Jo's Testimony
John 17: 20-24
As far back as I can remember, my parents took all of their children (6 of us, 4 boys and 2 girls) to church. Wherever we lived we went to the nearest church. So from my early childhood I can remember hearing about Jesus and God and Heaven. I also remember my father reading the Bible to all of us in the evenings after the day's work or activities were done. My mother would talk to us about Jesus as she went about her daily chores and activities. We were all taught to pray before our meals and before going to bed at night. We were aware that Mother would rise early in the mornings and have a quiet time of reading her Bible and praying before the rest of the family would awaken. Dad read his Bible every day and had his own prayer time. So it was a very natural and normal thing for me to be accustomed to hearing about the things of God as I was growing up. I can remember my Grandma Mary taking me and my sister to services at her church sometimes. And Grandma Mary gave us our very first Bible. I was thrilled to have my own Bible. I was old enough to read by that time, and though I didn't understand all that I read, I was very proud of being able to read the Bible.Sometime after I turned eight years of age, there was a meeting at our church called a Youth Revival. The children and youth were treated to special activities and lessons in Sunday School and the worship services. There was a visiting minister, familiar to us, who spoke about one of his hobbies. He had a wonderful collection of all kinds of knives. He brought the knives to the church one particular day of the Youth Revival and displayed them for us to see. Each knife was special and had a very interesting story. The part of the message that caught my attention was in regard to one very special knife in the collection. It was a beautiful knife, a very useful knife, but had been lost for many years. One day, quite by accident, the owner finally found the knife. It had been dropped at the foot of the steps leading into his house, had been covered with dirt and had been subject to the rain and sun and every kind of weather, until the knife was rusted and in terrible shape. Though it had been a very good quality knife and made for useful purposes, the fact that it had been lost so many years caused it to be wasted, useless and tarnished. This minister related the circumstances of that knife to young people who had been created by God, beautiful and fresh, for a life of usefulness and wonderful things to accomplish. He said if we give our hearts to the Lord at a young age we will have a lifetime of serving Him in many wonderful ways, which will bring great blessings to us. But if we don't choose to serve the Lord, we may go for many years with no real meaning to our lives and they will be wasted and tarnished. And, further, we will not reap the promises of God and the benefits and rewards of God's kingdom.
Though I was very young, I made a decision that day and hour that I wanted my life to count for the Lord. I wanted my life to be useful and meaningful. I wanted the Lord to make something beautiful of my life. I did not want my life to go by and become wasted. So when the invitation time came during that service, I walked forward and told the minister I wanted to give my heart to Jesus and to live for Him. I asked Jesus to come into my heart, forgive me of my sins, and to be my Lord and Savior. And I know that he did. I was acutely aware that I needed to be saved, that God was calling me that day, and that I wanted to answer His call and become a Christian, born again into the Kingdom of God. I knew the result of that would be that I would have eternal life with Christ, but I would also have the Holy Spirit to guide me, comfort me, protect me and enlighten me all through my life. And I am thankful for God's leading me to understand those things in that service when I was so young.
I cannot say that my life has been perfect since the day I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart and life. In this fallen world there are times of hardship, sickness, heartache, pain, and sin in our lives. We all go through all of these things. I'm no exception. I didn't have an easy life growing up, nor after I was grown. I had many, many times of hurt, sorrow, pain and sickness. But through all of those times I had the comfort of knowing who I belonged to......Jesus! I knew that He loved me, He took care of me and provided for me. I always had the Lord with me to guide me, forgive me, and heal me. There have been times of long-term stress and hardships. But I had the Lord on my side. There was a time when I became aware that someone had even plotted to take my life. But the Holy Spirit made me aware of it and all I had to do was to stay alert and make the proper decisions based on what I knew to be right. And the Lord spared my life. A very significant part of that incident is that if my life had been taken, the lives of my children probably would have been taken as well, at the same time. God spared me and my children. I praise Him always for His mercy and grace. God is always present, He is always faithful. God is good. He is full of loving kindness and tender mercies. He is all-powerful. He will never leave us or forsake us. The one thing we can count on in this life is God. Every word He has ever spoken is true.
There is a song I remember hearing which has stayed with me and the words come back to me over and over. I don't remember the name of the song exactly, nor do I remember who sang it or wrote it. But some of the words in the song are these: "God cannot change, God cannot lie, God cannot break one of His promises, God cannot remember sins He's forgiven, God cannot fail His children." I can look back over my entire life and see how the paths which I walked through life led up to this present day, and I know that God was with me all the way. I am so thankful for His wonderful plan of salvation.....the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary to pay the penalty for my sins because there is no way I could have paid the price myself. It is so very wonderful that Jesus loved me enough to lay down His life voluntarily to pay that sin debt.
The scripture notation at the top of this page is from my favorite chapter of the Bible, John 17. When I discovered that Jesus not only prayed for his disciples, but for all who would come to know him, through faith, through the message of his followers I became so excited. Jesus prayed for me!
My husband, Don, has told me that I am so blessed that my parents were Christians and took me to Sunday School and Church as I was growing up so that I would always know about God, His Son, Jesus, and the promise of eternal life in Heaven. He did not have this as a child growing up, and he was 49 years of age before he realized he was lost, needed to be saved, and began to seek out the truth about salvation. After he was saved he was one happy man. And it was as if he were starved for the Word of God. He began to read his Bible constantly as if he couldn't get enough. I commented one day to him that he was very enthusiasic about reading the Bible. He said.."I have nearly 50 years to make up for. I need to catch up on my knowledge of the Word of God. I want to know what is in God's Word."
Some of my favorite scriptures are: (all NKJ)
Philippians 4: 6-7..."Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4: 13 & 19...."I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Psalm 19:14... "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."
Jeremiah 32: 17 & 27..."Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. - Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?"
God's Phone Number - Jeremiah 33: 3..."Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."
God's 911 Number - Psalm 91: 1..."He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
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