My Commitment To God

I never took Jesus and God as seriously as I should have been. I was more following through and going to church because of what my parents were telling me. I didn't really trust for sure that it was all true just like Santa Clause or the Easter bunny, maybe God was make belief too. Although, when I was 6 years old, I was told that if I pray and ask Jesus in my heart, I will go to heaven. I didn't quite understand what it meant though to fully trust him I just thought I could say it and not really mean it then be able to get into heaven. I was baptized litterally the next morning at church after I told my parents. I had no idea what the significants of what I was doing really meant. I just enjoyed the attention and the warm water in the baptism tank. I carried on with life after that like an average 6 year old. No change what so ever was made in my life.

As I grew older I had a bad attitude for a long time and i was always getting in touble or grounded until around 7th grade. That's when I first came to Desert Springs Community Church. I had no desire to go that very Sunday, but my mom made me get in the car along with everyone else. The moment I walked into the Jr. High youth room, I met three kids who wanted me to come to a pool party after church. I agreed to go and had a lot of fun. As time went on we went on a lot of youth retreats and I grew very fond of everyone there. Now, in April of 2011 there was a special event called 'Relate' with the high school and Jr. high groups both able to participate. I grew very close with the guys at the home I stayed in during the weekend and I had a blast. The worship band that was there was amazing and the message was amazing. As I went on listening to my leaders and to the lyrics of the songs we were singing, my eyes were opened. I realized I could not go on with life without being able to 'Relate' with Jesus. They talked a lot about John 15:5 which basically says to abide in Jesus and he will satisfy you, but without him, you can do nothing. I took that very deeply and it impacted my life forever. I re-commited my life to following christ rather than just thinking I could say something without really meaning it and making everyday about him, not myself.

I now accepted what was being said and I prayed to the Lord and said; "I know I'm not doing what I should be God. Tonight I want to commit to doing what you tell me and living my life for you. Amen." and then from there on out, my attitude changed, I enjoyed the youth group more than ever, joined bible studies, went on more trips with the group, and made very amazing friendships during that time. God made a difference in my life by showing me Desert Springs and I will be eternally grateful for everything he's given me through this church.

Now that I have Jesus, everyday I have been trying my hardest to follow him and become the man he wants me to grow into. I have gone on mission trips and shared my faith on countless occasions. I also am very involved in bible studies and focused on what I should do to make my life reflect Christ more in every way possible.

On the last day of my first missions trip, I asked God to show me what he wanted me to do because I was very uncomfortable with sharing my faith to people. I opened my bible to the book of Acts, because I knew it was about discipleship. The wind kinda blew the pages in a direction and I cought a glipse of a passage so I read it and it said in Acts 18:9-11 That Paul was facing the same issues as I was by people not accepting what he was saying and he was going through a lot of tribulation. God came to him in a vision and said, "Do not be afraid! For wherever you go my people will be with you in this city." and that passage really hit me deep. I realized God was speaking to me through this and I prayed and thanked him for the message and went on confidently proclaiming the gospel message.

I know without a doubt that what I believe is true from comparing the bible with other beliefs that are either scientific or another religion, that the bible has always given the answer and stumped everything else in my mind. So I know for a fact that Jesus gave me a way into heaven by what he did and I don't deserve it, but I have it and I will one day be in heaven praising God and Jesus for what they have done.