My personal testimony in Christ

This is the most personal thing i've ever written. WIthout further adieu, here is my personal testimony of how I came to Christ.

My personal testimony of how I came to know Christ was very dramatic. I came to know Christ at the age of 15, relatively late compared to most people I know The path that God placed me on to Christ was full of hardship and pain. But knowing what I have in Christ, I would go through it all over again.

My life before I knew Christ was full of ups and downs. My parents were divorced since I was 5, but they both treated me with nothing but love. However, when I went to school, it was a completely different story. I was often picked on by other kids because of my height and weight. I was always teased as the “fat kid” by everyone else. I also was very shy, meaning that I didn’t have very many friends when I was young. Even though they were divorced, both my parents went to Advent Lutheran Church in Maple Grove, Minnesota. Naturally, they pushed me through Sunday school. Honestly, I only went because my parents made me. But I did enjoy it somewhat , and I always thought God seemed like a nice guy. This continued until I was 13.
The events that led to my conversion to Christ were extremely dark times. When I was 13, I met some friends named Zack and Chad. I was so happy I finally had some good friends. All was good for about a year, and then things went bad quickly. In 8^th grade, Zack decided to start treating me very badly. He started telling me how stupid I was, and got other people to join in too. As a frail teenage boy, this hurt me extremely deeply. I became extremely depressed, and stopped trying in school. I also turned to pornography to try to feel better. After going through this for about two months, I decided one night I wanted to commit suicide. Chad, the one friend I still had, talked me out of this. In my sickness, I decided that Zack had caused all this pain, and killing him was the only way it would end. Over the next few months, I thought of ways to do it. One Monday afternoon, I decided that I would do it that Saturday night after I got back from a church retreat. Looking back, it is obvious how depressed and messed up I was.

That Friday, I made plans to hang out with Zack at my house that Saturday night. While he was sleeping, I planned on killing him, and then immediately killing myself. However, I had an overnight church retreat. It was fairly typical, and I still can’t remember what it was about. At the end, our church’s youth pastor J.C., decided to play some worship. And when he did, he played a song called “Lord, Reign in Me.” In the song, the singer asks God to take control of them in their darkest hour, and to reign over their lives. I was completely paralyzed by the Holy Spirit during the song. And at that moment, I realized just how sick I was and how desperately I need a savior. I then ran into the Church’s bathroom and started crying my eyes out. I then asked God to take control of my life, because I obviously couldn’t do things right myself. I ended up going home and sleeping that night. I had asked God to take control of my life. On Saturday, February 21, 2004, I began my journey towards Christ.

Over the next year, I started reading my Bible more and more, trying to learn as much about God and Jesus as possible. I also began hanging out with one of Chad’s friends named Jared Sells, who led him to Christ in April 2005. In June of the same year, I went on a mission trip with church to Wisconsin, and learned many things about Christ I was ecstatic about. When I got back, I called Jared, who had become my best friend. He said gleefully “Ryan, I have something I want to show you.” I came over to his house one night a few weeks later. I was greeted by Jared, and Jared’s father Jon. The three of them then presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ to me. When they asked me if I wanted to make Christ my lord and savior, I emphatically said yes. God had laid all the groundwork and readied my heart to accept his son. I then accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and asked him into my life. On July 7, 2005, I accepted Christ into my life and never looked back.

Since then, Christ changed my life in more ways than I can even begin to talk about. Me, along with Chad and Jared, still have a weekly Bible study together to this day. My road to Christ was tough, but has given me a powerful story to tell. And I pray that God uses me and my story to reach those who are still hurting and in desperate need of a savior.

MY GOD IS MIGHT TO SAVE, NEVER DOUBT THAT!!!!