I have agreed to share my testimony, with the hope and prayer that it will make a difference for others and show them the way to have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

- Romans 5:1b

     I grew up in what I thought was a typical American home with good parents and a brother and two sisters. We went to a Catholic church on Easter, us girls with our matching Easter dresses. When we were little my siblings and I went through our First Communion. As we got older we stopped going to church at all. 

     I always believed there was a God. I can even remember praying when I was younger. I also remember going to an after school Catholic class. There, I was asked to read out of the Bible. All I

remember about the reading is that it was from the book of Matthew. I also learned that when you pray, you pray in Jesus’ name. This always stuck with me. So that’s the way I prayed after that. When I got into my teen years I forgot all about these things, and really got myself into trouble. That is why I have such a heart for teens now. It really is a time of change for them. I was such a flirt with the boys and dressed the part. 

     I met my future husband the summer before my senior year in high school. A few months after we started dating, my dad had a major heart attack. They had to use those electric paddles on him to bring him back to life. Praise the Lord he got a second chance. So Tim, my boyfriend, moved in to help out during this time, while dad was in the hospital. He never moved back out.

     We did a lot of partying during those years. Our oldest daughter came along before we were married. We moved into a trailer in Albion shortly after we got married, and along came our youngest daughter. The partying continued. By this time we were into marijuana, cocaine, and drank a lot. The more we partied the worse things got and  the more trouble we would get into -  together and separate. We fought a lot. My husband was starting to get mean when he drank - verbally abusive. 

     When my husband reached 30 he decided he needed something to fill a void in his life. He started studying with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I did not join him at first because I didn’t want to change my lifestyle of party girl. When I saw that there was not much of a change in him, I decided to join him. We studied with them for about three years. When my sister found out what we were doing, she tried to share some things with us. You see, she and her husband had already accepted Jesus as their Saviour. My husband, being the good Jehovah’s Witness that he thought he was, was going to share some things with them. We soon found out that we were wrong. We started on our search for the truth. We went to several different churches, but did not find the answer.                                                

     During all of this searching, my grandpa Harner had died. This was  extremely hard for me to accept. He meant the world to me. I thought he would live forever. I began to think about the shortness of life. This caused me to take a long hard look at my life. I did not like what I saw. I knew I needed to change. This is when I remembered God. I started crying out to God to help me. I remember asking for forgiveness for all that I had done wrong,  one thing at a time. I felt such peace afterwards. A peace that is unexplainable. When I went to my grandfather’s funeral, the preacher was talking about how my grandfather had asked for forgiveness for all his sins before he died, and asked Jesus into his life before he died - just like I had two days before. I felt that same peace again in knowing that I would see my grandpa again in Heaven some day. When I think back on the day before he died, he was trying to tell me something, but I dismissed it. I am sure he wanted to tell me about Jesus. I am sure it was about Jesus.

     I knew I was a changed person now and could not do the same things anymore, however, my husband was not saved yet. He still wanted to go out, so I reluctantly went. I didn’t want to drink, and everybody thought it was because I was depressed because of my grandpa. They said things like, “Loosen up and have fun. Drink with us.” So I did. I didn’t tell my husband about my salvation experience right away. I was afraid of what he would say.

     Meanwhile, the search for a church went on. My brother-in-law knew we were searching for a church, so he found Grace Baptist Church in Medina on the internet. He called the Pastor and asked him all kinds of questions. When he was satisfied with the answers, he asked the pastor to call us. The pastor called and asked us to come visit the church. We did. When we walked out after that first time we all agreed that this was the church for us. There was something different here. Three weeks later my husband accepted Jesus as his Saviour. Our kids soon followed. The pastor and his family discipled our family and we started to learn and grow in the Lord. 

     We became involved in many ministries as we grew. Others in our family got saved as well, including my dad. Now I know why he got his second chance. I have seen the Lord do some amazing things with my family and myself, including serving the Lord through a recent trip to a little village above the arctic circle in Alaska. How amazing is that?! I have learned to trust in the Lord and obey Him.  I have also seen what happens if you don’t trust and obey Him - not a place I want to be in anymore. It is much easier to just listen to the Lord and abide in His Word.

     My life has come a long way since I accepted Jesus as my Saviour on February 27, 1999. I continue to learn from God’s Word and grow a little more each day, and will until the day I leave this earth. There is no better place to be than where I am now. I love the Lord and serving Him, and am very glad I gave my life to Him.

 

           - More “My Stories”

           - A clear Bible explanation of salvation

           - Information on Grace Baptist Church

 

     Admit to God that you are a sinner

 

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23)

 

     Believe that Jesus Christ died to pay for your sin

 

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

(1 John 1:10)

 

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” (1 Peter 3:18)

 

     Call out to Him and ask Him to be your Saviour

 

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

 

 

Grace Baptist Church

120 Park Avenue

Medina, NY 14103

585-798-3096  

Robin Denning