How I came to Christ

Next remember how you came to Christ. Was it in a church service or on a lunch break? On a mountain top or in a fox hole? Did Christ draw you to Himself little by little over a long period of time or did your conversion happen all at once like Paul's "Damascas Road Experience"? It is beautiful how each Christian's story is so unique. How patient and loving our Savior must be! Try to recall as much as you can about your conversion. Remember, you are telling a story, your story. Small details about your story may help keep your listeners attention or somehow cause them to relate with you more.

Also, as you work through this portion of your story remember these very important theological truths. God chose us; we did not choose Him. God first loved us; we did not first love Him. Jesus said to His disciples, "You did not choose Me but I chose you..." John 15:16 In I John 4:10 the Apostle reminds us, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [payment] for our sins." We must be clear when telling our stories, not one of us woke up [on our own] and decided that we would look for God. God was first looking for us. We did not decide to choose Jesus. No, He chose us and pursued us. We did not love God He loved us! The emphasis of our love story must rest upon God's work in us.

It is sometimes difficult to tell someone who has never experienced new birth what it means "to hear" God. We will explore this challenge in another post. Keep working on writing out your conversion story.

Bro. John

My life B.C. (Before Christ)

In this post I hope to give you some food for thought as you write the first part of your story, your life before Christ (B.C.). First, remember that before we can comprehend the Good News of God’s grace, we must first understand that there is bad news about our sin and its consequences. We’re not ready to hear about the cure until we first hear we have the disease. Some who listen to your story will immediately identify with it. Others will not. Everyone who hears your story needs to hear these important truths – without Christ in my life, in God’s eyes I came up short and in my heart I was empty. This is the truth of God’s Word. Without God’s forgiveness provided by Jesus Christ His Son on the cross, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Without a relationship with Jesus Christ we always come up empty. The prophet Jeremiah put this truth so beautifully. “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns (wells), broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13) Think about how you came to understand these truths before you were saved. Did you try everything under the sun before you were saved? You probably understood the emptiness of sinful pleasures and pursuits. Maybe you were just the average “good person.” Your testimony emphasizes the first great truth. Even “good people” sin and fall short of God’s glory.

Bro. John

Tell Your Story

This month on Sunday nights we will spend a few moments learning how to share our stories. Every Christian has a miraculous story of how Jesus Christ changed their life forever! The Apostle Peter reminds us of the miracle that took place when God called us out of darkness into light. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” I Peter 2:9-10. Why did God choose us? Why did God make us a royal priesthood or a holy nation? Why did God make us His own? The Apostle tells us. It was so that we may proclaim God’s Excellencies, His Worth, His Holiness, His Grace! Christians, we should be telling our stories all the time. I encourage every member of Little Flock Baptist Church to write out your story

Here is the challenge – write your story, and by the end of the month give me a copy. Include three sections: Section 1 - your life B.C. (Before Christ); Section 2 - your encounter with the Living God and His message of grace (Your Salvation Experience); Section 3 - your metamorphosis or change (Your life since Christ saved you from your sins). Many of us will find this truly a challenge. If you have written your testimony before, write it again. You will be blessed and refreshed as you remember again your salvation experience.