How I Met My Best Friend in the Whole Universe

Today, July 10, is the one-year anniversary of my baptism. I decided to share a picture and my testimony in honor of that special day.
This day is so special to me because of two reasons.
1. As you will see if you read my testimony, since I have grown up in the church, I can't point to a specific date that was when I accepted Christ. So I cling to the date of my baptism as a very important date in my spiritual life.
2. My baptism was my public confession of faith in Christ. Remembering my baptism reminds me that almost the whole church was witness to my confession (no wonder my heart was pounding in my ears!) and I can't (I won't) back down on my confession. Whenever I'm tempted to say that I'm not a Christian, I remember all those witnesses, and I won't back down.

That's me in the middle, Daddy on the left and our Pastor on the right.


Here is my testimony:

I was born and am being raised in a Christian home. From the time I was a baby, church has been a higher priority than anything else. I've gone to church every Sunday for as long as I can remember. Since 7th grade I have gone to Youth Group every Wednesday night.
I've kind of always thought of myself as a good kid. I don't remember much about my life before I became a Christian, but I can tell you that I was bossy and selfish, and reading the Bible was more of a chore that I skipped if I could.
I remember lying in bed around the age of six looking at the fire alarm. Because my thoughts tend to wander, I began to think about the house burning down, and then death, and then heaven and hell. And I knew right then and there that I did not want to go to hell. So I got out of bed and went to talk to my parents. I prayed that night, and I remember that over the next few weeks I excitedly told everyone that I was a Christian.
But a few years later, when I was about nine, I looked back over my life and felt like I didn't see any change. I began to doubt that I was really saved, so I prayed again to ask Jesus into my heart. But when I was eleven years old, I went through a similar process. I think this was when I realized that I needed to really repent of my sins and ask God to forgive me and come into my heart. But again, when I was thirteen, I struggled with doubts. This time I talked to my parents and the children's ministries director at church about my doubts. One big doubt I faced was that I felt like the sins I was struggling with were not going away, no matter how hard I tried. After praying and asking God to help me truly turn away from my sins, I decided I was really saved and it was time to get baptized. However, I was too afraid to talk in front of people, so I kept putting it off.
In March of 2016, when DodgerDog got baptized, I was hit with another wave of doubt. I talked to many people this time and listened to a sermon about the marks of a true Christian. I examined myself against scripture and discovered that even though I am far from perfect, I believed in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I decided that even if I was afraid, it was time to take what should have been my first step of obedience and get baptized.
So, on July 10, 2016, I got baptized. I am far from perfect. I still want to control things, I don't always trust God, I struggle with sin, and I don't always watch my tongue. On the positive side, I want to conquer sin, with God's help. When I sin, I repent of it as soon as the Holy Spirit convicts me of it. I treasure God's word and study it and memorize it. I can't say whether my prayer at age six was genuine or not, but I am sure of one thing now: I am a true follower of Christ. I believe the genuine confession of faith and repentance occurred sometime between the age of nine and eleven.
One of my favorite Bible verses is Romans 8:1 which says, "There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Emphasis added)


That is how I met my BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE...Jesus Christ. Meeting him has changed my life forever.

Have you met Jesus? If not, the gospel of John is a good place to start. Once you meet him, you will never be the same. If you have met him, maybe you could share your testimony (or a short version) in the comments below.

PRAISE BE TO GOD FOR HIS SALVATION!!!