Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: bgriese@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Beth Griese) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: How did you become a Christian? Message-ID: Date: 16 Aug 90 17:18:06 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Ohio State Univ IRCC Lines: 65 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu The original question asked about being "saved", and I think my experience may have a lesson in it: I accepted Jesus when I was 7 years old. I grew up in a church and had listened faithfully to what I was being taught. I believed in the sacrifice Jesus made to make up for our sins. I also remember what day I accepted Christ. It was on a Sunday. I know because I was sitting my room thinking about hearing for what seemed the 500th time about how we have to accpt Jesus and his sacrifice into our hearts. I was even thinking how monotonous it was to hear that over and over again. And that was when i realized that for all that I "knew" and all that I "believed", I had never actually accepted Christ as my savior. Right then and there I knelt at my bed and prayed a simple little girl's prayer to let Jesus know I wanted him into my heart, that I knew the sacrifice he had made for me on the cross, that I thanked him for it, and accepted the gift of his forgiveness. I know there are many theological differences about exactly what you must do to be saved, and I could argue for hours on end with people who say you must pray a certain prayer, or do a certain act, or be baptized a certain baptism. But at that moment when I just prayed a simple prayer, I felt the strangest sensation-- like an actual warm liquid was being poured into me. It was a great feeling, unforgettable. That was the start of my Christain walk, and since then i have been baptized and prayed all the right prayers and done all the right deeds, but I classify those as part of my walk, not as prerequisites to being forgiven as a child of God. But that can start a whole new never-ending thread for people to scream at each other about. As for becoming "un-saved" or falling from grace, I think back to same feeling that I have to believe was the touch of the Lord. I haven't committed any great sacrileges against Christ, but I have strayed from the path plenty of times since I was 7. And many times I've re-committed my life to Jesus, re-affirming with Him that He is still part of me and I still accept and want his forgiveness and guidance in my life. I've come away from those experiences feeling good and at peace, of course, but I never again felt the same feeling as that watm liquid. I believe that's because that first feeling was almost a material manifestation of Christ entering my life, and the reason I never felt it again is because after that time, Christ never left my life. If I felt that again, it would mean that Christ had left and was now coming back again. I know my arguments aren't based in deep theological discourse or rooted in every related Bible verse I can find. I can get those if you'd like, and so could you, so my talk is about what *I* think and feel and know. And since I'm a newcomer to the net and this newsgroup, I think this is a pretty great intro for me and the way I think. God bless (and believe me, he does!) --Beth -=- Beth Griese-- journalist at large | "My kingdom for a quiet movie theater (or at least for hire) | or a loud dance floor." | --Columbus, OH (Ohio State University alumnus-Go Bucks!)