“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of the world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved:)” —Ephesians 2:1
The following testimony thrilled my heart and I'm sure that it will be an encouragement to others.Many people deride us Christians as if we think we are so perfect when in actuality, we are a rather raggedy lot. As our theme verse says, we were once dead in trespasses and sins. We all have this testimony. We once walked according to the course of this old wicked world, but bless God it ain't that way no more! We are not perfect--but I know Somebody who is--His name is Jesus and He is the only one who can save your soul from hell. Jesus is Perfect and worthy to be served and praised. He lovingly washed us in His own blood and made us clean from the sins that separated us from God. (Thank you, dear Jesus. Please help us to be a witness.)
Gentle reader, be blessed as you read Brother Ronnie's testimony. Jesus Christ is the Lord and He can do anything no matter what the circumstance. If you are an unbeliever reading this, you don't have to remain outside the promises of God. Repent of your unbelief and turn to Jesus.
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Tracy,
Hi, my name is Ronnie and I just wanted to share with you what God has done in my life. About 61/2 months ago I was deeply imbondaged to drugs, alcohol, smoking, pornography and number of other horrible things. My marriage was shaky and I wasn't a very good father of my two lovely daughters. I was raised Lutheran, and was "hit and miss" when it came to going to church. Needless to say, I didn't know Jesus. I was comfortable living in sin, and It never dawned on me, that I was going straight to hell. I thought, that If I did enough "good things" in my life it would out weigh the bad ) God would surely forgive me and let me in to heaven (Boy was I wrong!) .
I was up real late one night, browsing around on the net. I was in the Lycos search engine and clicked on "Entertainment", then to "Unexplained", to" Science Fiction", to "Ghosts and Demons", then to "Devil."( I don't know where I thought I was going with this, I was just bored.) When I clicked on "Devil" a number of web pages came up, your testimony, being the first. Filled with an unexplained curiosity, I clicked on it a began to read it whole heartedly. When I got to the part about God not wanting anybody to go to hell, but he will not let you in heaven without repentance and faith in His Son, Jesus Christ; I wish I could explain what happened but I cant. I believe that, at that very minute, I knew "the truth". God spoke to me through your testimony. I felt it drop 18"(from my head to my heart).
For the next few days this was all I could think about. At the time, my wife and I were going through a lot with the drugs and everything. I showed her your testimony and told her what it had done for me. We decided it was time we gave our lives to Christ. We began to pray, on our hands and knees every night, that God would forgive us for our sinful ways and that Jesus would come into our hearts to live and reign. We joined a non-denominational church and began to read our Bibles as often as possible. After two months we were baptized together on a Wednesday night service.
Today we are going to church every Sunday and Wednesday and we fill ourselves with His word. He continues to circumcise my heart every day and I know He is not finished yet. I have been freed from all my addictions, and my marriage has been restored. Praise God! My friends and co-workers don't appreciate the "new change," but oh well, I have made new friends at church (Friends in Christ are forever!). "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17
I can honestly say now, I know deep in my heart that I have been forgiven! (Thank you Jesus) I also know where I am going when I die! Thank you too Tracy for your testimony it has been a huge stepping stone in my coming to know Jesus. I know that it is the work of the Holy Spirit and that God granted me repentance but you also played a big part in it. Praise God forever!!!
Love in Christ,
Ronnie