I have agreed to share my testimony, with the hope and prayer that it will make a difference for others and show them the way to have

“peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

- Romans 5:1b

     My childhood was overshadowed with sickness and death. Though I don’t remember it, my mother was too sick to take care of me the first few years of my life, leaving the task to my teenaged sister. My earliest memories were of one of my five brothers being sick. He was seventeen and I was seven when he died of a cancerous brain tumor.

     Over the next several years I witnessed firsthand the terrible effects of alcohol (Proverbs 20:1). My Mom died of cirrhosis of the liver when I was fifteen.

     The year after my mother died, I met my husband Mike. Five months later we were married with a baby on the way. One evening, when our son Michael was four months old, Mike asked me if I was ready to go. “Go where?” To church. “Church?! At night? Why would we go there?” He explained to me that the roof that he and my father were working on belonged to a church. He had promised the preacher that we would attend. So we went.

     Reluctant to relinquish our baby to a nursery, we kept him with us. Wow - was I in for a surprise. I had never heard such things as this preacher was saying. He was an evangelist who recited a lot of Bible verses. I had always “believed in” Jesus, but in my mind His existence meant that we were all okay. This man was telling me that wasn’t the case. That we aren’t all automatically “saved.” That we had a responsibility to “receive Him” (John 1:12, Romans 10:13). As soon as the invitation was given, (at this point I didn’t even know what an evangelist or an invitation were) I handed the baby to Mike and walked down the aisle. After praying with the Pastor’s wife to receive Jesus for my own Saviour, I went to find Mike and Michael. I was told that the evangelist had taken them into another room. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered how unusual it is for a married couple to get saved at the same time.

     When we left the church that night and got to the traffic light, we had a decision to make. Going straight would take us to our friends’ house - the ones we had been partying with the past few months. Going left would take us home. Praise the Lord, we turned left!

     The night of our salvation was the first of a week of meetings at the church. I went back every night that week. I was learning about eternal life. The death that had plagued my childhood was losing its sting (I Corinthians 15:55).

     After the meetings were over I started going to church every service: Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. Mike went Sunday mornings only and couldn’t wait to get out for a smoke. Thus began a season of conflict between us. I ‘grew quickly’ and learned a lot from the Bible about God and how He wants us to live. I became frustrated with Mike’s ‘lack of growth.’ Looking back, I can now see that I was self-righteous, not realizing that I needed Christ’s righteousness (not my own) to “live godly” as a Christian.

     After salvation, I ‘gave up’ the soft rock music that I loved. About a year later a Christian friend introduced me to contemporary Christian music. Although the words were good, indicating worship of the Lord, the music itself was the same as what I had given up. It was sensual and played on my emotions. It eventually led me right back to the soft rock that my flesh, or ‘unspiritual side’, craved. The music I was listening to was worldly (I John 2:15) and lent toward selfish feelings.

     Our second son, Jamie, was born with hydrocephalus. His health and development were huge concerns for me. I was overwhelmed by the task of taking care of two small children. 

     Mike and I went through a rocky time in our marriage. I did things that I thought I would never do. The Lord taught me that it is dangerous to say, “I would NEVER do something like that.” (I Corinthians 10:12). Those are the words of a self-righteous person. Rather, we should say, “By God’s grace and through His strength I won’t do things that displease Him.” I learned not to trust myself.

     When things between Mike and I were at their worst, the Lord got a hold of our hearts. Mike quit smoking and we changed our music habits. We moved down south for a fresh start. We attended church regularly together and repented of the different sins that we had fallen into. (Proverbs 28:13, John 1:9). We learned that the Lord can forgive us completely (Psalm 103:12).

     Jamie’s health moved us back north. Mike and I renewed our vows. Today, my husband and I have a healthy relationship with Christ at the center. I’m thankful for him and for the opportunities that we have had to serve the Lord together through the years. The devil does not like the strength that is in a couple who is united in Christ. He does whatever he can to mess it up. 

      Through the years our family has gone through many physical trials. The Lord has taught me so much through these trials. When our son Jamie went through months of pain and came close to death in 2003, I came to the point where I could say, “Whatever you want to do, Lord, is okay with me.” The Lord wants us all to yield to Him this way in everything. Sometimes it is something we need to do daily, as we tend to take things back after we have given them to the Lord. We need to remember that we don’t always see the big picture in light of eternity the way He does. We need to trust Him (Proverbs 3:5,6).

     Through the years I came to realize that, more often than not, my service to the Lord was being done in my own strength. Once I recognized this problem in my life, I tried unsuccessfully to fix it.  It took trials with our oldest son, now an adult, and him finding the answers to his problems through the Reformers Unanimous program to finally bring me the key to freedom. The program, based on biblical principles, is meant to help the addicted. Through it I’ve learned that I need to continually yield to God’s Holy Spirit within me. To let Him do the work through me. In my own strength I get tired and I fail. God’s strength, however, is limitless. It is made perfect through my weakness ( II Corinthians 12:9). When I yield to Him, I can tap into His power (Acts 1:8).

 

           - More “My Stories”

           - A clear Bible explanation of salvation

           - Information on Grace Baptist Church

 

     Admit to God that you are a sinner

 

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23)

 

     Believe that Jesus Christ died to pay for your sin

 

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

(1 John 1:10)

 

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” (1 Peter 3:18)

 

     Call out to Him and ask Him to be your Saviour

 

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

 

 

Grace Baptist Church

120 Park Avenue

Medina, NY 14103

585-798-3096  

Alta Brown