I was lost, blind, deaf and dumb before coming to Christ.
I relied on my sinful nature to lead me through life. I cheated in college. I gambled in the stock market. I played power games with my wife. I was a failed leader in my family to my wife and children.
It took me 46 years to hit bottom. In my forties I napped often so as to fast forward my life. I was depressed without knowing. If I had a taste for alcohol I would have been an alcoholic by now. But God had mercy on me.
He led me to church. He revealed to me His love and what he had done for me and for all of humanity. He created the world. He created Adam and Eve my ancestors. But they sinned and had to be separated from Him. So God sent His only son Jesus down to die and rise again to wash away our sins Through Jesus Christ there is a bridge for us to get back to God. No matter how pure we make ourself we are not pure enough to be with God. But with Jesus Christ we can come as we are. God revealed to me his unconditional love and my heart felt it finally.
Hallelujah! I took that leap of faith and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit filled my heart. My eyes are open! I can read and understand His Word! He tells me clearly to love my neighbor to love my in-laws yes my in-laws. God does wonders for relationships. He tells me to give to the pan handlers at freeway exits. I said but what if they use it for drugs, what if they are just faking it. He said just give dummy. It's not just for them. It is more a test of your obedience.
I relied on my sinful nature to lead me through life. I cheated in college. I gambled in the stock market. I played power games with my wife. I was a failed leader in my family to my wife and children.
It took me 46 years to hit bottom. In my forties I napped often so as to fast forward my life. I was depressed without knowing. If I had a taste for alcohol I would have been an alcoholic by now. But God had mercy on me.
He led me to church. He revealed to me His love and what he had done for me and for all of humanity. He created the world. He created Adam and Eve my ancestors. But they sinned and had to be separated from Him. So God sent His only son Jesus down to die and rise again to wash away our sins Through Jesus Christ there is a bridge for us to get back to God. No matter how pure we make ourself we are not pure enough to be with God. But with Jesus Christ we can come as we are. God revealed to me his unconditional love and my heart felt it finally.
Hallelujah! I took that leap of faith and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit filled my heart. My eyes are open! I can read and understand His Word! He tells me clearly to love my neighbor to love my in-laws yes my in-laws. God does wonders for relationships. He tells me to give to the pan handlers at freeway exits. I said but what if they use it for drugs, what if they are just faking it. He said just give dummy. It's not just for them. It is more a test of your obedience.
Matt's Baptism at Almaden Neighborhood Church
I used to isolate myself. Now God says to invite folks over for lunch every weekend. God says I had to isolate you before because you were a disgrace. But now you have something to share.
God tells me to take charge of my family. Be a man. Lead. But ask Him for advice.
God is in control. He gives and he takes away in a blink of an eye. For the amount of power that He has, He is really merciful and loving you know.
God says to share these verses for this occasion:
Romans 6:5-6 "By being baptized, we have been joined with Him in His death. We will certainly also be joined with Him in His resurrection. We know that what we used to be was nailed to the cross with Him. That happened so our sinful bodies would lose their power. We are no longer slaves of sin."
Romans 6:11 "In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead as far as sin is concerned. Now that you believe in Christ Jesus, consider yourselves to be alive as far as God is concerned.
For more details about Matt's conversion, please read here:
All my life I've been asking what is the purpose of life, how did we get here, and what is the meaning of life. I could never figure it out. I was feeling lost and then around Christmas 2011 my mom fractured the ball of her foot. Since my mom and dad are in their late 80's and since my mom is the source of strength who handle cooking and cleaning, I knew that they needed help. So I went down and spent 2 weeks with them. I saw that after working hard all their lives and living an honest life, they are now frustrated with their aging bodies, fearful of their future, and disappointed in life. I realized that this is what's in store for me in my old age if I'm lucky! So I came back and went to church. This was the church I found when voting. When I came to the church to cast my votes, I felt peace there and decided to go to church on my own.
I learned about the Gospel and about God's grace. However, I was still plagued by doubts. In parallel I investigated Buddhism further. I learned that the Buddha never claimed to be anything more than human. It was thousands of years later that people worshiped him as if a God. So the Buddha does not compare to God. In fact, the meditation and quieting of the mind that the Buddha taught is probably helpful if you use it to meditate on God. Similarly, I realized that ancestor worship only take us back to Adam and Eve but not to God, the Creator. Having achieved closure on Buddhism and ancestor worship, what was left for me was to overcome my doubts. I tried to read The Case for Faith but could not get past the first chapter because I could not relate to the reasoning the author uses. Then I came across Youtube videos by Sam Harris where he made a case that there is no God. I found that my mind can relate and agree with Sam's reasonings.
So I said then there is no God. But after I said that, my heart felt so sad because then life is random and there is no point. So my heart says that this could not be and prompted me to take the leap of faith to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. God works in mysterious ways. After praying the Lord's Prayer, the Holy Spirit filled my heart and I began to be able to understand the Bible and read it with relish. In fact I felt so behind other people that I read the Bible more and more. I now know that I'm a conduit for God's will and I will do and say what he tells me.
God tells me to take charge of my family. Be a man. Lead. But ask Him for advice.
God is in control. He gives and he takes away in a blink of an eye. For the amount of power that He has, He is really merciful and loving you know.
God says to share these verses for this occasion:
Romans 6:5-6 "By being baptized, we have been joined with Him in His death. We will certainly also be joined with Him in His resurrection. We know that what we used to be was nailed to the cross with Him. That happened so our sinful bodies would lose their power. We are no longer slaves of sin."
Romans 6:11 "In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead as far as sin is concerned. Now that you believe in Christ Jesus, consider yourselves to be alive as far as God is concerned.
For more details about Matt's conversion, please read here:
All my life I've been asking what is the purpose of life, how did we get here, and what is the meaning of life. I could never figure it out. I was feeling lost and then around Christmas 2011 my mom fractured the ball of her foot. Since my mom and dad are in their late 80's and since my mom is the source of strength who handle cooking and cleaning, I knew that they needed help. So I went down and spent 2 weeks with them. I saw that after working hard all their lives and living an honest life, they are now frustrated with their aging bodies, fearful of their future, and disappointed in life. I realized that this is what's in store for me in my old age if I'm lucky! So I came back and went to church. This was the church I found when voting. When I came to the church to cast my votes, I felt peace there and decided to go to church on my own.
I learned about the Gospel and about God's grace. However, I was still plagued by doubts. In parallel I investigated Buddhism further. I learned that the Buddha never claimed to be anything more than human. It was thousands of years later that people worshiped him as if a God. So the Buddha does not compare to God. In fact, the meditation and quieting of the mind that the Buddha taught is probably helpful if you use it to meditate on God. Similarly, I realized that ancestor worship only take us back to Adam and Eve but not to God, the Creator. Having achieved closure on Buddhism and ancestor worship, what was left for me was to overcome my doubts. I tried to read The Case for Faith but could not get past the first chapter because I could not relate to the reasoning the author uses. Then I came across Youtube videos by Sam Harris where he made a case that there is no God. I found that my mind can relate and agree with Sam's reasonings.
So I said then there is no God. But after I said that, my heart felt so sad because then life is random and there is no point. So my heart says that this could not be and prompted me to take the leap of faith to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. God works in mysterious ways. After praying the Lord's Prayer, the Holy Spirit filled my heart and I began to be able to understand the Bible and read it with relish. In fact I felt so behind other people that I read the Bible more and more. I now know that I'm a conduit for God's will and I will do and say what he tells me.
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