You have an interesting and compelling testimony. I’m surprised I got all the way to the end without significant drifting of my mind due to my severe attention deficit disorder.
The most significant issue I wanted to comment on is the one of having a specific date for being saved. I do not have such a date and yet I have no doubt that I am in the family of God. But I do believe it is helpful, if not absolutely necessary, to have some general time in your mind where you believe there was an initial life-changing connection with God. For me, I believe it was approximately at the age of nine when I suddenly went from having zero interest in reading the Bible to having an overwhelming desire to spend hours at a time reading it. It did not seem at all like a decision that I made. That strong desire eventually diminished, but I believe to this day that it was that time when God made a permanent connection with me.
This is one of the things that makes me more likely to believe that it is God who initiates the relationship with Him. Because although I believe I have also chosen Him, I do not have a strong memory of when I first made that choice.
As for baptism, I believe the first reason for doing it is because the Bible says we should. But I also think that the church does not emphasize enough that the ideal time for baptism is at the time we are first aware that we belong to God. This is also biblical.
I don’t believe there is anything mystical or magical in baptism. I think it is primarily a humble acknowledgment before God and man and ourselves that we have made a permanent decision to be a part of the family of God.
I value the idea of baptism by immersion simply because it is the most humbling means of baptism. This is helpful for cementing in the mind of each individual that “You are not your own, you were bought with a price.“
Holding onto pride is the worst sin because by it we are essentially declaring that we are God.
And yes, I agree with what you saidhere!! -- "The most significant issue I wanted to comment on is the one of having a specific date for being saved. I do not have such a date and yet I have no doubt that I am in the family of God."
That was the super frustrating thing for me?!?! I was bearing fruit and feeling absolutely guilt for any sins I committed and I desired to be with God in holy communion?! And yet I felt constantly judged and almost driven away because of the impossible standard of a single point/date.
I'm not sure I've come across anyone who had the same issues as me (between the miracle and the unyielding church standard that led to persecution), so I can only say that it was God's will.
He took an insecure, small little boy, who was regularly bullied, and He made me into whatever I am now. (Hopefully a warrior for Christ.)
I will not doubt His plans and I will do my best to serve His Kingdom with every ounce of my power from here on out.
Again, thanks for taking the time to listen and especially to leave such a moving comment, which reinforces for me that if you don't have an exact moment, don't let that stop you.
We can move closer and closer to God, we can seek Him in whatever ways we can, and the process can be a series of steps (in my opinion), though I'll submit this is rare.
Ultimately, it's about a faith in our Lord Jesus, a turning away from sin, and a desire to be in His Presence and serve Him. (And as a footnote, I'll add that I ended up doing a full immersion baptism when I restarted my faith after about a year of growing closer to Him. In my mind, I simply had erred far too distant from His presence, and like the prodigal son, I wanted to show the world that I was fully committing to the Savior that I had abandoned as an adult -- and partly due to bad teaching, which I'll do a future podcast on.)
You have an interesting and compelling testimony. I’m surprised I got all the way to the end without significant drifting of my mind due to my severe attention deficit disorder.
The most significant issue I wanted to comment on is the one of having a specific date for being saved. I do not have such a date and yet I have no doubt that I am in the family of God. But I do believe it is helpful, if not absolutely necessary, to have some general time in your mind where you believe there was an initial life-changing connection with God. For me, I believe it was approximately at the age of nine when I suddenly went from having zero interest in reading the Bible to having an overwhelming desire to spend hours at a time reading it. It did not seem at all like a decision that I made. That strong desire eventually diminished, but I believe to this day that it was that time when God made a permanent connection with me.
This is one of the things that makes me more likely to believe that it is God who initiates the relationship with Him. Because although I believe I have also chosen Him, I do not have a strong memory of when I first made that choice.
As for baptism, I believe the first reason for doing it is because the Bible says we should. But I also think that the church does not emphasize enough that the ideal time for baptism is at the time we are first aware that we belong to God. This is also biblical.
I don’t believe there is anything mystical or magical in baptism. I think it is primarily a humble acknowledgment before God and man and ourselves that we have made a permanent decision to be a part of the family of God.
I value the idea of baptism by immersion simply because it is the most humbling means of baptism. This is helpful for cementing in the mind of each individual that “You are not your own, you were bought with a price.“
Holding onto pride is the worst sin because by it we are essentially declaring that we are God.
Hi Bob! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
And yes, I agree with what you saidhere!! -- "The most significant issue I wanted to comment on is the one of having a specific date for being saved. I do not have such a date and yet I have no doubt that I am in the family of God."
That was the super frustrating thing for me?!?! I was bearing fruit and feeling absolutely guilt for any sins I committed and I desired to be with God in holy communion?! And yet I felt constantly judged and almost driven away because of the impossible standard of a single point/date.
I'm not sure I've come across anyone who had the same issues as me (between the miracle and the unyielding church standard that led to persecution), so I can only say that it was God's will.
He took an insecure, small little boy, who was regularly bullied, and He made me into whatever I am now. (Hopefully a warrior for Christ.)
I will not doubt His plans and I will do my best to serve His Kingdom with every ounce of my power from here on out.
Again, thanks for taking the time to listen and especially to leave such a moving comment, which reinforces for me that if you don't have an exact moment, don't let that stop you.
We can move closer and closer to God, we can seek Him in whatever ways we can, and the process can be a series of steps (in my opinion), though I'll submit this is rare.
Ultimately, it's about a faith in our Lord Jesus, a turning away from sin, and a desire to be in His Presence and serve Him. (And as a footnote, I'll add that I ended up doing a full immersion baptism when I restarted my faith after about a year of growing closer to Him. In my mind, I simply had erred far too distant from His presence, and like the prodigal son, I wanted to show the world that I was fully committing to the Savior that I had abandoned as an adult -- and partly due to bad teaching, which I'll do a future podcast on.)
Again, thank you, and may God richly bless you.