My testimony is probably a bit different than most, if not all of you.
As a child, I was sent to church by my parents to the local Baptist church. When I was about 10 years old my Dad began listening to Herbert W. Armstrong on the radio. He did not know at first that there was a church associated with this ministry. A few years later he found there was and eventually we ended up going to the Worldwide Church of God. Along about that time my Mom and Dad separated, at the direction of the church because they had both been previously married and their mates were still living. The church told them they were still bound to their first mates.
Over the years I stayed in the Worldwide Church of God, actually for about 30 years. This church was a Sabbath keeping church that adhered to the Old Covenant and kept the Jewish Holy Days (Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day). We kept these days as the church required strict obedience and observance. We were required to set aside two and three tithes (third tithes were only required on the third and sixth years of a seven year cycle).
I was baptized in that church when I was 20 years old. I was committed to obeying God but I did not really come to know Jesus until the church had a major doctrinal change in the mid 1990s. The church began to say that the 10 commandments were not in effect and we did not have to keep the Sabbath any longer, but they also came to see that we had totally ignored Jesus, except for two times a year, at Passover (picturing his sacrifice for us so we can have salvation) and then on the Feast of Trumpets (pictures his return) and the Feast of Tabernacles (pictures his rule on this earth for 1,000 years) the rest of the year we only talked about God and not Jesus.
It was wonderful to finally be able to worship our Savior. It was wonderful to finally realize that we could be assured of our salvation because of what Jesus did for us. We always new it was his sacrifice that saves us but we focused on our efforts so much that we did not feel, and were not told that we could be assured of our salvation. When the church changed, Gary and I were so encouraged that we had come to see that we no longer had to live under guilt and condemnation ( Romans 8:1-2).
After being part of a church that qualified as a cult and then the church changing to accept the new covenant and focus on Jesus I felt the freedom much like the first century Christians who had come to see Jesus a their savior. During the last 10 years I have visited many churches in the Tampa Bay area.
My husband and I have come to see that God has had us on a journey. We have seen a lot. We have visited and attended for a while the Assembly of God churches in the area and enjoyed that denomination a lot. We also attended the Church of God churches in the area and enjoyed them as well.
Through the years I have been very involved in prayer ministries such as LivePrayer, CTN Prayerline, and Somebody Cares Tampa Bay Prayer Coordinator for Raise the Roof. Through the journey that the Lord has had me on, He has shown me that the most important thing is that I learn to trust Him and to obey His instruction. As He leads me, my desire is to follow wherever He leads.
I think it is interesting that the 10 years that the Lord had us "church hopping" we learned a lot. We learned what it is to worship God. We learned what it is like to worship God in Spirit and in truth. We have found that a lot of churches are really good at worshiping God. We have learned about following the Holy Spirit and experienced drawing closer to God more than we ever knew was possible. He truly has had us on a journey.
Currently I am studying and being trained for the Stephens Ministry at the church I am attending with my daughter (Gary is limited to his church attendance due to his 24/7 care for his Mother). The Stephen's Ministry training is right up my alley. It is about being there for those who are hurting and sharing with them the love of Jesus Christ and letting them know how much Jesus cares. That is something I truly know and have lived during the last 50 years (yep I am that old)
We know that Christians are those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We are not denominationally oriented. We are Biblically oriented.
Jesus is #1 to me. He is my Savior. He is all I need. My life is complete because He is always with me. What a joy He has added to my life.
God is good all the time; all the time God is good!
Thank you Jesus!!!
