Testimony Tuesday

Since this is the first Testimony Tuesday, I thought I would start by sharing my own testimony.

I was one of those cradle roll children, attending church a week after I was born. We never missed a church event or activity. I knew from an early age that the normal thing to do was accept Jesus and join the church. I had asked my parents several times if I could get baptized. They talked to me about salvation, the pastor at the church talked to me about salvation, and eventually they all agreed that I was too young and was not really ready.

The summer after first grade, my sister, brother, and I attended a Backyard Bible School at a neighbors home in Norfolk, Virginia. During that week the lady that was leading it asked us to raise our hands if we had not yet asked Jesus into our hearts. I raised mine and was ushered into another room with all of those who did the same. She asked us to repeat after her, she prayed a prayer, and then pronounced us all saved. I was so excited that I would finally get to be baptized.

My life continued on pretty much the same as before. I was the typical deacon's kid. I attended Royal Ambassadors, children's church, children's choir, revivals, and everything else the church decided to do. I even wrote and preached a sermon during children's church one Sunday. When we were preparing to move to Maryland, I even cried that some of my friends would die and go to hell because I had not them about Jesus. My parents knew even then that God had a plan for me.

Flash forward a few years to a time when I was now a teen attending a youth camp in Mississippi. The pastor yelling at the front was talking about how we should be able to remember the time we realized that we were not worthy of Jesus and felt Him calling us to get forgiveness. I clearly remembered when I repeated a prayer and was pronounced saved, but I started to realize that I never really understood any of the reasons behind that moment. As a first grader I understood that I did not want to die and go to hell, but I did not understand that I was surrendering my life to the control of someone much more capable than I am to run it. I had wanted Jesus to be my Savior, but had no understanding of making Him Lord. I knew then that my entire "Christian" life was a lie.

Ashamed, embarrassed, and worried about what others would think, when the pastor asked people to come to the altar, I sat in my seat, bowed my head, prayed, and silently cried. One of our chaperones leaned over and asked me if I was alright. I explained that I had just accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I knew that this time was real, because I started to experience spiritual attacks. Satan was not happy that his deception had not worked. My teen years were filled with the normal ups and downs of teens and I often failed to make the right choices, but God was with me always, guiding and directing me.

I accepted God's call to full-time ministry while still in high school. It wasn't until after I finished my college that I started to understand what that entailed. And God continues to fine tune my calling. I have served Him in many roles: preaching, teaching, discipling, administration, youth, children, worship, and more. I just pray that I am able to continue to share His story until my final days.

How about you? Share your testimony with me and I will share it with others here on Tuesdays.  Send me a message to: poolehall @ gmail.com (you have to remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol).