I was born and raised a Protestant in a predominantly Catholic country, the Philippines. I am a third-generation Christian and proud of my Godly heritage. My grandfather suffered a lot of persecution when he first came to know the Lord but his faithfulness bore Godly fruit not only in his family but in his community as well which, as is common in the Philippines, was comprised mostly of relatives to the nth degree. There were a lot of expectations for us, the children, to be involved in church as well and I personally did not resent it. I loved the church, it was a safe place for me, my gift of music was nurtured there and I enjoyed my friendships. When I was 13, I remember having a very emotional experience that involved going forward and praying. I have no clear concept of what happened at that time but I did it anyway because I thought it was the next step to take in my spiritual walk.
I never really had a lot of non-church friends so when I went to college, it was natural for me to be drawn to a Bible study group. I’ve always been comfortable with Christians because I talked their lingo and I did what they did like study the Bible, have regular devotions, share God’s Word…I even knew the 4 spiritual laws booklet from cover to cover. Eventually, our Bible study turned into a singing group that shared God’s Word on and off campus using music and the 4 spiritual laws.
One night, our group sang in two separate events where the movies “Thief in the Night” and “Distant Thunder” were shown. These movies were about Christ’s return. For some reason, the movies disturbed me. They shook me to the core. They reminded me of a song we sang a lot in our youth group entitled, “I wish we’d all been ready.” Let me share with you some parts of the song:
A man and a wife asleep in bed, she hears a noise and turns her head he’s gone
I wish we’d all been ready
Two men walking up a hill, one disappears and one left standing still
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind
There’s no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind?”…
How could I have been so blind? I’ve heard God’s message of salvation all my life, I even knew what’s going to take place when Christ returns like a thief in the night, but it was all head knowledge to me. The concept of salvation and an abundant life in Christ was so common to me that I actually missed it. It was a painful time to search my heart and realize that I probably never really accepted Christ personally. I couldn’t remember a specific time when I invited Him to be my Lord and Savior even though I have led so many people into that experience. It was also a time when there were several things in my life that a Christian would not be comfortable doing, and yet I was doing them especially when my Christian friends were not around. That night I prayed to the Lord to forgive me of all my sins and to give me the power to live my life as a Christian should. I said, “Lord, if you can be any more real to me, please do so. I know a lot about you but I don’t think I really know You. I want to know you more and love you with all my heart.”
The following morning, I did my devotion, as usual, and I read my Bible like I’ve had many, many times in the past. That morning, though, there was a difference—the Bible, God’s Word, actually came alive, like it was a breathing Being talking to me. My mind was open, but this time, so was my heart. He became personal; He became a living Being inside of me! I couldn’t believe how spiritually alive I felt! It was no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. In the next months, He would, by His grace, lead and enable me to turn away from things and people that were pulling me away from Him, something I never had any success doing in the past. Romans 8:14 testifies to the changes that started happening, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
There were no significant physical changes or a change in routine for me before and after I accepted Christ into my heart. I was still the same externally. Internally, however, the change has been amazing, the most of which is the presence of the Holy Spirit’s power in my life. Whereas before, I walked by flesh and trusted my own strength and knowledge, now everything is by His Spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:16b-17 says, “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”
