18th May 2008                   Josh Armitage - Testimony
Just recently I made the decision to  be baptized. Baptism to me is a means of showing that I belong to Jesus and want to follow him. I accepted the Lord into my heart at a very young age. As a five year old, I probably couldn’t understand everything about being a Christian, and even now I still can’t say that I do. But I am constantly learning these things through prayer, from those around me, the lessons in life’s experiences, and, most importantly, by studying God’s Word.

 

It’s not easy growing up in a world that lives by everything the Bible condemns. Distractions and temptations are always trying to pry you away from what really matters and I admit that I haven’t always upheld my commitments. I have learned that every temptation to commit a wrong is also an opportunity to do something good and that God’s strength will always be on call to help us endure such moments.

Perhaps one of the most important elements of my dedication to Christ is my connection with people throughout my life. God has worked through others to help me grow, in particular my family, who introduced me to Him and continually taught me about Him throughout my childhood. There have been many others who have had an enormous influence and I praise God for placing these people in my life and keeping me in check. These people are a combination of pastors, church members, friends, and other believers. In fact, even non-believers have played an important role. They’ve shown me that life is meaningless unless your heart is with God.

That is why I am up here, to tell you that, yes, my heart is with God. He gave me this life, and sacrificed His own. So now I give Him mine as a living sacrifice for Him to use for His purposes. He alone knows what is best for me and the greatest thing I can do is live for Him.

1 Corinthians 2:9 offers a powerful message of hope for followers of Jesus. It says this: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.

With this in mind, I feel no hesitation to start living for God right now and being called to action, knowing that He will provide the opportunity and the means of achieving what He wants us to do. King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 16:3 about doing God’s work. He said: Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

We should do all to honour our Lord.