Before Jesus Changed My Life

Growing up I lived with my mom and older half-sister. Growing up I went to a Lutheran church, I was baptized when I was 4. I was confirmed when I was 12. But slowly after getting confirmed my family started to drift away from church. I always knew that Jesus died on the cross but never fully understood why he did. Then in February of 2024, I went through a breakup. I struggled with my mental state and turned to alcohol to fill that void. During the salt welcome week this past summer, I was invited to join them in the activities, and I went out and joined them. But then I would leave not thinking about Jesus and would just go back to my earthly idols. When I first started to go to salt and church, I would call myself a Christian but I would still focus on the earthly treasures and live that double life of believing intelligence but not with my heart.

How Jesus Changed My Life

God being such a loving creator gave me a great community of brothers of Christ, who have been so helpful and encouraging with my walk. The two that stand out the most are Riley Bee and Jacob Abbas. They both have been great leaders for me as I grow closer to Jesus. If you don’t know or never met them I would suggest meeting them. They have shown and taught me so much about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Without Riley convincing me to go to the fall retreat this year, I would’ve never given my life over to Christ. A verse that called out to me was John 3:36 (Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.) because without him we are lost and condoned to eternal death.

My Life After Jesus Saved Me

After giving my life over to Jesus, I’ve felt a wave of pleasure and happiness. It feels like everything has a purpose and reason now, like I find myself turning to him as my first reaction to hardships and difficulties that I face. Without him, I was dead and now I feel alive more than I ever did. Before giving my life to Christ it felt like going to salt and church was a burden and that I couldn’t wait for the service to be over but now It’s completely different I don’t want it to end. Thanks be to God.