I was very privileged to be born into a Christian home with parents who truly love God and raised me to do the same.
At the age of 11, I responded to an invitation at a church camp and was led through a simple prayer of salvation. From that point on, I considered myself to be a Christian. I knew that Christianity was the right way, but at the same time, I really did not understand what true salvation was all about. Looking back, I can see that I did not really sense the wickedness of my own sin. In my head, I knew that I was a “sinner,” but I did not deeply understand my need for a Savior. That would come many years later.
Not long after this “salvation” experience, my family moved to Singapore, where I heard the truth of the Bible preached, and I saw it being lived out in the lives of the church members there. As I began to compare my life to the truth of God’s Word, I saw many things lacking. It did not take me long to conclude that my “Christian” life did not match the Bible’s description of a Christian.
I soon began to exhibit the rebelliousness of my heart toward my parents. I lost interest in spiritual matters and followed the ungodly desires of my heart. I thank the Lord for my godly parents, who saw my spiritual needs and lovingly corrected and disciplined me.
It was during this time of discipline that God began to tender my heart toward Him. I began to appreciate God’s goodness to me, but I still had not reached the point of understanding the deep sinfulness of my heart.
As I got older, I began to see my sinful nature more clearly. The most prominent sin in my heart was lust. The sin of lust had dominion over me, although it took some time for me to admit it. I soon began to see that I had no ability to have pure thoughts, no matter how hard I tried.
God began to use the lives of worldly young men around me to convict my heart. As I looked at their lives and listened to their conversations, I was shocked to see their deep wickedness and impurity. Instead of being attracted to the world, I became repulsed by it. And yet I knew that without God’s help, I would go even deeper into lust and be just like them.
I began to feel so unclean in my heart, and I desperately wanted to be different. It was then that God reminded me that He had made a way for sin to be forgiven. The words of the song, There Is A Way became very personal to me at this time. They reminded me that God’s “power could cleanse and save my soul”, and His “biood could set me free.” I did not have to be bound by lust! I could be delivered! Through the loving counsel of God’s servants, God brought about a deep gratitude in my heart for His goodness to me, both in putting me in a Christian home, and more importantly, in providing a way for my sins to be forgiven.
One night, in deep repentance for sin and with a heart of faith in God’s cleansing power and forgiveness, I gave the Lord my heart and life. I told Him that if He would just change my heart, I would let Him have His will in my. life. God did just that!
Since my salvation, I have experienced a wonderful power over sin. Although I am not perfect, sin no longer has dominion over me. I thank God with all my heart that He made a way for sin to be forgiven!