I mentioned writing your story/testimony so you could work it into conversations, sometimes “the how” of how you relate your story to different people in different settings may change, but it’s still your story of how you came to faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Once you’ve figured out how to articulate it, it’s much easier to see how it fits in a conversation. Check out this example below from my own life!

As the owner of a gun shop and firearms training center I am given the opportunity to be in front of classes of people on a monthly/weekly basis , both classroom time and range time. Many of them are church goers but many of them are not. The gospel is not a conversation that usually makes its way into a firearms training class or the range. However, I share the gospel in every class while I have a captive audience, kind of like Paul in jail while he had a guard literally chained to him! Not only does my testimony fit into an analogy while teaching sight alignment it also works into other conversations about focus. I even share the actual “Romans Road” Scriptures in class while telling my testimony and then connecting it to sight alignment.

I was raised Catholic and went to St. Mary’s private Catholic school while living on a military base as my dad was in the Air Force. Later he retired and we moved to Texas. I understood the Bible as a historical textbook and knew who God was and what Jesus had done as well as the stories of the Bible. After catechism classes and confirmation, I knew that I was a sinner, I’d read Romans 3:23, and that sin was wrong and thought that I needed to go to confession and do good things to make up for the sin. I had a head knowledge of The Lord; I knew about him, but I was not applying him to my life and following Him. I felt the weight of the guilt of my sin but did not understand that I would never be able to do enough good to balance the scales at judgement. Life felt hopeless because I kept messing up. Being saved by grace through faith, not of my works but on Jesus’, was not something anyone had taught me, nor had I read Ephesians 2:8-9.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God- Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.-Romans 6:23

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned— Romans 5:12

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.- Ephesians 2:8-9

NASB 95

When I was 13 one of my mother’s coworkers son’s invited me to a Newsboys concert. (We did not listen to that kind of music in Mass!) I went and Josh McDowell took the stage and called a verse of scripture which I knew. He then started to talk about a relationship with Christ which struck me as an odd thing to say. It occurred to me that I could not have a relationship with George Washington because he was dead, but Jesus was different. I began all at once to see that the Bible was living, not a history text, that as a result of what Jesus did on the cross and being raised to life that I had a decision to make and actual action to take. Belief required something on my part (choosing to repent and follow), but Jesus had already done all the work. He paid my wages for the sins I had committed (and will commit, sadly) and once I understood that, repented of my sin, confessed with my mouth Jesus as Lord because of the belief in my heart, I would have eternal life and all new leadership calling the shots from now on which is what Romans 10:9-10 stated.

..that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation-Romans 10:9-10

I was supposed to be reading the Bible and as a result of what it said acting on its commands, allowing the Holy Spirit to change my habits and begin conforming me to be like Christ. It was impossible to be like Christ if I did not study Him. During that invitation I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, which meant making Him Lord of my life, in that everything I did from there on out needed to run through a filter of the what His word directed me to do; which is quickly how Proverbs 3:5-6 became my go to verses all those years ago. That was my conversion to Christianity, the moment I was adopted into the Kingdom of God, I followed a week later in believers baptism, something I got to choose because I believe, as a symbolic, public profession of my faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Having a relationship with Jesus is similar to how your sights work. You can know that your front sight is the boss and is the most important sight, but until you are able to have a right orientation of it in the center of your rear sight, which is your life and belief system, and rightly align both of those with your target, which is how you live, your shots and decisions will both be all over the place. He has done all of the work, he is the atoning sacrifice once and for all who justifies, (aligns us rightly with the Father), we just have to allow Him to Untether us from the bondage of sin and respond to follow Him and apply Him as the center piece (front sight) of our lives! If you have a testimony, write it down like I have and SHARE it with others!

If you don’t have a testimony and you’re sitting there reading this thinking, that’s me! I need forgiveness, I need to repent of my sins and believe in the gospel message of Jesus Christ, you can, right where you sit. There are no special words that have to be prayed exactly right, just talk to God with your own mouth and tell Him exactly what’s going on in your heart. It’s not the specific words that save you, it’s the repentance and belief in your heart in Jesus as Lord, His sacrifice for your sins, and your desire to follow and trust in Him. Then share it with someone else! Start reading your Bible, there’s an app if you don’t have a physical copy (YouVersion or NASB Bible). Connect with a local church and talk to the pastor or women’s ministry leader about your decision so you can be better discipled and equipped to share your story with others!

If you’re in an area of the world where going to a Christian church isn’t an option but you have access to the internet ….that’s an option, there are millions of Bible believing churches online as well as Bible studies online. I enjoy watching, Ben Stuart at Passion DC, he’s local to me, John Piper, Jen Wilkin has some awesome studies, as well as Priscilla Shirer and Tony Evans, Francis Chan and David Platt. The Bible ReCap with Tara Leigh Cobble is a great podcast to accompany your reading and a great one year reading plan too! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me through the contact page of the blog or page, I’ll do my best to help too!

If you’re enjoying my blog, if it’s encouraging you in any way, or more importantly drawing you closer to Jesus in any way, please consider liking and subscribing. If you think it may encourage someone else in the Lord please consider sharing!