Please share your salvation story here in a few short paragraphs.
Jesus asks: "ARE YOU SAVED?" (Acts 16:30). "ARE YOU BORN AGAIN?" (John 3:3). "HAVE YOU REPENTED AND BELIEVED?" (Mark 16:16). "ARE YOU MAKING YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION CERTAIN?" (2 Peter 2:10). "ARE YOU ENDURING TO THE END?" (Matthew 10:22 & 24:13, Mark 13:13).
Jesus didn't say: "Do you attend church and for how long have you attended?" Attending church and being moral for a long time will no more make you a Christian than parking an 18-speed bicycle in a garage for a number of years will turn it into a Harley-Davidson.
Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship. So describe to me your present relationship with God!
(1) How did "saved" and "born again" occur in your life?
(2) What does "repentance" and "believing" mean to you?
(3) How is "making" and "enduring" evident in your daily walk?
(4) How do God and you interact every day?
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OK, Lisa, here's my story.
(1) SALVATION: I was 12 years old attending a Baptist church and the pastor gave a salvation invitation. The HS had been convicting me of my lost condition. So went forward and prayed the prayer of forgiveness and salvation, and was water baptized shortly after.
(2) REPENTANCE & BELIEVING: I believed I was saved, and confessed the same with my heart and mouth. I tried to live righteously in my daily actions, but my life was spiritually powerless. I had no assurance of salvation and feared dying. My family life was emotionally abusive and unfortunately the effects of it negatively overpowered my daily walk. Being taught only law instead of grace, I grew up to be a pharisee.
(3) MAKING & ENDURING: I lived in this miserable condition for 12 years until I was 24. Through my unsaved supervisor, the Lord brought me to Himself for a real live connection with Him. It could be termed a re-dedication. The Lord showed me I was stuck in verses 1-3 of Galatians 4. This event took me into verses 4-7. This was the time appointed of the Father when He gave me a true sense of adoption and dynamic connection with Him. Actually it was at this time that I was baptized in the HS, and I learned that Acts is more than a history book, but that it can be lived as surely as all the rest of God's "Living" Word. So I went from the one side of 2 Corinthians 3:3 to the other.
(4) RELATIONSHIP: It's been a slow climb out of the depths for me ever since, but always steady and upward. For some people deliverance may be faster and miraculous, but for me I've had to run a hard race and strive daily, comprised mostly of three steps forward and two steps backwards. I've learned through much trouble that I need to stay close to the Lord hourly. Every night and every day, I dwell on His lap, lean on His chest, and enjoy a close relationship. That is the only way to have a spiritual walk. Since I'm a pianist, I enjoy playing my love songs to Him and He sings His love songs over me (Zephaniah 3:17). Some day I hope to hear His actual melody and sing it back to Him.
Blessings, Dave
Adding my own two cents. Didn't have time when I saw your post the other day. Anyone else care to join us? Dave, what's your story?
1) In mom's bedrom at about 7 or 8 years old after reading info from the vaction Bible group I was participating in. Recomitted in the middle of a field at about 16. I sometimes use a deer stand near that spot. Can't say that I really lived my faith at all during the teen years despite recommitment. Didn't really have any one to guide me at the time made fun of those in youth groups. Lord started calling me to him in college via a comment from DR. Flesch in cell bio that "it's a small wonder anything works." Had one of those light bulb moments where I realized it worked because it was God controlled not evolution. I know this prof didn't agree with all of evolution and maybe none. Took a few more years for me to get it together. Spent the better part of a year reading the Bible for myself and going to church sometimes. Started truly following the Lord after joining the church I am now part of but new coming in that I was "born again."
2)Repentance litteral definition is a change of direction. That means I stop doing what I was doing and do a new thing. In some areas this is easy. In other areas it is a daily battle with many repeated repentances and still I do the wrong thing. I feel rather like Paul when he expresses in the passage in Romans that he continues to do what he does not want to do rather than doing what he knows he should not do and now wants to behave correctly. I think this is why we need the Lord to search our hearts and show us or wicked ways. We can't do it without His help. Some things won't stop until we get to the bottom of the problem.
It is easy to believe in Christ except maybe for an atheist. Many who are not christians and even the demons acknowledge that there is a God. The difference is believing that God is on my side, that He will help me ,provide for me, that I can go to Him with requests for assistance, knowledge, provision etc and that I need to follow His ways.
3) Making and Enduring evident in my daily walk? I think part of the enduring is hanging in there even when I doubt what the Lord is doing and would rather just throw in the towel and never follow Him again. It doesn't help that at a young age I was given the immpression that salvation would make everything better. Not! In fact sometimes it's harder. I am now commited to attempting to respond in a Godly manner when everything in me wants to throw a carnal fit. The problems don't vanish simply because I am walking with the Lord. New more complicated problems arise. Still I must endure the difficulties and daily make the choice to get up and do it the Lord's way. Choices to read the Bible, pray, worship, forgive and treat others with respect are all part of making my salvation evident in my walk. We both know I fail some part of that on a regular basis but I get up and try agian tomarrow.
4) How God and I interact may vary daily. I often wake up and begin praying for whatever situation or person is uppermost in my mind. These are often ongoing problems. I spend time with a devotional or reading the BIble at some point during the day assuming I haven't tied up my time or been utterly distracted. I continually battle to find ways to be sure I do spend time in the Word. Recently the Lord has been placing people on my heart who need prayer. I know this to be true because I have been blessed to have it confirmed through conversation with others or an email within days of the Lord bringing the individual to my attention. Sometimes I get brief "visions" of a coming problem. Ussually it is an accident of some type. This used to freak me out, I now know to pray about these things. The all time best way for me to feel the Lord's prescense and get an attitude adjustment for myself is to spend time in worship. For me this has to be an active time with the aid of a CD. I cannot just sit there, listen to music and connect to the Lord. My busy mind and hands will find too many other things that "need" to be dealt with. Soon I don't even know that the CD is playing or what the song is about.
Replies
(1) SALVATION: I was 12 years old attending a Baptist church and the pastor gave a salvation invitation. The HS had been convicting me of my lost condition. So went forward and prayed the prayer of forgiveness and salvation, and was water baptized shortly after.
(2) REPENTANCE & BELIEVING: I believed I was saved, and confessed the same with my heart and mouth. I tried to live righteously in my daily actions, but my life was spiritually powerless. I had no assurance of salvation and feared dying. My family life was emotionally abusive and unfortunately the effects of it negatively overpowered my daily walk. Being taught only law instead of grace, I grew up to be a pharisee.
(3) MAKING & ENDURING: I lived in this miserable condition for 12 years until I was 24. Through my unsaved supervisor, the Lord brought me to Himself for a real live connection with Him. It could be termed a re-dedication. The Lord showed me I was stuck in verses 1-3 of Galatians 4. This event took me into verses 4-7. This was the time appointed of the Father when He gave me a true sense of adoption and dynamic connection with Him. Actually it was at this time that I was baptized in the HS, and I learned that Acts is more than a history book, but that it can be lived as surely as all the rest of God's "Living" Word. So I went from the one side of 2 Corinthians 3:3 to the other.
(4) RELATIONSHIP: It's been a slow climb out of the depths for me ever since, but always steady and upward. For some people deliverance may be faster and miraculous, but for me I've had to run a hard race and strive daily, comprised mostly of three steps forward and two steps backwards. I've learned through much trouble that I need to stay close to the Lord hourly. Every night and every day, I dwell on His lap, lean on His chest, and enjoy a close relationship. That is the only way to have a spiritual walk. Since I'm a pianist, I enjoy playing my love songs to Him and He sings His love songs over me (Zephaniah 3:17). Some day I hope to hear His actual melody and sing it back to Him.
Blessings, Dave
1) In mom's bedrom at about 7 or 8 years old after reading info from the vaction Bible group I was participating in. Recomitted in the middle of a field at about 16. I sometimes use a deer stand near that spot. Can't say that I really lived my faith at all during the teen years despite recommitment. Didn't really have any one to guide me at the time made fun of those in youth groups. Lord started calling me to him in college via a comment from DR. Flesch in cell bio that "it's a small wonder anything works." Had one of those light bulb moments where I realized it worked because it was God controlled not evolution. I know this prof didn't agree with all of evolution and maybe none. Took a few more years for me to get it together. Spent the better part of a year reading the Bible for myself and going to church sometimes. Started truly following the Lord after joining the church I am now part of but new coming in that I was "born again."
2)Repentance litteral definition is a change of direction. That means I stop doing what I was doing and do a new thing. In some areas this is easy. In other areas it is a daily battle with many repeated repentances and still I do the wrong thing. I feel rather like Paul when he expresses in the passage in Romans that he continues to do what he does not want to do rather than doing what he knows he should not do and now wants to behave correctly. I think this is why we need the Lord to search our hearts and show us or wicked ways. We can't do it without His help. Some things won't stop until we get to the bottom of the problem.
It is easy to believe in Christ except maybe for an atheist. Many who are not christians and even the demons acknowledge that there is a God. The difference is believing that God is on my side, that He will help me ,provide for me, that I can go to Him with requests for assistance, knowledge, provision etc and that I need to follow His ways.
3) Making and Enduring evident in my daily walk? I think part of the enduring is hanging in there even when I doubt what the Lord is doing and would rather just throw in the towel and never follow Him again. It doesn't help that at a young age I was given the immpression that salvation would make everything better. Not! In fact sometimes it's harder. I am now commited to attempting to respond in a Godly manner when everything in me wants to throw a carnal fit. The problems don't vanish simply because I am walking with the Lord. New more complicated problems arise. Still I must endure the difficulties and daily make the choice to get up and do it the Lord's way. Choices to read the Bible, pray, worship, forgive and treat others with respect are all part of making my salvation evident in my walk. We both know I fail some part of that on a regular basis but I get up and try agian tomarrow.
4) How God and I interact may vary daily. I often wake up and begin praying for whatever situation or person is uppermost in my mind. These are often ongoing problems. I spend time with a devotional or reading the BIble at some point during the day assuming I haven't tied up my time or been utterly distracted. I continually battle to find ways to be sure I do spend time in the Word. Recently the Lord has been placing people on my heart who need prayer. I know this to be true because I have been blessed to have it confirmed through conversation with others or an email within days of the Lord bringing the individual to my attention. Sometimes I get brief "visions" of a coming problem. Ussually it is an accident of some type. This used to freak me out, I now know to pray about these things. The all time best way for me to feel the Lord's prescense and get an attitude adjustment for myself is to spend time in worship. For me this has to be an active time with the aid of a CD. I cannot just sit there, listen to music and connect to the Lord. My busy mind and hands will find too many other things that "need" to be dealt with. Soon I don't even know that the CD is playing or what the song is about.