When Was I Saved? When Were You?

I have not yet been to church, but I have done my Bible study this morning as every morning, and this was on my heart, so here is my message for today.

Do you remember the moment you came to Jesus? Because, of course, we don’t make that decision of our own will. It is a spiritual, supernatural thing that happens when Jesus comes into us.

My grandmother, who raised me until I was three, taught me the 23rd Psalm when I was three. She took me to church and she gave me my first tiny, pocket Bible. I still have it somewhere in storage, I’m sure. But was that when I was saved? Of course not. Did I really understand the concept at three?

When she died, what I remembered wasn’t just her delicious home cooking, although that was a great memory, it was the things I mentioned above that I remembered. I never forgot the Psalm, nor the fact that she took me to church and introduced me to “religion” and Jesus. I believe she went to a Baptist church, but that is neither here nor there. She wanted me to know good from evil, bad from good. She gave me, in a sense, my moral compass.

Later, I was in the service and experienced many moments of people trying to “save” me by introducing their beliefs, or asking me to visit their churches, or join their movement or whatever. Sure, I visited some, yet never found a home with any of them.

Still later, after I was married and the topic came up, we made a conscious decision to start anew and find our own church and we chose a Christian church where we were both baptized into the faith. Was I saved then? Did I feel different? Not really. But what did happen was that we became regular churchgoers, eventually finding a Methodist church we liked and stuck with.

I’m sorry to say, we didn’t stay vigilant with our kids, I’m sure you know that by now, and we sorely regret it. Now it is up to each of them to come to faith. They know right from wrong, but they want to live as they do.

When our love affair, if you can call it that, ended with the Methodist church -as it did for a whole section of believers-I started going to my brother’s church and it was there that I heard or felt the thing that I needed to set me on the path I’m currently on. Something came into me that told me I needed to start studying the word daily, I finally understood, I finally “got it” and that is what I feel as the moment I was truly saved.

Previously, I had claimed myself as a Christian and said the words “I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and on the third day He rose again” many times but still didn’t fully understand it. Now I do. Now I feel His light in me. Maybe its been there a long time, if not, I’ve always felt like I had a guardian angel watching over me. I often wondered if it was my grandmother.

Now I hunger for the word of God and its on my heart to be in His word every day. I don’t know what Pastor John said that made me come alive, but thank goodness he did. My method of study may be different than my brother’s or yours, but that’s not important. If we are in the word each day, that is good.

Since I will not be living near my brother when we find out forever home, I know I will find my own Bible church and continue what I’ve started, but for now, I stream the services from his. I’m not claiming to be righteous or sin free, but I know my soul is saved. I know where I’m going and I have eyes for eternity. If the Rapture came today, I would be ready.

Are you?

May I suggest that if you do not yet believe, I would encourage you to visit a church or open a Bible and listen for what God wants you to hear. He loves you, he will forgive you of your sins.

Come lord Jesus! We need you!

Amen