back to index2021-10-10 Colson Wakamoto Baptism Testimony
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Good morning, my name is Colson. I'm a junior in the college ministry and this is my testimony. 00:00:11.240 |
I was born in Korea and adopted into a Christ-loving family when I was around six months old. So 00:00:16.320 |
as I look back, God's plan for my salvation started right off the bat, but I was blind 00:00:21.060 |
and my heart was too hardened to realize it. I spent my whole life going to church, but 00:00:25.200 |
the whole time I was just going through the motions. I was even baptized when I was in 00:00:28.960 |
fifth grade, but I was way too young to realize what it truly meant. As I got older, I had 00:00:35.560 |
all the head knowledge that someone who grew up in the church should have, but it wasn't 00:00:39.360 |
for the right reasons. I knew all the right answers and what to say during discussions 00:00:43.320 |
and Bible study, but of course the knowledge I gained was for my own self-righteousness 00:00:47.680 |
so that I could look like a good Christian to others, but it wasn't for God's glory. 00:00:52.320 |
I knew about all about God on the surface, but I didn't have a personal relationship 00:00:55.960 |
with him. Because of this, I struggled with surrendering my life fully to Christ and giving 00:01:01.000 |
up all I have to him. I would still go to church on Sundays and Bible studies on Fridays, 00:01:05.480 |
but throughout the week, I took the mask off and lived as if there was no God. To me, Sundays 00:01:10.640 |
and Fridays were times to see my friends, not a time to worship Christ. I lived very 00:01:15.320 |
selfishly regarding my free time and I wouldn't ever do devotions or read the Bible on my 00:01:19.440 |
own. Prayer was a rare thing in my life and I only really prayed when I felt like I needed 00:01:24.080 |
it to. To me, God was like a genie in a bottle. My pride also got in the way as I felt like 00:01:29.520 |
I needed to do something in order for me to be saved. I never doubted that God existed 00:01:34.480 |
or thought the Bible was false, but I was much more interested in the empty promises 00:01:38.480 |
of the world than giving my life to Christ. One of the biggest turning points in my life 00:01:43.080 |
and one of the things I am most thankful for is when God led me to Berean. That's when 00:01:47.800 |
I truly started to learn about who God really is and what that meant for me. Because of 00:01:52.240 |
my pride, as I learned about the attributes of God, one of the things I struggled with 00:01:56.080 |
the most was God's abundant mercy and grace. How could a perfect and holy God love a sinner 00:02:01.120 |
like me? I always thought that I didn't deserve God's love and that there was no way I deserved 00:02:06.320 |
to be saved. The funny thing was, I was absolutely correct. If God saves me, I have to do or 00:02:12.780 |
give him something in return, I thought. Again, my pride wouldn't let me get over the fact 00:02:16.880 |
that there was nothing I could do to help even a tiny bit with my salvation. It didn't 00:02:21.640 |
happen overnight, but my mindset started to shift as I realized how broken I was and how 00:02:26.400 |
much I needed God. In return, all I can give back is praise and gratitude. His love for 00:02:32.240 |
me has inspired an overflow of worship and adoration as well as longing to learn more 00:02:36.680 |
about Christ and his word. Experiencing God's love drove me to do daily things that I've 00:02:40.840 |
never thought about doing before, such as spending time in his word and worshiping on 00:02:45.080 |
my own time. I spent more time praying throughout the day as it felt more natural to go to God 00:02:50.280 |
even when I wasn't in a dire situation. Doing these things no longer felt like something 00:02:54.960 |
I had to do, but rather something I was lucky to be able to do, which filled me with joy. 00:03:00.320 |
Over the summer, some of the college ministry did a Bible reading plan of the Old Testament. 00:03:04.040 |
It was a fast-paced test of obedience, but it really helped me get a better grasp of 00:03:07.840 |
who our God is. His incredible patience stuck out to me as I read about Israel sinning against 00:03:12.840 |
God time and time again. The God of Israel is the same patient God that waited for me 00:03:18.080 |
to surrender myself and let him in. It isn't from the Old Testament, but a verse I find 00:03:23.240 |
really encouraging is 2 Peter 3.9. "The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count 00:03:28.800 |
slowness what is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to 00:03:33.240 |
come to repentance." This verse really showed me God's goodness and that he will never give 00:03:37.920 |
up on you, for he doesn't wish for anyone to be subject to his judgment in wrath. I've 00:03:43.120 |
been rejecting God through my whole life, and he's been waiting for me to let go of 00:03:47.640 |
the world and completely surrender to him. I've accepted that I'm completely undeserving 00:03:51.760 |
of God's grace, but I rejoice now because I know God and I'm able to have a relationship