I Believed in God

This is the testimony of how my wife was saved from sin and the penalty of sin. Pastor Jason LaPat

Growing up

I grew up with my mom and grandmother. My dad left when I was only 2 years old, so I do not remember him. Mom sent me to church on the church bus from the time I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. I never doubted that there was a God. I loved going to Sunday School and church; I was there every week, including Wednesday nights. When I was in the 4th grade, my cousin came to live with us, he was 16 at the time. He began to go to church with me and one Sunday, he got baptized. I thought it looked fun so I asked to be baptized too. I remember them asking me questions, but I really do not remember how I responded. I must have responded correctly, because the following week, I was baptized myself. BUT, I was not saved! About a year after that, I was baptized again stating that the first time, I didn't mean it.  I did not truly understand it.   I still wasn't saved.  I didn't know that I was lost. 

I continued in church through the middle of 10th grade. We had moved and I just never tried to go to another church. I was the typical worldly teen. I thought mainly of myself, was full of pride, etc... Proverbs 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.  

My heart was not right.

When I turned 18, I decided it was time to look for my dad. I always wondered about him, I would cry through all those reunion shows on TV, envisioned all the different scenarios of how we would meet, and I would dream of our eventual reunion. I had so many questions for him. This was before the internet. I knew that he was originally from California so I started there, calling information and asking for the listings for all the men with his name in the area. I called them one by one. I wound up getting a hold of his father (my grandfather). I explained who I was and asked him if he had a son named Steve. He said he did have, but that he died 8 years ago. I later found out that he had been shot and killed while at a party. I was absolutely devastated. 

 Jason

 

My husband and I met and I became pregnant at the age of 19. We married quickly. I thought to myself that if things didn't work out, we could just get divorced in a year or so. We had never talked about God, religion, church, etc, so I did not know that I had married an evolution-believing, atheist. I knew that it was wrong to be pregnant before getting married, knew a lot of rights/wrongs; I even felt bad about it. But, it did not change things that I did.  

Fast forward 2 years. I was expecting our 2nd child and we were in the process of buying our first house. Around Thanksgiving, we were at a gathering at my husbands aunt's house, with several of our friends. These friends were ones that my husband used to drink with. They were now telling us that they were saved. This is when I realized that he did not believe in God. I even tried to convince him that night that yes, there was a God. I sure didn't live like it though.

Fast forward another year. We had 2 children, our first house, everything that my husband wanted to attain before he turned 25. He talked continually of divorce to friends at work (unknown to me at the time-I thought things were going great). The friends who had talked to him/us at Thanksgiving had begun to come around again. This time, they were studied up on evolution and were armed for the questions bound to come from him. (By the way, much of what they learned regarding evolution came from http://www.answersingenesis.org/).

After a few weeks of them coming around, giving solid answers to his tough questions, he was finally convinced that evolution was a lie and that, yes there is a God. They invited us to church the next day and he said no. The next morning, however, he had changed his mind and decided to go and check it out.

That was our first Sunday going to church as a family. I thought, wow! This is great, we can take our young daughters to church and it will help to teach them morals. Foolish thinking :o(

 After about the 2nd or 3rd week of going to church, my husband fell under conviction and walked the aisle and received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. We had been sitting towards the back and I was holding our 6 month old daughter. I began to cry, not because I was under conviction, but because I knew that our lives were about to change and it scared me. I was comfortable with our lifestyle and was not eager to change it. Just a note: My husband is an all or nothing type of person, black or white, no gray. I knew things were going to change!

Anyway, the pastors' adult daughter was sitting behind me and saw me crying. She thought I was under conviction and took the baby out of my arms and sort of nudged me to go forward. What was I going to say? "No thanks, I don't want to get saved today". I went forward as to not embarrass myself. I knelt beside my husband and everyone thought we got saved that day.

The next couple of months were not pleasant. I was right, things changed for my "all or nothing" husband. If the Bible said it, he did it. I thought, "he is taking this wayyy too literally!". I fought him, discouraged him, tried to get my way, mocked him to a co-worker, etc... This went on for a few months. 

I began to notice that he was happy about the change in his life. I think the Lord really used that to show me some things. I figured out that this was not a "fad", something he would do for a while. This was a new life for him. We went to church together, listened to preaching on the radio and had friends at our house who were Christians.  I continued to ponder these things and observe my husband.  Some time passed and one day when I was driving home from work, I was listening to a radio preacher (back when there were a lot of good preaching on the radio!) and I fell under conviction myself! I realized that I needed to be saved, born-again.  Believing in God was NOT enough.  James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.  I knew that I was a sinner who was lost and that I needed a Saviour too.  I received the Lord as my Saviour right there in my car.  1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.  I eventually came to realize that even though I did not have an earthly father, I did have a Heavenly Father who loved me and would never reject me the way that I had felt rejected before.

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  1 John 5:13 

My Baptism

I did not realize that I would have to be baptized again, because I already had (twice).  I really didn’t think much about it.  Then, we heard a tremendous message on baptism.  The Lord showed me that I needed to show outwardly, through baptism of what had happened to me inside.  You can’t do that before getting saved.

The Present

That was 14 years ago. Over these last 14 years, we have grown in the Lord and learned so much. My husband now pastors a church.  We now have six wonderful children and we could not be happier, relying on the Lord. This is not to say that there have not been ups and downs in our walk. The Lord uses our trials to grow patience in us. James 1:2-3 says this: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

That is my testimony. My husband getting saved was key in my coming to the Lord. As those friends continued to come over and talk to him, I was there listening, watching, observing. Keep that in mind when you speak to others.....people that you don't know are listening, could really be having seeds planted and watered.

By Laura LaPat