Testimony Tuesday

I believe it was Ligon Duncan who, at the Together for the Gospel conference, said that one of the great benefits of sharing and reading testimonies is that they testify to the fact that, although there is only one way to God, there are many ways to Jesus Christ. No man can come to God unless He comes through Jesus Christ. Yet there are as many ways of coming to Christ as there are followers of Christ. Every Christian is drawn to Christ in a unique way and it is amazing to read these testimonies of God’s grace.

I find it impossible to write out my testimony without using it as an opportunity to glorify God. When I reflect on who I am and how He saved me, what can I do but praise Him? And as I read these testimonies (complete disclosure: I was not able to read all of them in full, but did at least skim them all to ensure none of them was a testimony of a conversion to Islam or anything), I was moved again, sometimes to tears, but always to praise God.

So here they are, in no particular order. I’d encourage you to read at least a couple. Pick randomly so the first two don’t get read while all the others are ignored. Pick a couple, read them, and praise God for His grace.

If you would like to post your testimony to your blog, do so and send me the link and I’ll be sure to add it to this page.

Wyeth W. Duncan - “My story is a testimony to God’s sovereignty over unbelief and nominal Christianity—and the sexual sin, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, and misguided plan to have me “sent away”, that were the result of that unbelief—in order that I would not only stay with my natural family, but be placed in a home where I had the opportunity to come into a true knowledge of Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. To God be all the glory.”

Lisa Nunley - “Even though my husband and I had determined that divorce would never be an option, we were fast approaching that end. Our marriage vows had sounded very poetic at the alter, but I found these promises impossible to keep in light of my husband’s medical school schedule and caring for two small children mostly by myself.” (Lisa’s abortion testimony is here)

KC Armstrong - “And with that, I realized that God was sovereign Lord over all things – including my life. He used the power of His word to confront me with my own sinfulness, present me with His Holiness, and a proposition coupled with a promise: return to Him and He would return to me.”

Mike Walters - “As I consider what God has done in my life so far, I am amazed, humbled and grateful. I am truly an example of God’s grace. I was not looking for Him. I did not even realize I needed Him. I was successful and happy. But, I thank God that He put someone in my life that showed me the true nature of sin and grace. I give Him all the glory.”

Reid Monaghan - “I felt more alone than I ever had, and then God spoke to me and comforted me with the fact that I wasn’t alone at all; Jesus was with me and had not left me and never would: God spoke into my soul what I later found out accords with Hebrews 13:5—God has said “Never will I leave you never will I forsake you” I knew that I wanted to stop playing around, give the whole game to Jesus, my lord and God. I began to learn the Scriptures and how to follow him.”

Blake Law - “As with many believers, I do not know precisely when the Lord truly said to me in my blood, “Live!” I was on a slippery slope as a young boy—not because of any outward sinful patterns–I was kind of a choir boy, and actually sang in the North Carolina Boy’s Choir. I did go to public schools and constantly got myself sent out of class and to the principal’s because of acting up in class and seeking the attention of the other kids through humor and cheekiness. Those were the actions of an insecure boy, but not one who was given completely over to revelry and delight in sin.”

John K - “I can still remember the phone call. The woman on the other end of the line said they were opening a new church in our neighbourhood (St Albert, Alberta) and would I be interested in receiving some information? For some reason, without really thinking, I said, “OK.”“

Craig - (Audio testimony in MP3 format).

John Bogdanowicz - “Under Christ’s drawing power, I left Mormonism with my wife and 3 children about 6 years ago, (praise God) when I for the first time in my life, heard the Gospel preached to me faithfully by our current Pastor. All of my life throughout my youth was spent completely lost, I didn’t care much about any kind of religion what so ever, but the Bible was always treated like some kind of mystical item that by just having one on the shelf somewhere in your house would get you into heaven by osmosis or something.”

Terri Scroggin - “At that moment, everything changed. I felt a pain in my heart that I will never forget and I asked Jesus to forgive me for not seeing HIM. I hadn’t seen Him. I had prayed to God, talked to God, wondered why God hated me so much. It was Jesus I needed! The scales came off of my eyes and I could see the truth.”

Martin Briseno - “On July 3rd, I was at it again. That morning I scanned a small Federal Bank with every intention of robbing it. As I drove by, I had the radio on while letting the cocaine build up my courage, and deciding how to execute my plan. Hitting the scanner button to switch stations, I heard one of those ‘so-called’ preachers talking about a ‘new life’ through Jesus Christ. Knowing what I had always said to God and thought of him in the past, I had no intentions of listening to that stuff. I reached for the button, but was stopped short when he said, “This message is for you!” Hesitating, I found myself drawn to his words, and I listened to the remainder of the message without even knowing why.”

Kimsch - “When I was 16 years old I had a dream that everyone I knew and everyone I loved worshiped the devil. I tried and tried to get them back in my dream, but they wouldn’t come. I woke terrified, my heart racing.”

David McKay - “In answer to my question Why do we have Christmas?, my mother told me about Jesus coming into the world for our salvation, and by God’s grace, on Christmas Day, 1957 I was born again. Raised in a Baptist Church, I was baptised by immersion on 13th February, 1966.”

Randy Hurst - “Through the rather diverse ministry (missionary to the Indians, Mormons, and the itinerant construction crews of the Southwest) of Rev. Wilder at First Baptist Church of Page Arizona, one by one, we each prayed a sincere prayer for Jesus to become our Lord and Savior. I would later realize that this was a second adoption for me, into an eternal family.”

Alex Leung - “I grew up in a Christian family in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario (Canada) where my parents brought me and my sister to the Chinese Alliance church they attended. However, my parents neither forced me to go to church nor pushed me to believe, but rather put me in a spiritually nurturing environment where I began playing with other children my age and slowly became more and more interested in the God who created the universe.”

David - “My testimony is no doubt much like many others, but very unlike most that are shared publicly. I cannot point to a moment in time at which I was saved. All I can say is, “Whereas I was blind, now I see.” Due largely to the confused theology that I was raised on, I cannot say when that was.”

Ellen - “I accepted Christ (was spiritually born) in the summer of 1963 at Hume Lake Christian Camp. I was a reluctant, stubborn, proud, follower of Jesus for many years. Similar to the birth process, I was comfortable in the womb (when God was calling me), but at birth when I had to get up and walk down an aisle and be singled out I howled like a baby. (Why do they say down the aisle instead of up the aisle?) I thank God He didn’t throw me back!”

Tom Bryant - “I made the mandantory decision without ever really know what I meant. I knew it was something that was expected of me, but it was like making sure my shoes were shined before going to church. By the time I was in 5th grade, I was an expert at being 2 different people. One at church and the other in school and in my neighborhood.”

Jenn - “As a child, I grew up in church, attending Sunday school every week with my family and afterwards sitting in the church pews in the back, talking with friends, ignoring service. I joined church around the age of 12. I remember my uncle asking me if I felt different afterwards and I replied, No. I didn’t. To me, all I’d done was sign up for baptism and become an official church member. I had no idea of the implications behind what I was doing. I didn’t find that out until I was about 21.”

Donette - “God blessed me with a special gift from the moment I was born – believing parents. I can never fully know what life would have looked like without them, but I can imagine, and when I do, I am instantly humbled and grateful for that gift.”

candyinsierras - “When I was a young girl, I liked to sleep under the stars in the backyard. My two brothers, sister and I would pile a bunch of blankets between a large canvas tarp and they would be asleep long before I was even tired. I spent a good part of the night gazing at the stars watching for satellites, and wondering about God and the Universe.”

Connie - “By my senior year in high school I had managed to “keep my nose clean” and my reputation unblemished in the eyes of my parents and most adults. However, my friends and classmates knew me for what I was. I had systematically climbed the social ladder and left many wounded “friends” in my wake. I was primarily interested in having a good time, attaining popularity at almost any cost, and being wherever the action/party was.”

Jody - “My testimony is so simple. I was born into a family where my parents loved Jesus. So had their parents. And their parents. And the parents before them, who upon receiving Him sold their whiskey distillery and moved to the farm to raise their children to love Jesus. So when I was five years old, my father came to tuck me in at night and asked me what I knew about Jesus.”

Jim Swindle - “I was raised in the church, the son of a pastor, but that certainly didn’t make me a Christian. God doesn’t have grandchildren. I grew up knowing that the Lord existed, that he is good, that Jesus died and rose again. When I was about 12 I officially joined the church and was baptized, but I was not willing to let the Lord control my life completely, even for awhile.”

Violet - “Turning my back on the beliefs and lifestyle I had been immersed in since childhood was not something that happened overnight. In fact I can’t isolate an event or moment when it began. It was, instead, a gradual slide from obedience and faith to compromise and then skepticism as I needed to rationalize my actions and did that by poking holes in what I had always believed.”

Kevin - “There were many times, as I neared adolescence, that I began to find myself restless (and this was more than just that “phase in life” all Jr. High-aged boys go through). So it was, in the summer of 1972, at Twin Lakes Bible Camp in northern Iowa, that the building conviction and guilt met its match.”

Brian - I have been a Christian for as long as I can remember. I had pretty much been taught the things of God from birth, really. I was (am) blessed to have two parents who love the Lord and cared enough to be involved with my Christian development at almost every step of the way. I have no specific year and date and time in my past that I can point to and say, “Yep. It was then! That’s when the lightning bolt struck and at that moment I got saved!”

12:30 PM Update

Marc Backes - “In the last three years, God has transformed us. He has brought people into our lives that have taught us so much about Him, how to love people, and how to love each other. He’s set me across from pastors of churches who have asked me how to reach their community. He’s given me the opportunity to develop dear relationships with people all around the country and to share in the victories as they share the love of Jesus with lost people in their cities.”

Kim - “At the age of 6, I was baptized. I do not believe that I was faithful at that point, nor did I have a clear understanding of my sin and God’s grace. I believe now looking back, God was drawing me to Himself and my faith and love for Him was growing.”

Dave - “I grew up in a Christian family and have always known about Jesus and his death and resurrection. However during my teenage years I spent most of my waking hours (+ countless dreams!) pursuing the idol of soccer.”

David Zavadil - “When I was in High School, I began meeting people that talked about church, faith and God. Much of what I saw had little effect upon me. I figured, these people were going to the same parties and getting into the same trouble I was so why bother. It was not until I arrived at college that I began to see something different.”

5:00 PM Update

Kim - “I was born into a Christian home, both my parents went to church and took us to church every Sunday. Went to a Christian school where we learned Bible verses and stories every day along with our ABCs. I don’t remember much about the questions I asked or anything, but I prayed to receive Christ as my Savior in kindergarten and was baptized later that year.”

tcblack - “The critical turning point came as I looked out at the world through the window in our apartment and my wife challenged my rotten attitude that day by asking me in a very exasperated tone, ‘what’s the matter with you.’ Turning around I spoke words that I did not intend to speak, and I still believe to this very day that God’s Merciful Holy Spirit put the words that I spoke into my mouth.”

Rosesandtea - “I was raised in a home where my mother professed Christianity, but my father did not. My maternal grandmother was a Christian too, and I remember when staying at her house being taken to Vacation Bible School in the summer.”

Noel - “When I hit High School, I began to build a destructive world-view without even realizing it. I had one set of Christian friends at my church. With them, I attended retreats, listened to Christian music, served at the church, etc. I had another set of friends from school and with them I developed patterns of sin and behavior that were contrary to my faith.”

Tim - “It was as if I was standing before a just judge, heading off to prison with a fine that was unpayable. I was guilty, and heading off to prison. Yet a complete stranger walked in the back and paid the fine for me. Justice was served, and I was free to go. All I needed to do at that point was to take the payment.”

Shel - “I have always felt that my testimony isn’t interesting enough to share. It is not a spectacular tale of radically changed heart. I believe now, that every testimony has merit, and that God works in each person. The blessing that I received from a godly heritage is as wonderful as the blessing a reformed crack abuser reaps.”

Final Update:

Steve - “Unlike many testimonies that I’ve read today at Challies.com, I did not grow up in a Christian home or church. Oh, we had religion, but we didn’t have Christ. I would join my older sister and brother in attending Mass each Sunday with Dad; Mom never attended. Interestingly enough, something about that place captured my interest; I soon became an altar boy, assisted the priests with the Mass and various other duties around the church, and frequently imagined becoming a priest one day. But long before I knew, God was working out a different plan.”

Nikki - “I was blessed with two very wise and godly parents. I grew up learning about Jesus. We’ve been going to church for as long as I remember, and I’ve always been taught about its importance in my life.”

Sam - “I was raised in a loving, Christian home, went to one of the most wonderful churches on earth, etc., but it didn’t make any difference to me. From the beginning I was a rebel. I am still remembered by relatives and my parent’s friends as never sitting through an entire dinner without being spanked several times and then being sent to my room (I didn’t eat Thanksgiving dinner until I was seven).”

Rebekah - “By God’s grace, I was 5 years old when He granted me the faith to ask my parents some questions and to pray to receive Jesus as my savior. I don’t remember a whole lot about that time, but I do remember that my parents wisely prayed with me and then waited and trusted for God to continue to lead in my life.”