I met her at my old church. We were both about to graduate form high school and looking for some kind of direction. We met once a week, with one other girl and our female youth pastor.
We would share our praises or prayer requests every week. It seemed I was always sharing something “more sinful”, darker, more difficult. She always seemed fine. Her sins were nothing compared to mine.
Yet, one day we were asked to share our testimonies–tell each other how we met God and what He had done for us. She froze. She fumbled. She wouldn’t talk. Then, after a few moments of silence, she said something that totally shocked me…
“I don’t really have a testimony,” she began. “I mean, I’ve always just known God and I don’t have some crazy, wild past or conversion story. My testimony is boring.”
I let her words sink in for a moment. Then the anger rose up in me. No, I wasn’t angry at her. I was angry that any believer would ever be made to feel that their story with Jesus was somehow useless or immaterial.
I exhorted her and told her that I would trade my testimony with hers in a heartbeat. The pain I suffered at times, the loss I’d experienced–I would snap my fingers and take her story in an instant.
I told her that, just because God protected her from the pain that many experience in childhood and early adulthood, doesn’t mean that her testimony was somehow less powerful. Over the years, I have continued to meet people who downplay or are embarrassed to share their testimonies, calling them “lame” or “uneventful.”
If you grew up in a Christian home, with God-fearing parents–the glory is still His. If you knew Christ at an early age and never really “fell away” or had a period of doubt–the glory is still His. If you find your testimony boring because you never found yourself homeless, addicted to drugs, or in jail–the glory is still His!
If this describes you, know this: your testimony counts. It. Is. Powerful. It is to be shared to the glory of God. Never let anyone, including the enemy, make you think that your testimony is less-than, lame, or not worth sharing.
The power of your testimony lies in the offering of God’s protection.
My testimony is not pretty. Sometimes I am hesitant to share it and yet, I know God can use what is hideous, blemished, tarnished, broken, and dejected to bring about His glory. Imagine how much glory He also receives from a story of hope, provision, and protection.
I told the girl I met with that day that I hoped she would never again doubt or hesitate to share what God had done in her life. People need to hear that God not only pulls us out of the mud, but also chooses to protect some from ever falling in…
Do you think your testimony is boring or lame or uninteresting? Have you ever hesitated sharing because you don’t have an “amazing conversion” story? Do you think God still receives glory in the “boring”?
And please, don’t hesitate sharing your testimony here, too–the glory is always His.
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I don’t think anybody’s testimony is boring. The problem is that we look at it in “earthly” eyes. When we understand that What God did was to “snatch us” from the fire, and to defeat sin in us, by his sacrifice, that is not a small, boring thing. But we want an earthly war story to glorify God. The biggest problem in us has been, is, and always will be sin. When God steps in and saves us from it, it is quite the story.
With that said, I had a rough and tough childhood of drinking, drugs, gangs, and other stuff. Too long to share here, but God saved me from it all. But most of all, God saved me from my own nature: sin nature. That alone is praise worthy.
I agree, no one’s testimony is boring. I think you are right Moe, that many people are comparing their testimony to those of others or even the world. If their testimony doesn’t read like a Hollywood script, well, then it somehow isn’t worth sharing. Yes, they want to bring glory to God. Yet, He receives glory in an infinite number of ways, not just through the rough and tumble stories some of us hold.
Amen to being saved from yourself. I was too. I am ever thankful to God for rescuing me from my own sinful nature…and He continues to do so.
“But we want an earthly war story to glorify God.”
Yep. Too true, Moe.
Exactly! The real point is about coming close to God. A lot of this stuff is rooted in egotism and a elitist view of things. It’s vain. There is no “boring” testimony.
I used to think my testimony was boring. Never been drunk, never been stoned, was a virgin when I got married, saved at age 4, dedicated my life to Jesus again at age 15… Lame, right?? ;) But, now I see that the sovereign hand of God had been ALL OVER my life, and it baffles me how He has chosen me and preserved me… it could have been much worse. I’m also the product of a very poor and abusive childhood. And the parenting I had that wasn’t abusive was very detached. My older brother calls it being “raised by wolves.” I still don’t understand His purposes, or why He has allowed me to have the life I do. So, while there’s a part of me that feels like my testimony is lame, there’s a much bigger part now where I really know that it’s all about Him, and what He can do, even in the worst of circumstances, and even when those around you fall prey to the enemy’s plans that He can preserve you. I’ve lived it.
Karen,
I love this! It is so cool to hear that as you look back on your life, and specifically your childhood, you can see all of God’s protection and provision. In that light, what once seemed boring is anything but. Your preservation brings Him great glory.
My testimony is about as “bland” as it gets: I grew up in the church, was saved at a young age, and have been growing ever since. I used to be like your friend who thought her testimony was “boring,” but then I realized that it was “boring” by the grace of God. There are so many other ways I could have turned out had God not continuously guided me through the years, but He did. I don’t deserve His presence, yet He gives of Himself abundantly. That’s huge!
God has been working this whole time, and that is my very exciting testimony.
So good…your testimony is “boring” by the grace of God, which means it is anything but boring.
His constant protection and provision is a powerful testament to Him.
I like this. I whole-heartedly believe that if you are a disciple of Christ, you will reflect God in your life, and that will make for an amazing testimony. I can’t think of a more exciting image to bear.
As I was reading this, though, I couldn’t help but also think that there are also naturally people who associate themselves with Christianity, but through their actions, it is readily apparent that their lives have not changed. Heck, let’s be honest, there’s probably people who say they’re Christian, and they conduct themselves well, but when it comes down to it, they don’t love God. If these people are feeling stagnant or as if their testimonies are boring, that’s conviction.
What I mean to say by all of this is simply to look for God in your life. Wherever He is/was actively working to break, reshape, prune, and grow you is where your testimony can be found. Because your testimony’s just as much, if not more, about God than it is about you. And if you can’t figure out your testimony, you might just need to spend some time in prayer; either to identify where he is/has been working in you, or to figure out if you are/have been getting in the way of what He does want to do in your life.
Josh,
I think that is an interesting point. I wonder though how many lukewarm, half-hearted, or “pretend” Christians are really concerned with their testimony…
Nicole,
Truth. Logic-ing out an answer to your politely framed rebuke, I thought of a few people who were more concerned with their image then God, which, in church, can include your testimony. 99.9% of the time, however, people who are worried about their testimonies being effective are madly in love with God. I appologize for my poorly framed response. Oh blogs. What a humbling experience.
Josh,
I’m so sorry if my response sounded like a rebuke. I re-read my comment to you and it was a little short, but please don’t misread that as correction. I was just thinking out loud (or writing out my thoughts, as it were). I totally understood your point. I do think that if someone is half-hearted with God and they realize their testimony is a little lackluster, it could very well be the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
It is always difficult to read or judge someone’s tone via blogs, texts, emails, etc….the downside of this wonderful thing called technology. Blessings to you.
Nicole,
Very nicely said.
When I was first brought into the New Covenant, many of the Christians I would meet were, quite honestly, in awe of my salvation because I was coming out of the occult. Like this meant I had some great and horrible history that Jesus saved me from, and my testimony would obviously be powerful and awesome and, and, and…and what?
Jesus saved me. Like many, many others. I am more than my past. My testimony is strong, to be sure, but there are times I dread telling it because people want to focus on WHO I WAS, and not who I am now in Christ.
Even now, Christians presume since I came out out the darkness of the occult that this means I have some familiarity with it and I should seek to specifically reach out to those people who follow it today. That’s just silly. What makes anyone think my Jesus is expecting me to jump back into the world I was saved from? Is that to be the fullness and wholeness of my relationship with Him? I am not welcomed there. I am hated there, because He is hated there, and there are familiar spirits there who know me by name.
Do I have some crazy stories of demonism to tell? Sure. But while these stories may make the immature in Christ go ‘ooh’ and ‘ahhh’, they are not to be used as some kind of measurement of my worth in Christ.
Sorry…rambling.
Donald,
I can relate to what you are saying. I have a shady, seedy, sinful past. I often hesitate, depending on the audience, about what exactly to share.
I think I want people to fully be able to contrast who I was with who I am now. I don’t, however, like getting hung up on the details of my former life. I am not wanting to relive those things, so much as bring glory to God for pulling me out of them.
Excellent.
Growing up in church, I remember a lot of the kids in my youth group complaining about their lack of testimony. The fact of the matter is that they used it as an excuse to avoid evangelism. They didn’t have a crazy story of being saved from drugs or abuse or living on the streets or the occult or…fill in the blank. I think they didn’t appreciate the magnitude of an eternal God intervening in their lives with his protection, supplying them with godly parents and faithful friends, saving them at an early age and giving them the opportunity to share Him with others from throughout their childhood and teen years. It’s a different story, but no less wonderful.
I was one of those kids.
Mike,
That is a great point you bring up. How many people think because their story is lame, use that idea as an excuse to not share their faith?
The problem too, is that young people believe the lie that we are suppose to have some radical, black and white, night to day, conversion.
The fact that Jesus came to the earth and died for each of us, is in fact, a radical story…one we all need to be sharing.
I’m going to ask a question not to cause controversy for controversy sake, but as a “teaching moment”, one which I will/should/need to use myself.
Here’s my question, with follow-ups:
1. Why is a testimony–boring or not–even important? Why worry about it either way?
2. Do all churches worry about testimony? Do Catholics and Orthodox worry about it? Methodists and Lutherans? Baptists and Pentecostals?
3. Who, and where, in the Bible is testimony used? When is it not used?
Just some questions floating around in my head. :)
Thanks for another thought-provoking post!
BTW, here’s my answer to your question:
I also have a “boring” testimony, but not because I was saved early, or things like that. For me, I’ve sort of liked the boring testimony because it shows the “common-ness” of God in my life: that is, he didn’t take over in a flash of light, and he wasn’t always known by me. Instead, he slowly overcame me, wooed me if you will, and showed me why I should fall in love with Him. It’s a slow “boring” story, but powerful. If used for the benefit of others, it would be to show how God works differently for all of us…for me it was a long time coming, in many small way, and eventually I knew no other way than to follow Him. I kind of like that I have a “boring” testimony! :)
blessings,
Josh
Josh,
I think those are good and important questions. The Bible does mention “testimonies” quite a few times. Granted, we have associated the word more with ourselves than with God.
The Bible uses the word to express what God has done. We often feel inadequate and focus on what we have or haven’t done.
I don’t think all churches focus on testimonies or need to do so. I do, however, think that all believers should, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1Peter 3:15.
Our personal story is important. The apostle Paul shared his…and really the Bible is a collection of many people’s testimonies, all pointing back to God.
P.S. I love you talking about the “commonsense of God” in your life. Genius.
This is exactly how i feel i always knew there was a God but i never had a relationship with him until I started going to church. I had a hard life but i never picked up addictions or did anything dramatic. And when I decided to live my life for God it wasn’t a big moment either i just made a decision that God put in my heart and felt peace. But im having a hard time putting my testimony together….
The obvious question to me is why do you need to put a testimony together? Is it one of those New Calvinist churches that refuses you membership unless you wow them with a fake testimony? Look for a church of Christ instead. All you have to do is confess that you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and get baptized, and you’re a member.
i have felt this way many times in the past growing up in a christian home, thinking testimony was simple and elementary, but i’ve learned that along the way, any story where God is the Author is divine and powerful…
and if you’d like to grab a spot of tea, i’m linking up a recent post about how story led my mom, me and my youngest daughter to christ. :)
http://modsquadblog.com/2011/02/do-they-know-your-story-part-1/
oh and p.s. YAY! You are so fabulous to link up my blog last week. ;) i was flabbergasted… f’reals! haha! thank you!
Melissa,
Gosh, you just nailed it! “any story where God is the Author is divine and powerful…” Done and done.
I’m stealing that line…
…and I’m going to check out your link…
..and you are so welcome. Glad to give some link love.
I don’t think my testimony is altogether boring, but when I’m giving it in conjunction with my husbands testimony, sometimes I’d just like to sit on the bench and keep quiet. Like Donald, my husband was heavily involved in the occult and was a blood pact satanist, and Jesus pulled him out of that and provided him with an outstanding faith. There are times that I compare my faith and my testimony to my husband’s and I feel pretty lame in comparison. My husband assures me that I’m not, and reminds me that we are not to compare, and that all stories of Jesus saving others is powerful.
But we’ve also brought up the questions that Josh brings up. Is it really important to share our testimonies? Is it necessary? I think there is a time and place for testimony and and a time and place to let the Gospel and Jesus’ love speak for itself. Like anything, we can idolize testimonies. Like alcoholics at AA meetings telling war stories, getting excited about what we used to do, testimonies can become a form a entertainment and therefore a form of idolatry. Instead of focusing on God’s glory and power we focus on the excitement of one’s previous life. Or who has the coolest story. Like everything, we have to keep an eye on our motivations and our hearts and seek God’s wisdom.
I also have to add to Josh’s questions, having been raised Catholic and having been saved through Catholicism, testimony sharing is used within Catholicism. It is used a lot in youth retreats and conferences, and when the stories are really awesome, in regular main stream Masses ;). So other, more traditional churches, do value testimony, they’re just pretty quiet about it.
Carla,
It’s interesting to me that you compare your testimony to your husbands.
My husband has had the ideal Christian upbringing and life. Thankfully, though I feel like even though my testimony is wild, dark, blah blah blah, God has still used it to speak to people.
Likewise, a testimony like yours is one of hope, protection, provision, preservation, and God’s faithfulness.
God never compares us to other people, so why should we.
I agree too that remaining focused on what He has done, not what we once did, is crucial to giving him all the glory.
Nicole,
I have an extremely similar story that just happened this morning. I have been discipling a high school girl while I’ve been at college. We’ve been focussing on the women of the Bible, and what it means to be a woman of God. However, last night I didn’t prepare anything. So, this morning when I went to meet her at the coffee shop we go to, I was trying to figure out what to talk about. God laid it on my heart to ask her about her testimony. So, I did. And you know how she responded. “Oh, my story isn’t very good. But you should tell me yours.” I paused, thought if I’d heard her correctly, then began to explain that no story is “not good” when it comes to Christ working in your life. It was really eye-opening though. I really had to think about why she would think that, and I realized that people who have rougher chapters in their lives, the story always appeals better, but in reality God gets ALL the glory in the end.
Great post. I actually blogged about my testimony a couple months ago. Check it out: http://wp.me/p1fDp3-1F
Hannah,
First off, let me just say, that you brought tears to my eyes. I am so blessed to know you are discipling a younger woman! So awesome.
I’m so glad you were there to exhort her and explain the fact that the glory is His, no matter how our story reads.
I read your testimony and commented there. So amazing and reminded me of just how personal and intimate our God really is. Thanks for sharing.
You have no idea how often I’ve felt like this.
Thank you so much for writing this.
I knew Jesus as a little girl, but only recently (1 or 2 years ago) did I experience a second awakening. The only thing I can compare it to was when the disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentacost. That’s how it was… I always used to think that it was never as good as my hubs testimony. It was so good to read something like this!!
Thank you <3
Bekka,
I am so glad you were encouraged. That blesses me, as well.
I love this Nicole! Because it’s me – I have the ‘boring’ testimony and for a long while I didn’t like sharing it because I thought it wasn’t exciting enough or earth-shattering enough. But you’re so right. God’s been showing me recently that my testimony really is worth sharing! I’ve even had moments of wishing I’d gone more astray or sinned more, so my testimony was more exciting. I sometimes feel like I despise this innocence + naivety, because the world makes me feel like I don’t know anything and aren’t worth listening to because of it. Then God shakes me by the shoulders and I realise that’s a STUPID thought to be having! He is glorified through innocence + purity, and although I have fallen and He’s picked me back up, for the most part He is glorified through me walking alongside Him in my life! Thanks for the encouragement :)
Rachel,
I hate that you ever felt like you should have sinned more in order to spice up your testimony.
However, I am encouraged to know that God has spoken to you about your story and you realize that yours is still a story of His power–His power to protect, guard, and preserve.
Other people will be drawn to you for that very reason.
Seems to me any story that shows the power of God in someone’s life to save them from eternity away from Him is an exciting story. Even if you can tell all of it in ten seconds. :)
Jason,
Agreed and well said.
i remember thinking my testimony wasn’t much of a testimony, and that it seemed so boring and stupid. i’ve thankfully learned to recognize and be grateful for God’s hand on my life from such a young age.
great post, nicole.
May I offer a completely different opinion?
We who have spent much time under typical church teaching have been trained to think that the word “testimony” means, “the story of how I came to faith in Christ and was saved.” This is only one use of a testimony. Those who have a story about living a life of sin and then coming into His light and receiving His forgiveness have a testimony of conversion. Those who do not have this experience do not have conversion testimonies, but they should have other stories telling about the work of God in their lives. If they do not have such stories, then they need to reexamine their lives to make sure that they do indeed have an active personal relationship with the Father through the reconciling work of Jesus with the internal witness of the Holy Spirit working within them.
“Testimony” is a legal term for “the statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation” or “evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof.” The word derives from a Latin compound which means “the function of a witness.” The church has narrowly limited the concept of being a witness to practicing various forms of evangelism. The church has even invented a word which further confuses the situation: “witnessing”. When we actually stop to find out what these words mean, their significance and applications become even greater than the narrow view we were taught. My testimony is “evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof” of the existence and power of Jesus Christ, who lives today.
Jesus said, “You shall be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8) which simply meant that they were going to tell others what they had personally seen and heard and experienced when they were with Jesus. That’s what witnesses do: they tell others what they have personally seen and heard and experienced. Did those people go out and tell about their conversion experiences? No, they told the people about what happened as they spent time with Jesus–what He taught them, the miracles they experienced, the healings they saw, and the fact that they had seen Him alive after He had been crucified.
Saul of Tarsus had a very significant event which caused him to change his mind about Jesus, so he told that story to people. If Jesus did such a work in your life, then you must tell others what He did for you. But if you made a decision to follow Him early in life, you should have stories to tell that are not boring, but forget about trying to make your conversion the issue. Tell people about situations where He rescued you, when He revealed Himself to you in powerful ways, when His Spirit’s presence and power were critical in getting you through a trial, when He provided for your needs in a supernatural way, when He worked powerfully through you to minister to others, when He worked out a series of “coincidences” to guide you on your path when you had been praying for direction, etc., etc., etc. Look at your whole life and pick out those events which reinforced your faith and convinced you that you were being cared for by your Father in heaven.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2Cor 5:17) IF you are in Christ (after a little bit of time), you should be hearing from others around you about the changes they have noticed. IF you are in Christ, things from your past should be passing away or are now gone. IF you are in Christ, you should have new interests, new desires, new priorities, a new life. There’s nothing boring about that story. If you don’t have that story, then it’s time to reconsider who Jesus is in your life.
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” (Eph 3:20-21) Nothin’ boring ’bout that!
Dear Reject Dad,
Amen. Thanks for that refocusing comment.
I am in teh middle of my testimony. My pastor doesn’t even belive me… (I think God will teach her something when this is over.) B=I belive that alot of people will come to now Christ as a resault, I beleive abortion will be cut in half, if not more. I believe my testimony when it is done, will be an awakening, like others have been used.
(I was r*ped, and am pregnent, but everyone believes I am psychotic, eccept for God.
RPAB
to all christian believers- i have 8 page testimony of Jesus Christ. request at
email [email protected]
the true Spirit of God came upon me and I am a witness to seeing in the spirit
realm satan ruling all christian churches thru all decieved church leaders of
the world. I am a witness to seeing the mystery of Iniquity (mass spiritual
destruction of souls-blood bath) in the churches and among many deceived
christian believers in the spirit realm. I am a witness to seeing two identical
jesus in the spirit realm. luke 4-5-12. these churches and organizations are
full of demons, devils, dragons, and every hateful and unclean bird in the
spirit realm. to the natural eye everything looks wonderful in the congregation
of these churches and places of worship but in the spirit realm works of
iniquity to the destruction of deceived believers souls, worship of false god,
powers of sorcery(lying signs & wonders)2thessalonian chpt 2!all churches are
babylon the great mother of harlots, abominations of the earth! God is sending
judgement and the plagues on the house of God. Come out my peo
ple and be not partakers of their plagues, sins, & iniquities! Seek true God at
home for heavenly Jerusalem not the earthy one! I have warned you! God and his
son bare witness as you read. your blood and the blood of many decieved
christian believers and the slain of the earth are not in my hands in jesus
christ name amen. I bind Acts 26:17 and loosen you from the powers of darkness
in jesus name. Heed to God’s warning now don’t delay. May God have mercy on you
and your families souls!
I am one of those who has been under the umbrella of faith and grace so long that I cannot remember when I first believed. One of my earliest memories is being alone in my room singing praises to God and dancing all over the place. I wouldn’t say I have never had seasons of doubt, but we learn in scripture that even fantastic people of faith have those (witness John the Baptist in prison), and that God is tender in providing what His children need to be strengthened. Nevertheless, I have never existed in my memory outside of God’s mercy or outside of His hand.
I’m not sure how that encourages others, but I hope it does. It isn’t the end of the story, though. I have years and years of examples of God’s guidance, protection, healing, provision, disciplining(ouch), and even evidence to assuage my seasons of doubt. My brother and I are both believers, and we have talked before of the wonder that we have that either of us should be saved–certainly not by our own efforts or goodness, certainly not because our parents were some model of perfection (my father did not attend church until I was in my mid-teens and God was not discussed in my household very much, but my mother had us baptized and took us to church). We exist in His hand only by His will. I look back and see His work in my life, His intricate involvement and steadfastness. I think the witness of those events is the testimony He means me to bring, when I bring up my life at all, because my life is a testimony to the faithfulness of God.
I just wanted to sincerely thank you for writing this blog. You described my thoughts about my testimony very well (That it was boring and I should let those with more ‘powerful testimonies’ tell them and stay quiet about myself), and I was also blessed by reading the comments. God bless!
i was asked to give my testimony at church in to weeks and i am scared to death.I have the horrior storys but never talked to people about it . what should i do
i was wondering if i should do a testimony at my church was asked to give on in to weeks
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At my youth camp this past June, we had this thing where we were able to share testimonies. So, many of my “fellow youth people” went up there and they all had incredible testimonies, including my grandfather. As I sat there wondering if I should share or not, I realized, that mine wasn’t anything special. I got saved when I was six and I’ve always been a follower of Christ. I really started living for Christ as I matured and I’m still living for him now. So anyways, I come home from camp and tell my parents that I felt out of place since I didn’t have a testimony. My dad told me about a football player who went to his youth camp and was just like me. He then told me some stuff that made me realize that my story wasn’t as un-special as I thought. I’m able to realize that God really did save me from the person I could have become. Also, I’m glad that I’m blessed with the life I have serving my Lord. :)
I think the whole idea of calling on people to give a “testimony” is heresy. All it does is make people feel guilty for not sinning more early in life, which is plain demonic. Testimony relates to legal matters, to facts, not to your subjective experience of when you think you got saved and how it happened. The apostles were called on to give testimony, testimony of facts and events they had seen, of the miracles they saw Jesus do, the feeding of the 5000, the walking on the lake of Ginessaret, the resurrection appearances…that’s a testimony. Your conversion story is just blowing smoke.
The Apostle Paul who is responsible for much of the New Testament met Jesus on the road to Damascus, where he was literally blinded and hear the Lord speak to him in an audible voice. Paul’s conversion went on the lead thousands, if not millions, to Jesus. His conversion story wasn’t “blowing smoke.” He shared his testimony as the proof and power of a loving and forgiving God.
My Testimony: Trey David Cohen
I want to start by telling you about the man I was before. Trey was not a man of God; I lived in hatred and constant Anxiety. I suffered severe depression and was diagnosed with a general anxiety disorder as well as obsessive compulsive disorder. Trey was a man who was trapped in his own mind and had addictions to nicotine and heavily abused marijuana. Trey constantly thought about killing himself so that the voices in his head would stop. Trey suffered deeply for years with the pain of not having a father and not knowing the love only a father can give. Trey finally had life catch up with him and became homeless, while on the streets I first lost my family and soon after my friends. I felt alone and wanted to kill myself now more than ever. I was so lost to the world that I could not even believe that there was someone who could love me let alone a God who loved me.
Jesus Christ revealed himself to me in a Pentecostal church in Dearborn, MI when his story was shared with me and I felt pure love for the first time in my life. I was baptized by the Holy Spirit a week later and gave my life to Jesus. Now it was not over night that I truly came to understand what it meant to follow him. It took a year of pure hell and falling in and out of my old self time and time again. Then Jesus delivered me from every single one of my addictions and every single thing that was keeping me from following him. Jesus became the father I had never had and his wisdom became my strength. I felt like a child looking into his father’s eye’s being told that he is loved, when I truly understood what Jesus did for me. He took away my anxiety and suicidal thoughts in ways no doctors or medications were ever able. Jesus gave me my family back and a wife who is just as devoted to him as me. Jesus gave me a thirst for his word and opportunity’s to share in the lives of family new and old. I was even able to be present when my sister prayed her first prayer to Jesus asking for his help in her life, he knew how much that meant to me. He removed myself hate and replaced it with strength and confidence, that I could not find anywhere else in my entire life! God revealed himself to me at a church that changed my entire life. He brought me to Life Changing Ministries and boy did he put me to work. Through my loving church family and so many good people here at LCM Christ has put me back on my feet and has put it on my heart to further my FATHERS kingdom.
I thank Jesus Christ for what he has done in my life and it’s my prayer that if you have not found him, you will desire to now. We are able to overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony!
My name is Ms. Juliet Lisa Hopkins, i am from Chicago USA, i have been searching for a genuine loan company for the past 3 months and all i got was bunch of scams who made me to trust them and at the end of the day, they took my money without giving anything in return, all my hope was lost, i got confused and frustrated, i find it very difficult to feed my family, i never wanted to have anything to do with loan companies on net, so went to borrow some money from a friend, i told him all that happened and he said he can help me, that he knows a loan company that can help me, that he just got a loan from them, he directed me on how to apply for the loan, i did as he told me, i applied, i never believed but i tried and to my greatest surprise i got the loan within 48 hours, i could not believe, i am happy and rich again and i am thanking God that such loan companies like this still exist upon this scams all over the places, please i advise everyone out there who are in need of loan to go for { [email protected] } they will never fail, your life shall change as mine did.
I have always thought my testimony was boring or that something was wrong with me cause I did not see the “dramatic” change. I was saved at the age of 12 always fought the need to be accepted. But looking back over my life I can see his hand at work even when I would stray. I was not even supposed to survive at birth but because of my parents faith and my home churchs faith I was born with no problems. God answered prayers. My the age of 16 I was asked to be a Sunday school teacher. Then got out of church around the age of 18, done things I should not have to be liked, got married, lived in an abusive marriage for 7 years. But through Gods protection I was never seriously hurt. And when the time came to get out God gave this shy, quiet girl the strength she needed to stand strong and protect herself and her child. Remarried, rededicated my life at 34. Have struggled with a special needs child with anger issues but have always had a strength I never knew I had to fight for what was best for him and God was that strength. Was witness to God healing my daughter when doctors thought she would go deaf but after two years of wearing hearing aids she hears not perfectly with no assistance. Still struggle everyday with anxiety, depression, doubts but in my heart of hearts I know God is with me and he will never leave me.
I think it’s easy to sit back and say that it’s just a matter of the person looking at it the wrong way. This, to me, sweeps the real issue under the rug to not truly deal with the why’s of this. One must ask the question as to WHY this is even a thing.
I think it’s partly because there’s many churches and believers who set the scene for this dynamic. There’s believers and church leadership who do believe & promote the idea that the transformation factor is the golden goose of what coming close to ahold and having a testimony is truly about. It turns into an environment where promoting comparison/contrasts occurs which gives way to the testimony contests which in turn can promote division. That’s not a welcoming & godly environment. Maybe those who would be considered to have a “boring” testimony don’t want to be put on the a lot and feel judged by those who’ve led “exciting” lives pre-conversion.
Some of the things I’m certain that those with so called “boring” testimonies don’t like is when someone who has a more colorful one says things like “I’d trade places with you” or “You shouldn’t feel like that”, or “Your life is such an inspiration to others who aren’t as spiritual and strong as you.” & etc. It’s easy to say that envy is a factor but that is just a way, knowingly or unknowingly, to be dismissive of what’s deeper in the rabbit hole.
Let’s start with “I’d trade places with you.” That can come off as judge mental and limiting to the person it’s leveled at in this regard. The reason why is because it’s putting the person and their testimony in a box as of this person’s life has been perfect and they’ve had no “real struggles.” Why call the sins struggles when they get glorified and are promoted as a means of making a colorful testimony. The fact is that everyone in life has struggles and bouts with sin. What may not seem like a struggle to me is in fact a legitimate one to the one actually living it out. I wouldn’t feel to enthused to share my testimony amongst a group of people who have a preconceived notion of what “living real life” is and using this as a barometer in whose closer to Jesus and who has a so called profound testimony. The fact is that we can’t be on the outside looking in and assuming this person has had the ideal or perfect life. That attitude doesn’t give that person a chance to really share the testimony and the depth of it because there’s already a compare/contrast dynamic being projected which in turn judges that person.
Another thing to consider is that maybe that person who grew up in the religion and teachings felt the never had their free will intact to actually find Jesus for themselves. Maybe they feel like it’s been projected onto them. They could’ve been fear mongered into living a religious way of living. When they hear others testimonies they may think to themselves why did this person have room to exercise their free will and yet still experience the love of Jesus whereas for me I was fear mongered into this and made to believe that if I wasn’t projecting a level of perfection then God would hate me. I’m sure there many who were reared in religious households who can confirm that if really sat down and asked without fear of judgement.
It’s easy to say you regret something or one shouldn’t do this or that. From this particular angle, one could argue that it’s easy to say when you have the luxury of experience and being able to exercise your free will and not being held to a perfectionist standard or perhaps rejecting that standard. It’s not a jealousy of the wicked. It’s the fact that you got to choose and utilize free will whether positively or negatively. You had a choice and made it.
To this, one may simply say that’s jealousy lol. NO! It’s, again, the thing about really delving deep and seeking the relationship as opposed to following a list of rules to appease a mean and overly demanding God that will zap you if you’re not perfect. Ronaldo say that it was God merely protecting them doesn’t help either as that gives way to the idea that they never had free will to choose. It implies that God imposed Himself on that person. Here’s the compare/contrast again to where the one who has the colorful testimony appears to have had the opportunity to choose given the free will factor whereas the other one didn’t. The fact is we all have free will as that’s a Gift from God. Why did one get to utilize theirs and another didn’t? I’m sure some would say to that “well, God allows some to experience life and others He preserves.” That just promotes this idea again that there’s an us and you thing happening. No one wants to be made to feel that they’re the runt or the odd chicken out.
To the living real life thing, I would ask “what is living real life?” What makes it “real?” Obviously there’s a scene set to where the opposing end would be living a fake or generic life compared to. This is part of where this issue comes from. Why does living “real life” imply that one has to have had raunchy sex stories, criminal histories, partying, doing drugs, and so forth and living a life of choosing not to do those things means one is not really “living.” We find this especially in the testimony department for some of the reasons listed above. To tell someone “you’re such an inspiration for living a wholesome life” paints a picture that this persons life is perfect and they’ve never dealt with temptation of any kind as of they’re God. That’s false. Everyone deals with this in different ways.
I have been told that I’m a good person and all but I quickly tell those people not to hold me to a certain expectation because I may fail them. What if I’m a church person who feels tempted to fornicate or commit adultery or perhaps want to party for a season? Does this make me a totally evil person all of a sudden and I’m not a “good guy” anymore? I’m either all good or all bad I suppose lol!
My testimony is my testimony. To some it may seem “colorful” whereas to some it may seem not so much as compared to others. Who knows who cares. Those are just mere opinions. My thing is that I’m not going to let other people put me in a box and limit me because it makes them feel better.
That’s another thing, those with colorful backgrounds often times are projecting their views onto others without actually getting know and understand other people in this regard. That’s not cool and again, judgmental. A lot of that is rooted in the fact that they may feel still feel condemned by their life choices. That’s on them & it’s up to them to go to God and deal with that, not to put it on others. I’d say that to some degree, there’s a level of envy towards those whom they may consider to have squeaky clean testimonies. That’s for them to face and deal with. They have to acknowledge that is there.
In any event, I could delve deeper into this but just wanted to give a different point of view and challenge people a bit. God bless and peace!
That said, I think this is why, generally speaking to…
1) Distinguish the difference between actually following Jesus as opposed to following followers of Jesus.
2) Why it’s incumbent of the church to preach not only what sin is but why it’s actually wrong in terms of why God doesn’t want us to do it. This is where the importance of testimony comes in. Part of the reason for the testimony is to present the cautionary tale aspect.
For example, if I’m a person who was a fornicator and it caught up with me in the form of contracting full blown AIDS and chlamydia along with fathering numerous children with different women I could highlight that as examples of why these things aren’t good.
The trick that the devil has played on people in general is the YOLO thing and that because something is possible or there to try them one should do it. In a base level that’s nonsensical. I couple be presented a plate of food that smells terrible and looks terrible. It’s there and actualized but it doesn’t mean I actually want to eat it. That’s called exercising preference thus exercising my free will. The devil is using this ideology to suppress free will. This is why some people feel, for example, pressured to do things to fit in and be deemed acceptable. That works against free will.
This ideology has obviously seeped into the church environment and been there for quite some time. The fact that this is even a discussion proves that as objective fact.
I think that the weighing of who’s testimony is exciting vs boring is a promotion of egotism/vanity in a sense too. There’s people within the church who, quite as kept, revel in the idea that they engaged in a sinful life yet was still able to get saved at the end of it. In essence having the cake and ice cream. Truthfully, it doesn’t work like that as God knows everyone heart & motives. They may like the idea that, based on their value system, they’ve lived more exciting lives than others hence the room for division amongst believers to come through.
The point of testimony is to share how one came to Jesus along with it serving as a way to caution others as to why sin should be avoided. It’s not meant to overemphasize how much sin they engaged in, the idea that it was fun (which would be promoting it in a sly way), and how they’re higher on the totem pole compared to those who haven’t engaged in as much sin as them. That’s not what testimony is about.
That’s straight up satanic as it promotes vanity, the promotion of engaging in sin for the sake of “living life” and “gaining experience,” and ultimately creates a toxic environment where some feel welcomed and some feel excluded. All should be made feel welcome in the House of Jesus. These are facts.
Consider this, what is the point of preaching against sin if there’s a world view that one must experience a sinful lifestyle in order to be a full person later. Some of that, esoterically, is rooted in the duality principle of the idea that bad is as necessary as good. That’s occult stuff but that’s another discussion (some churches are ran by occultists btw 😉).
But really though, what would be the point? There’s no point in crucifying sin if we deem it as a necessary “rites of passage” to go through in order to have a “profound” transformation story right? See how that sounds lol. It makes no sense hence how we can conclude that’s from satan. God Is a God of order and sense. God is not a God of confusion. We got this testimony thing wrong folks. Many of us are operating in the spirit. We need Jesus at the end of the day.
That said, I think this is why, generally speaking, the understanding to…
1) Distinguish the difference between actually following Jesus as opposed to following followers of Jesus.
2) Why it’s incumbent of the church to preach not only what sin is but why it’s actually wrong in terms of why God doesn’t want us to do it. This is where the importance of testimony comes in. Part of the reason for the testimony is to present the cautionary tale aspect.
For example, if I’m a person who was a fornicator and it caught up with me in the form of contracting full blown AIDS and chlamydia along with fathering numerous children with different women I could highlight that as examples of why these things aren’t good.
The trick that the devil has played on people in general is the YOLO gain experience thing & that because something is possible or there to try then one should do it. On a base level that’s nonsensical. I couple be presented a plate of food that smells terrible and looks terrible. Likewise it could be a plate that looks amazing. It’s there and actualized but it doesn’t mean I actually want to eat it. That’s called exercising preference thus exercising my free will. The devil is using this ideology to suppress free will. This is why some people feel, for example, pressured to do things to fit in and be deemed acceptable. That works against free will.
I recall, for example, trying weed back in high school but not for the sake of fitting in. It was because there was so much hoopla about it that I wanted to see what the hype was all about. I wanted to see for myself to be the judge. Hearsay wasn’t enough. That’s not to promote it because in this example I still fell into the idea of trying it for the sake of it. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean it should be engaged. If I truly had an understanding of why it was wrong to do it I would’ve had an understanding as to WHY I shouldn’t have engaged. The “why” is always important being that having an understanding is imperative. Simply trying to fear monger or follow rules only made it more provocative and enticing if anything. I want it in my heart not to do it and it takes understanding the why to get there. Many in the church need to understand that.
This ideology has obviously seeped into the church environment and been there for quite some time. The fact that this is even a discussion proves that as objective fact.
I think that the weighing of who’s testimony is exciting vs boring is a promotion of egotism/vanity in a sense too. There’s people within the church who, quite as kept, revel in the idea that they engaged in a sinful life yet was still able to get saved at the end of it. In essence having the cake and ice cream. Truthfully, it doesn’t work like that as God knows everyone heart & motives. They may like the idea that, based on their value system, they’ve lived more exciting lives than others hence the room for division amongst believers to come through.
The point of testimony is to share how one came to Jesus along with it serving as a way to caution others as to why sin should be avoided. It’s not meant to overemphasize how much sin they engaged in, details of what the sins were (that can lead to tempting listeners who may be struggling with those sins; planting the idea in their heads as sin always starts with an idea of it), the idea that it was fun (which would be promoting it in a sly way), and how they’re higher on the totem pole compared to those who haven’t engaged in as much sin as them. That’s not what testimony is about.
That’s straight up satanic as it promotes vanity, the promotion of engaging in sin for the sake of “living life” and “gaining experience,” and ultimately creates a toxic environment where some feel welcomed and some feel excluded because their story isn’t “colorful enough” or maybe “too colorful.” All should be made feel welcome in the House of Jesus. These are facts.
Consider this, what is the point of preaching against sin if there’s a world view that one must experience a sinful lifestyle in order to be a “full person later.” Some of that, esoterically, is rooted in the duality principle of the idea that bad is as necessary as good. That’s occult stuff but that’s another discussion (some churches are in fact ran by occultists and btw).
But really though, what would be the point? There’s no point in crucifying sin if we deem it as a necessary “rites of passage” to go through in order to have a “profound” transformation story right? See how that sounds lol. It sounds stupid. That’s why I don’t subscribe to the notion that “experience” is the best teacher. It makes no sense hence how we can conclude that’s from satan. God Is a God of order and sense. God is not a God of confusion. We got this testimony thing wrong folks. Many of us are operating in that kind of spirit. We need Jesus at the end of the day. God bless and ✌🏾
Please be careful when talking about God’s protection for only some as its not biblically sound.
Please be careful when talking about God’s protection as the reason people don’t have what the world deems as bigger sin patterns and pain as its not biblically sound.