going to force my brother and I to go to church anymore. She said it wasn't enough for us to have her faith so the next time we’d step into church it would be because we wanted. She died about a year later. My search to really get to know Christ didn’t start until I was around 23 yrs. This was after surviving 9 months of chemotherapy, 6 weeks of radiation treatment, and a car crash that nearly killed ALL of my brother’s children, his wife and my self (an accident that was completely my fault). I was flirting with death, questioning why God still had me here. Truth be told, surviving the insanity of growing up in a household of drug abuse and alcohol addiction, I already felt I’d lived well beyond my years. So life being over for me, at that point, would have been a relief. However, praise God for his grace and mercy and giving me time to get my soul right. Overall, looking back on how God has completely transformed my parents has had the greatest impact on my life. I remember life before and NO HUMAN could be responsible for such a transformation. Then there was the self-destructive path that I was on. Looking back I can see God’s protective hand over me in ways I couldn’t explain. He answered prayers I hadn’t even prayed and transformed my heart in ways I couldn’t even imagine. So I’d have to say it wasn’t just one thing. It was remembering Christ’s constant deliverance throughout my life. The search began around 23 yrs. and I believe I finally got it at 31 yrs. lol.
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