To be honest, I do not have a specific date or time when I formally accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour. I was taught since young that we are all sinners, and that only by God’s grace and sacrifice for us that we are forgiven. This was something taught me from young and something I have personally accepted it as far as I can remember. I know I am far from being the perfect Christian, but thanks to my parents and the way they have brought me up—I can say I personally never had any doubts about the fact that I am a Christian.

I have to admit that I have not been doing many things that I should be doing especially when I was in my teenage or young adult life—keeping my Quiet Time. I had never been someone who enjoyed reading no matter the type of text. I also first started attending church on my own independently from my parents when I turned 21 as it was then when they first allowed me to attend a church of my choice—I attended New Creation Church. My walk with God was also distanced when I started my first job at a bank. There I was required to work two or three Sundays a month, during which I only managed to attend church about once a month. I was also very focused on my career as making more money was my main goal to which I dedicated most of my time at work.

Things changed mainly this year when my parents asked me to attend TOLCC for my marriage counselling with Pastor Andrew. Attending a more Bible and Scripture focused church and with personal Bible study lessons with Pastor Andrew really made me realise that despite being a Christian for so many years, there were still so many things about the Bible that I did not know of. It also strengthened my faith in God. For the first time in many years, this made me want to read the Bible more. One of the things that Pastor Andrew mentioned that really stuck with me was that “because the word of God is God-breathed, the Bible has all the answers to life.” As I have begun my daily Quiet Time, I also realised a change in my life. Every time I faced a problem, instead of trying to solve it myself or use a “worldly” means, I would now think how God would want me to go about facing and solving these issues. The results have been amazing.  For example, I have been exposed to hearing and sometimes even spouting vulgarities unknowingly probably because you hear it so often nowadays, be it in the army or workplace, etc., that I have become numb to it. But after having read numerous verses and even chapters in the Bible that we need to be mindful of our tongue, I started to make an effort to stay away from it. At first, it was difficult as sometimes it would just be a habit or slip of the tongue. With prayer and being  extra conscious about it, now knowing that it greatly displeases the lord, however, I have been able to almost completely remove these terms out of my life. Right now, even hearing songs with those words can make me uncomfortable and makes me want to turn them off.

I want to transfer my membership to TOLCC as the past few months of attending church here has really renewed my faith in God as well as my thirst for the word of God. I believe it can help me set my heart on God which is especially important as I begin this new phase in my life of getting married and potentially raising a family.