My testimony
Before I came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I thought all churches were pretty much the same. Like Baptist and Catholics believed the same exact thing, they just had a different church they went too.
When I was 19 I was watching a movie on TV that had a group of nuns in it. I got to thinking how nice it must be to have a relationship with God and know he loves you and likes how you’re living. I found myself wishing I had a loving relationship with God where he liked how I lived.
At the time I was living next door to my uncle who happened to be a preacher. He and my dear aunt had witnessed to me in the past, taken me to church and told me how to get saved by receiving Jesus. So, having this feeling of wanted to get right with God, I said the sinners prayer and decided to be a Christian. The only Bible I had was one of those King James version of the New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs that they gave out to school kids back in the day…what they call a Gideon’s Bible.
I started reading this little Bible and watching preachers on TV. That’s when it happened, I saw a hell fire message that flat freaked me out… I tried reading the word, but then saw a verse about people who couldn’t be saved. For about 3 days I lived thinking I was just too horrible to even be saved. My husband came home from offshore and I told him to watch the baby I was walking next door to talk to my aunt and uncle.
I think I was already crying when they opened the door. I poured out my heart to them…telling them that I prayed the sinners prayer and I still wasn’t saved… and that I really did need to be saved. My sweet aunt Helen said, “Are you calling God a liar?” I said, “NO…I would never call God a Liar!” She said, “If you said the sinner’s prayer, you are saved”.
I must have floated home on a cloud of joy. My life was changed!
The whole Bible reading was going to be a thing with me…. so I figured I would need a full sized bible. I purchased my first bible for about 5 dollars new from a K-Mart or Woolco. It was burgundy with gold lettering on the front.
In 4 months time, I had read it so much that the spine broke, and I had to tape it together. I would read the word and God was showing what it meant… and the Holy Spirit was with me because what I was reading was made a part of my memory. I could find a verse in the bible by remembering the book, if it was on the left or right page, what column it was on and the general location of the verse.
There was no topic I loved to talk about more than Jesus. I would wear people out with it… and when I was talking about my Lord Jesus… I felt so excited and happy….I was high on Jesus… it was such a beautiful experience.
One day I was reading and the Lord showed me something that made me cry for Joy… it was about the feeling I felt when I talked with others about him.

These two followers of Jesus were walking and talking about everything that had just happened. They had spent their time following Jesus, watching him teach people, they saw him healing the sick, casting out demons, raise the dead….they had front row seats to the loving nature of Jesus. There was nothing in their life that could come close to the amazing journey with Jesus they had been on that ended with Jesus being crucified and laid in a tomb with a rock rolled in front of it. Then the 3rd day the tomb was found empty and Angels were there, asking why they were looking for the living among the dead. So these two men were walking along talking about everything in their sadness. I can not even come close to imagining the extreme high and low everything must have been… on one hand they were at the feet of the most loving human ever to have walked the earth… the purest soul in all creation and time… only to see him crucified in the most horrific way ever. Then… the empty tomb.

Luke 24: 13-32¹³ And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
¹⁴ And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
¹⁵ And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
¹⁶ But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
¹⁷ And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
¹⁸ And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
¹⁹ And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
²⁰ And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
²¹ But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
²² Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
²³ And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
²⁴ And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
²⁵ Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
²⁶ Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
²⁷ And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
²⁸ And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
²⁹ But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
³⁰ And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
³² And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

When I read this back in the times when I was first born again it was the Lord showing me that he was there and that was why I felt so much Joy.

Confirmation verse

Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

My walk with Jesus has been a rocky one…… I’ve backslidden and come back…and again… and again. But the word of the Lord…. always flowed up inside of me…. even in sin the Lord put me in remembrance of his word. Even in sin, I would talk to anyone about the Lord Jesus…I think at those times I was home sick because it would spark that first desire to know God was pleased with me….and that I had a relationship with him.

John 14:26, Jesus said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and will bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Roman 11:29 ²⁹ For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

God knows exactly how to deal with his children… he can see things others can’t…. like people probably looked at me as some weirdo when I would go off about not being required to forgive anyone unless they repented… but God saw his child who had been deeply wounded and needed healing.

Today, I celebrate the inexhaustible love and grace that God has given me because of Jesus. I’m so thankful to the Lord for his mercy….and for dying for me and rising again.