"My Life Testimony" is about how I came to know Jesus and why did I embraced Him as my Lord. It was written way back in year 2000 when I was being asked to share in a gospel evangelistic meeting about my faith.
It's amazing how God works. I started to re-type it 2 months ago because I lost the soft copy in my office computer. I was happy that I still have the hard copy with me... but re-typing it out is very time-consuming, so it was kind of 'abandoned'.
Yesterday as I was searching for Tiffany's earlier birthday photos in my home computer, I saw this folder 'LYDIA' in the C drive, because I seldom work on my home computer and, because it is screaming out my name, I open it out and saw my script!!
So, right now I'll just copy and paste and go through it again to fine-tune the words, you see, I used a lot of abbreviation which you might not understand ;) SO, here we go:
MY LIFE TESTIMONY
I am glad that you are reading about me at this God's appointed time. I would like to greet you in the Name which is greater than any other name, and that's the great Name of Jesus Christ!
I am giving you an account of my life testimony. That is to share with you how I came to know Jesus and why did I embraced him as my Lord.
I was born into a Taoist family. My parents pray to ancestors and worship a statue-god called "da-bo-gong". Mom would ask me to help her every 1st and 15th day of the lunar month to offer food and burn incense. I was just a little girl then and knew nothing much except that all these rituals were performed so that our ancestors and the statue-god would in turn protect and bless us.
A picture of my deceased grandma was placed on the altar and also a list of our ancestors' names. I was not close to grandma at all because she passed away before I was even born. I used to wonder where had she gone to and did she really hear us praying to her?
But as a little girl, I have more faith in my deceased grandma than the statue-god, because once my Dad was washing it and it slipped off his hands and was broken. Though I was still little, I wonder how this god is going to protect us when he couldn't even wash himself or protect himself. I remember Dad got to use superglue to fix him up before he gets another new one from the temple.
After I grew up a little. I was in primary school when I heard stories of a historical man called Jesus. I was fascinated by His stories. The 1st story I heard about Jesus was how He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" He was in a boat when a storm broke up. With just one command, the wind died down and it was completely calm. I thought to myself, WOW-WEE, this Jesus must be somebody, because even the wind and the waves obeyed
Him.
Shortly after that, I got a chance to attend a children's Sunday
School with my sister, Sarah. From there I heard many more cool stories about Jesus. How He healed the sick, made the blinds see, the lame walk. The miracles He performed, feeding the 5000, causing the dead to rise and delievered those demons possessed. I don't know why BUT something inside of me just know and believe that this Jesus is for REAL.
My parents came to know about us attending church and they stopped us. They even beat up my sister because she had converted to christianity. I was afraid and I told myself never to become a christian, if not my Dad would definitely beat me to death.
Time passed and I grew up a little more, prettier and taller(haha!) and was in my secondary school years. But then, I was a troubled soul. I was bound by spirit of inferior complex. I tend to pity myself a lot. And I mean REALLY A LOT, so much so that I attempted
suicide.
Yes. I thought life was NOT fair, why my friends were all better off than me? Why A's parents were so rich? They could lived in a terrace house and had a garden, but mine was just a 3 rooms flat and could only put a few flower pots on our 5-foot-way. Why B was so clever and scored so well for all her subjects but I could only managed a pass and even fail some subjects no matter how hard I studied? Why C was so pretty but I was just a plain jane?? Why? Why?? Why???
It may sound silly now but then it was terrible, envious and jealousy and self-pity clouded my mind and I often hide away and cried. Once, I nearly popped 2 moth-balls which my Mom put in the wardrode to keep away crocoaches. I thought death could put a stop to all my so-called 'sufferings', but the other part of me was afraid, I didn't know where would I end up and what would happen to me?
I began to ask many questions about life and death. Why I was born into this world and into this family. Why people died. I mean it is so meaningless, the moment you born into the world, every minute that passed makes you closer to the day you died. *SIGH*
Then Jesus came into the picture. At the darkest moment of my life I would say, my sister, who continued attending church though my parents were strongly against it, had began to share with me about Jesus' 2nd coming and that how the world is preparing for His return.
The Bible predicted that there will be an increase of natural disasters like earthquakes, floods. Increase of wars and rumors of wars. How this world would become a cash-less society. Mark of the beast 666 on the palms and foreheads of men for transaction. I wonder whether you people heard of the recent development, a professor tried implanting microchip into his arm!
Hmmmm.. how interesting I thought. Whatever the Bible predicted regarding the events before the coming of Jesus, the newspaper was reporting on it. This created an interest in me that I wanna read the Bible which itself claims to be the Word of God.
SO, from my sister's sharing and from reading the Bible, I began to understand many things about life and death. That death is the result of sins. I realise I have sins, tons of it and that I sin naturally. I don't need to be taught how to tell lies, how to steal, how to hate, instead I need to be taught otherwise.
I learnt that it was appointed for men to died once and after that judgment. I realized that those who died could no longer protect us as they are waiting to be judged by God. Therefore, ancestors worship is totally out. About being filial, I think I should demonstrate it while my parents are still around, not only after they died.
Then, I came to know of this Creator God, the God of the Bible, and how He loved me by sending His Son, Jesus, to died on the cross for my sins. I felt the love of God for me is so real.
Whenever I read the Bible, I could almost felt like God is speaking to me. Like for instance, in Jeremiah 1:5, God said that before He formed me in the womb He knew me, before I was born He chose me! I felt so special and slowly that spirit of inferiority just left me. No longer I pity myself, I began to count my blessings which God so graciously bestowed on me through His Son, Jesus. I began to thank God for my family, my life, my friends and even my appearance.
In 1985, I was 15 yrs old then, I made up my mind to accept the sacrificial love of Jesus. I went to a rally. The preacher was talking about the narrow gate.
Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
I know that if I become a chrisitian, my Dad would beat me to death. But I was certain that I need Jesus, who is the narrow gate, though it may be tough to walk on the narrow path, it leads to life and I wanna be those few who find it!
Hence, at the end of the rally during the altar-call, I slipped up my right hand and went forward. I confessed my sins to God and asked Him to forgive me. I believed and received Jesus into my heart, into my life. Instantly, I felt all my sins were washed away by the blood of Jesus. I was reconciled with God and abundant joy just flooded my heart.
No words could express how I felt. It was the glorious moment in my life, tears just streamed down. I remembered the song they sang at the rally: "He is Lord, He is Lord. He has risen from the dead and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." I tell you, I couldn't agree more with the song ever so strongly!
Yes, my parents got to know about my conversion, and Dad did beat me up badly(though not beat to death, but with water-hose, the bruise was on my right thigh for the longest time!) but I was willing to suffer for my Lord, because God is faithful; he never let me suffer beyond what I could bear. He always provide a way out so that I can stand up under it. Guess what? Slowly I was able to attend church.
Finally, I would like to conclude here that it is the love of God that draws me to Christianity. Christianity to me is not just another religion, it is a LIVING relationship with the God of the whole universe, which made possible by Jesus Christ who paid the penalty of sins on my behalf when he died on that awful cross.
I love Jesus very much and the fact that He rose from the dead, I believe He is the begotten Son of the Living God and that He is coming soon.
Now, God loves you and has given you ample opportunities to know Him. God wants you to know Him more intimately through His Son Jesus Christ.
With this, I end my sharing and may Jesus be so real to you, like He is to me, that you cannot, but to receive Him into your heart to be your Lord and Saviour.
Praise the great Name of Jesus. Amen!
Congrats! You've finished reading my very long testimony! Now you got to know a little more about me, ya?
Thanks for reading!
I will update this post again with a picture of myself at 15 years old, I hope I can find one!
