Hi, my name is Catherine, and I was saved in 1986 at the age of twenty-six.

Although I had asked Jesus to come into my heart several years earlier in a Bible camp, I later realized I did not really understand what I was doing but was just afraid of go to hell. I was raised in a Methodist church where I was taught that we go to heaven by being baptized which was what I really believed until a lady from a nearby independent Baptist church asked me if I was really sure I was saved. I, of course, insisted that I was saved because I clearly remembered asking Jesus to be my Savior as a child. She challenged me as to why I was living the ways I did.

See, among other things, I was an alcoholic and a terrible mother. My life was full of every kind of garbage and there was no peace and no evidence of Christ in my life at all. In fact, I often felt empty and lonely inside even though I had friends and an active social life. I knew something was missing in my life, I just didn’t know what. I remember sitting on my porch wondering what in world I would do if I did not drink all the time, I couldn’t think of anything.

Finally, the lady said that if I was really saved, that I needed to rededicate my life to Jesus and I agreed that it would be a good thing. Inside, I was hoping that this would make the difference that I needed in my life. I went to the church with her and talked to some of the people who told me that I needed to be baptized to join the church. They showed me that the Bible clearly teaches this, and that being baptized has nothing to do with going to heaven.

It all became very clear to me that I had never really been saved at all. They showed me in God’s Word that I was a sinner (which was easy to believe) and that it was that sin which separated me from God. That explained why I felt so empty inside like something was missing. The Bible said that God could not allow any sin in Heaven because of His holiness so if I wanted to be close to Him now and go to Heaven someday, I had to get my sin taken care of; or I would end up in the place where sin is allowed, hell.

God’s Word went on to say that the price to pay for my sin was so high that there was nothing that I or anyone else could do to pay the debt for my crimes against God. So, God Himself became a man so He could pay the price for me. Jesus took all my sin upon Himself and was nailed to a cross. He died to pay for my debt of sin, then rose up from the dead to conquer death for me. God’s gift of salvation was free to me, though it cost Him so much. All I needed to do was to tell God that I was sorry for my sin, and ask Him to please forgive me.

I needed Him to come into my heart to be my Lord so that my life would be pleasing to Him. In my heart I could feel God telling me that everything these people were showing me was true. So I prayed, and Jesus really did come into my heart just like He said He would. Soon after I was baptized into that true church of God. My life has never been the same, and I’ve never regretted my decision. It was more than turning over a new leaf. it was a new me. No wonder God says we’re born again.

Now, I’m not empty or alone any more.