My Testimony

I grew up in a Christian family with two loving parents whom I am really grateful for. I went to Church twice every Sunday; I had regularly attended Sunday school; and I had even made profession of faith when I was 16. At that point in my life, I knew Christ as my Savior, but I didn’t know him as Lord. One of my biggest struggles growing up was with lust. From the end of my high school years in 2007 to my early college years this had a real impact on my life; and specifically with my relationships with girls. In those relationships, I selfishly pursued physical pleasure; I was often dishonest about my feelings, and manipulative.

It wasn’t until spring time of 2009 that I started making changes. I had recently gone through a difficult breakup with a girlfriend, and I was telling a friend about it and what she said really struck me. She had said, “Ben, take this time while you are single to grow in your relationship with God.” A few weeks later I was thinking about that, and came to the conclusion that it was time to make a change; time to stop living life my way and to start giving God some control. It hasn’t been an easy road sense then; and over the past two years, I have been challenged in many ways in my walk with Christ. But God has brought me to this place where I have met some truly amazing people who have been such a blessing and an encouragement to me in my life; and for that I am forever thankful.

One of the things that I have been learning recently is that when Jesus died on the Cross, he died to save me from my sins. He died so that my sinful nature would be put to death; and he rose again on the third day so that I may have a new life. Not a life to be lived according to my own selfish desires, but for his will and his plan for my life. Romans 6:1-4 says:

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

This is what baptism is all about. Putting to death and being cleansed from the old self, and being washed and made new in the new self. A new self with a new life now lived for Christ. And now I proclaim that Jesus is not just the savior of my life, but the Lord of my life.