::How I Got Here:: [Part One]

It's Good Friday and I can't think of a better time to share part one of my story.  Today I am starting a series called "How I Got Here."  Call it a testimony, call it my biography... either way, I'm going to share with you what has brought me to where I am today.

And what better place to start, than with the moment where God revealed to me my need for Him. It is the turning point, after all. 

It all started with an ordinance commonly known as The Lord's Supper or Communion. 

Now, I grew up in church and I'm sure I must have seen the Lord's Supper observed hundreds of times.  But for some reason, this particular day in my eighth year of life, I finally noticed. 

I remember attempting to take the Lord's Supper along with my family, only to be told by my mother that it was not for me to take.  So of course, as any kid would, I asked "why?"

My parents explained to me that The Lord's Supper serves as a reminder to us of the sacrifice Christ made for us.  That he had this same supper with his disciples before He willingly gave His life on the cross so that we can be saved and be made clean. Since we can't attain righteousness on our own, He made Himself the ransom and we are made righteous through Him.

They told me that taking The Lord's Supper was a way for those who had given their lives to Jesus to remember what He had done, and I hadn't done that yet. 

I knew who Jesus was.  And I really believe I loved Him then.  But it was at this time in my life that I realized that He desired me to have more than a head knowledge but to have a relationship with Him.  He wanted me to give my life to Him, as He gave His to me.

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I'll never forget, lying in my bed, thinking on these things.

In the past, I've been nervous to tell this part of my story.  I worried that people would call me a liar, or think I'm a lunatic: but at that moment, I heard God's audible voice.

He said, "You're ready."

That was it.  

That was everything.

Right then and there I prayed to God and asked Him, in my childlike faith, to come and live in my heart. What I really meant was that I wanted that relationship!

The Bible says that "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." - Romans 10:9-10

The next morning, I rushed down stairs to tell my mom what had happened.

And the best part is (ok the second best part obviously!) is that a few weeks later, when I got baptized as a symbol of my new life in Christ, we observed the Lord's Supper again. 

And this time, I got to partake.

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Since then, the Lord's Supper has been such an important time for me.  It can be observed any time and in a number of ways.  The important part is that you spend time remembering Christ's sacrifice, and for me it is a time to thank God again and again for saving me that day.

This past week, I was asked if I would help serve the Lord's Supper to others.  I can't tell you what an honor it was.  Thank you Jesus!  I shudder to think where I would be without You.

To be continued...