10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Happy Sabbath

Today, well rather yesterday and today are very special days for me.  It has been 10 years since I was baptized as a Seventh Day Adventist.  Yesterday, I spent the day out with my son and the latter half with my older sister.  I had a great day off from work and now that I think about it, perhaps I should plan to be off of work every year for that day. 
Today I went to church not knowing what I would encounter.  There is a couple at my church who I never spoke with.  They are older and Ihave seen them from time to time but didn’t know who they were or how they were related to other people at the church.  I still to this day am guessing and think that one is the father of the person who teaches my son at Sabbath school.  The church was packed today and they did something different that reminded me of my old church. The service was like an interview and he gave his testimony about how he came to the Lord and what has kept him believing in Christ all these many years.  There were many people but it felt smaller and more intimate. 
He talked about his Buddhist past and how he and his father both started getting Bible studies at the same time.  They were baptized the same day.  He spoke about the Adventist education system, going to college on the west coast, meeting his wife, and the most important lessons he learned over the years. 
I was able to take some notes and plan to look back at them from time to time.  I was encouraged and inspired by him to try harder and live better for Christ.  I didn’t take heed to the warning I received on September 1st in 2011.  It is Ephesians 6:11.  That was when I was keeping company with an unsavory figure and didn’t realize that the enemy was working behind the scenes through that person.  I have been on YouVersion since June 2010.  When I first started studying the Bible and posting notes publicly, the enemy started even then.  September in 2011 was when some of the first of many attacks on my faith began.  I should also say that when certain things happened to me, although Youversion has the same verse saved every single year for every day of the year (they never change, I’ve checked), when I had a certain problem, question or situation, the verse of the day would speak to my problem perfectly.  God can use anything and I have experienced Him using Youversion too.

I felt like such a failure but 10 years in, I can say that the Lord has kept me and brought me through some of my most difficult times.  What the enemy means for evil the Lord does turn around for our good.  I thank the Lord for not letting me go.  This week reminds me to try harder, live better, and do what I can to lead others to Him.  He has entrusted to me a son and when I have by sin and ignoring the dangers, lost friends and gained doubters in my God and in all that I had shared with them, I have someone still that I can talk to and who can walk with me, experiencing the wonders of God first hand.  My son was good during Sabbath school.  He sat and listened during Children’s story.  He prayed for the class and he is learning about Jesus.  This gives me great joy and I am thankful for an opportunity such as this.  I am thankful for 10 years, 11 years of being a Christian.  I am thankful for this Sabbath day.  I am thankful for Jesus.