Changed by Jesus: By worldly standards, I had it all...

Written by Jeremy Edgar | 03 August 2010

In the recent sermon Changed by Jesus, several testimonies were shared to help demonstrate how God truly does change people from the inside out. The following is one such testimony.

By worldly standards, I had it all: young, strong, good-looks, money, fast cars, girlfriends all the time. Life was good. I still felt like I needed more though, so I tried drugs at 17 and became hooked on hard dugs until age 27. I was the popular man and the life of the party, but my life was a train wreck. I was almost killed in many car accidents; I did a few break and enters; I once held a shotgun to guys head over a drug rip-off; I ended up in intensive care on a drug overdose. I was still cool to others but not to myself. I kept thinking, “Is this what life is all about…party and then die? There has to be more, but what?” I always wanted to know but I didn’t know how to find it. One day a Christian guy told me about heaven and hell and how to get saved. I said that because I was saved from death many times during my car accidents I didn’t need help. Then I started thinking about this placed called hell. What happens if he’s right and I’m wrong? I hate pain because I saw a lot of it in my lifetime. But the thought of eternal pain was terrifying. Plus this man told me that the God who created me loved me enough to die for me, which really struck a nerve. As I looked over my so called good life I realized that I wasn’t all I was cracked up to be. I felt empty, helpless, and hopeless. For once I knew I needed help. The guy had told me about John 3:16, and so one night I verbally asked Jesus to save me and show me a better way. It wasn’t just my lips moving, it was my heart talking. I had no problem seeing myself as a sinner – I could write a book about that. I asked God to somehow show me a way out. Nothing big happened at that moment but I felt and incredible feeling of peace. After that point, my life began to change. I cheated my whole life in school and never read a book, but now I found myself reading and studying the Bible for answers. I always thought Christians were losers, low life and weak-kneed people. Boy was I wrong. The world’s losers are God’s winners, and I am one of them. Now people laugh at me and say – he went religious, the poor guy. I look at them and say, poor lost souls. “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (Mark 8:36) I’m not “the man” – Jesus is: the true God-man who will eternally love a sinner like me.

Changed by Jesus: Divorce turned my world completely upside down...

Written by Jeremy Edgar | 03 August 2010

In the recent sermon Changed by Jesus, several testimonies were shared to help demonstrate how God truly does change people from the inside out. The following is one such testimony.

I’ve loved Jesus since I was just a little girl. I had the privilege of learning about him early on in life and having the assurance that He loved me.  Having grown up in the church, I attended many Christian programs and even Christian schools.  I was completely enveloped in a Christian environment and had a lot of teaching about Jesus as a child and young adult. Still, it wasn’t until my faith was truly tested that I came to know how much Jesus really meant to me. There is such a big difference in just knowing about Him and truly knowing Him. It’s unfortunate that it takes deep trials to open our eyes and hearts wide enough to experience his grace and mercy in a real way. When my marriage fell apart and divorce turned my world completely upside down, I found myself in the darkest, most lonely place I’ve ever experienced.  It was there in that pit of despair that Jesus lifted me out of the muck of depression and cradled me in his arms. He assured me that I was never alone and that he would always be there, even at a time when I felt so abandoned. Jesus has been my rock, my hope, my constant source of love and peace. He has guided me through painful experiences, difficult decisions and given me strength that on my own I would never possess. He is the head of my home, the caregiver to my children, the life partner I desire. How thankful I am that I can face an uncertain future with the certainty that He will travel the journey right along with me.

Changed by Jesus: I feared the loneliness I was sure was inevitable...

Written by Jeremy Edgar | 03 August 2010

In the recent sermon Changed by Jesus, several testimonies were shared to help demonstrate how God truly does change people from the inside out. The following is one such testimony.

I was 27 years old when I became a Christian in Scotland, which made me the only member of my family that was ‘born-again’. As a result, I attended church and bible studies alone as a new believer. Two years after meeting Jesus, my husband and I planned to immigrate to Canada. I confess that at first I was very afraid because we did not know a single person in Canada, and I feared the loneliness that I was sure was inevitable. In time, however, God revealed to me through His Word that I was part of a new family – the Church – and that I would not be alone. I was able to have the courage to leave my blood related family and friends to come to a country where I knew no one with only the God-given reassurance that I had family in Christ who would receive me in Canada. I became confident that I would meet like-minded people who loved the Lord as I did, and by God’s grace, I’m able to say that is exactly what happened. One of the greatest comforts and joys of being a Christian is belonging to the Family of God and enjoying the fellowship that comes with it.

Changed by Jesus: I suffered from severe, debilitating depression...

Written by Jeremy Edgar | 03 August 2010

I received the Lord as my Savior as a teenager but suffered from severe, debilitating depression most of my life. I despaired that depression wasn’t ‘taken away’ from me as a Christian, but now realize that it was according to Jesus’ purpose and work. As I was growing in my faith over the years, the depression has taught me humility, dependence on God, and compassion. The shame and suffering I endured was used for correction and guidance: an indication to change my approaches, relationships, and circumstances. In God’s timing, with many ‘co-incidences’, I believe the Lord guided my learning about different aspects of my physical, mental, and emotional health and then, through life-changing events (including being led to Bible Fellowship), he taught me a better understanding of His love and grace. God’s love and grace, more than anything, is what finally brought the spiritual freedom and depression-free life I am enjoying now. Praise His name! Psalm 40:2-3 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he has put a new song in my mouth, praise unto our God...