I believe that a person must come to a point when they decide if they are going to believe that the Bible is truth and that God really is the creator of all things (not that the Big Bang accidentally created us). They must decide if they will accept that Jesus did in fact come to earth as a man and sacrifice His perfect life on a cross, so that each person can be forgiven of their sins and go to heaven. Every person has to decide if they are going to accept that gift for themselves or not. I also believe that once a person has asked Jesus to save them, then they can never loose their salvation.
When I was six or seven years old, I made a profession of faith, saying that I wanted Jesus Christ to be my Savior. I was baptized at that time. As I continued to get older and understand more about what it meant to make Jesus the boss of my life, I began to wonder if I had completely understood when I was six. Satan would make me doubt whether or not I was a Christian or not.
One night when I was 13 years old, I decided I wanted to nail down my salvation, so that Satan could never use that against me. I can remember kneeling in my bathroom floor and praying. I told God that I wanted to get this nailed down, so that Satan could never make me doubt my salvation. I thanked God for being in my life and I told Him that I wasn't sure if I had understood what being a Christian completely meant at six, but now I knew I understood the sacrifice that Jesus made for me and I wanted to accept Him and ask Him to forgive me of my sins. I wanted to not only invite Him to be apart of my life, but to control my life. I trusted in the plan He had for me and I wanted that, too.
From that day forward I never doubted my salvation. Have I been perfect? No, but I have never doubted who I am in Christ and He has never left me. I have tried to make a conscious effort throughout my life to let Him lead, not me. So far, that is working out pretty good! :)
Recently God prodded me that I needed to be rebaptized, because my salvation experience (which was at 13) actually happened after I had been baptized. At first I questioned Him. Everybody knows that I am a Christian now, so what would be the point? Also my daughter who is seven has already made a profession of faith. I didn't want this to confuse her and make her question the decision that she made. Plus, I feared that someone might misunderstand and think that I had just become a Christian. God and I "discussed" this for several weeks. I kept telling Him all these things, but I still heard that still, small voice saying that I needed to be obedient. So, I humbled myself and took that step out. I now have my acceptance of Christ and my baptism in the right order!! :) No one would have ever known that I was being disobedient to something God was leading me to do. But God would have known and that disobedience was already creating distance between us. I didn't want anything standing between me and my relationship with God.
I wonder how many Christians are "arguing" with God about something they know He is telling them to do. Sometimes it doesn't always make sense, but God can see the bigger picture. I chose to trust Him and be obedient.
Just for fun, I posted pictures of me from both times I got baptized. I have no plans to add anymore pictures to this collection. Ha! My salvation and baptism are officially squared away!
 |
| This is my grandmother, Margery M. Eley, pictured with me here. She was a huge part of my childhood, but passed away when I was eight years old. That makes me realize the impact a person can have on a person during those first years. |
 |
| My childhood pastor, Dr. David Blase. He actually just retired from my childhood church after 25 years of service. |
 |
| This is me and Dave Hughey, the associate pastor at my present church home. I got to know him very well the past two summers as we served together in Peru. He is an awesome man of God and is very special to me. |
 |
| Can you tell I was scared to death??!!!! I look so serious and sad.......I think I did smile a little bit right before he baptized me. |
