I was born into and grew up in a Christian family, so I learned about God when I was very young. After I learned to read, I started reading the Bible, and I acknowledged and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior because I know He is full of power and created the whole universe; I also know that He is the one who reigns forever. However, I did not experience God in person very deeply at first.
After I graduated from college, I worried about where I would go next. What would my future look like? Even though I knew that God has a plan for everyone who believes in Him, I was still anxious about my future.
I had several internships before I started preparing to study abroad. During this time, I experienced lots of failures and hesitated whether or not I should study in America. I prayed to God for His help, and finally, with the dream of getting better education, I started to prepare for the TOEFL. Throughout this time of preparation, I prayed to God for wisdom and a suitable testing environment and conditions for me. I did well on my exam, and I knew that God had listened to my prayer. Through all this, I experienced the Holy Spirit’s help in person, and I knew I had a real personal relationship with God. Before this, I had always depended on my parents and other people’s prayers to overcome various difficulties.
Although I had accepted Jesus as my personal Savior, I did not get baptized at that time. I attended several baptisms and family church meetings with my parents as a little girl. I eventually realized that I should get baptized in order to show that I am a Christian so people around me will know that I am a child of God; unfortunately, I did not have an opportunity to be baptized at that time. The very first time I visited Lake Avenue Church was the end of July 2013. At that time, I was not familiar with this church. However, after I attended this church regularly for a while, I was deeply touched especially when I watched a girl my age get baptized. It was my first time seeing a baptism in a church setting.
I thank God that He brought me to LAC this year and that I got baptized on April 13, 2014, Palm Sunday.
As I listened to her testimony, I thought it was encouraging and powerful; meanwhile, I realized that I should take the same action to show my faith to God in front of His angels and people.
I particularly appreciated Pastor Greg’s sermon on topic of “I shall not want”, when he cited what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:15 and 17, which told us that once we are in Jesus Christ, we should not live for ourselves but live for Him who died and raised again. Also in Romans 6, Paul said that we were baptized into Jesus Christ and into His death. We were “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.”
I thank God that He brought me to LAC this year and that I got baptized on April 13, 2014, Palm Sunday. Now I realize I have publicly announced myself as a Christian from inside to outside and decided to be more like Jesus Christ. I read 2 Corinthians 4 the other day and was reminded that as Christians, we should renew ourselves every day. Even if I still encounter difficulties almost daily, I will not lose my faith in God. Just like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” From now on, I desire to obey what God wants me to do and to be more like Jesus Christ for I have died with and received new life from Jesus Christ. I will obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and I will let God take charge of my life instead of taking charge of it by myself.
Even though I do not consider myself a successful person, God’s grace and mercy are always with me. I would like to conclude my testimony with scripture to share my thankfulness to God from Habakkuk 3:17-19: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”
Thank God for His constant help and support, without which I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Thanks be to God and to His glory, Amen.
For more information on Baptisms at Lake visit https://lakeave.org/baptism.
For more information about serving within Children’s Ministries please visit our Serving Finder at https://mylac.lakeave.org