what is your story and grace about God?

[holy999]

how did you come to follow God.

 

[Hospes]

• As best I can remember, I always believed the Gospel. (Your parents tell you something and you simply accept their word for it. )
• Grew up attending Biblically solid churches
• Early adolescence I tried very hard to be a good kid, though I failed often to the point I quit trying.
• For an early teen, I became a pretty nasty person: liar, thief, angry, bully to the weaker, etc.
• 1975, 14 years old (You can do the math!) At a tiny southern Pentecostal Holiness church on a Wednesday night service. Don't remember praying much. Don't remember the sermon. Just went to the front at the end of the service and blubbered like an idiot and kept saying "I got it". At some point, I looked around and my mother, myself, and the pastor were the only ones left in the church. Went home a new creation; born again.
• I have spent the remaining part of my life learning more and more about what God did - via the work of my Lord Jesus - to me that night, growing in my love for Him and my desire to please Him.
• As I understand more and more of His holiness, glory, beauty, goodness, etc., I realize how much I fall short of His character and how great my salvation is through Christ Jesus. What a wonder! To be such a worthless person and yet be His son, perfectly righteous and totally accepted, being clothed in the righteousness of Christ. What salvation!

 

[Christ_empowered]

Age 28, regarded as an over the hill flamer by the community. Living barely above poverty in a small apt. Over a garage...out on bond for a serious felony charge. I only bonded out because my upwardly mobile parents had recently hit the well to do range, and they took pity on me and hired a good old boy lawyer and paid for bond too.

So, it hit me. He knocked at my heart's door I cried and said my very best sinners prayer, and....that was the end of the old me, thank God.

The felony, which could have carried 15 years, was reduced to a serious misdemeanor. I got probation. Its been sealed, so now I have a conviction, but it doesn't show up on background checks for most purposes. And...

Been off probation 4 years now. Parents have forgiven me for a wasted time before Jesus. They're doing well I'm no longer a flamer, and I am healthy and in voluntary outpatient treatment for schizophrenia.

Most importantly Gods will has come to pass for me of all people. Forgiveness is the core of our faith, and my testimony is an example of His forgiveness and His justice...which emphasizes mercy and redemption over punishment and retribution.

 

[Who Me]

Searching forcGod, wanted to know him and his peace but knew I didn either know him or his peace.
Then one sermon, and as I attended church regularly I heard a lot of sermons the words in 1Cor15:14 that if Jesus is not raised then we are to be puttied for we are still in our sins. Made sense.
I knew I believed in Jesus's resurrection and what it meant.