back to index2022-01-02 Christine Chun Baptism Testimony
00:00:00.000 |
Good morning, my name is Christine Chan and I am a second year at UC Irvine and this is 00:00:13.080 |
Introduced to Christianity at a young age, I followed my parents to church, hearing about 00:00:17.080 |
a God that loves me so much that he sent his one and only son to die for our sins. 00:00:22.880 |
However my desire to even attend was always found in my friends. 00:00:26.600 |
Not knowing the true gravity and consequences of sin, I chose to ignore the worries about 00:00:30.720 |
the future and live in the present, enjoying every moment with the friendships that I had. 00:00:35.680 |
I continued to gain head knowledge about God and the Bible, but I never chose to apply 00:00:41.760 |
In middle school I joined a Christian ministry that meant to sing, dance, and worship every 00:00:47.480 |
Throughout high school I became insecure about everything about myself, as I put what people 00:00:55.560 |
I mimicked other people in the way I dressed, talked, walked, and laughed, wearing a mask 00:01:02.740 |
As I learned to say and do the right things to be received as a "Christian," I became 00:01:10.560 |
I was even confirmed and therefore proclaimed to the church that I had accepted Christ and 00:01:15.240 |
believed that he is Lord and Savior of my life, and yet my life was not reflecting Christ's 00:01:21.240 |
While those around me had a burning passion for God, his love for us, and how he saved 00:01:27.480 |
And the scariest part of all this was that I had done it subconsciously. 00:01:30.920 |
I did not know that I had lost my identity and my way to Jesus. 00:01:34.680 |
Being surrounded by believers all my life, I was secured in a bubble, and my faith had 00:01:38.480 |
unknowingly become something that was not of my own. 00:01:42.320 |
During the quarantine of 2020, I realized all this in addition to forgetting what it 00:01:46.400 |
was like to love, as I felt apathetic to any love shown to me. 00:01:51.200 |
My heart was hardened to anything my community said to and did for me. 00:01:55.120 |
When my cousin invited me out to Berean, I was amazed at how rooted in the Bible Berean 00:01:59.080 |
Community Church was, for I was never taught how to properly study the Bible, let alone 00:02:06.160 |
However, the more I came out, I stood in awe and wonder at how marvelous the Lord is, and 00:02:11.160 |
how much he truly loves us despite our imperfections. 00:02:14.040 |
Through some of the leaders and friends from college ministry, I was able to hear and receive 00:02:18.560 |
the gospel, along with their testimonies on how their lives were completely changed. 00:02:23.200 |
It always encouraged me and left me wondering when it would happen for me. 00:02:29.040 |
Learning more about God, I prayed that he would reveal himself to me and truly open 00:02:32.260 |
my eyes to his glory, but I left all the work for God to do. 00:02:35.800 |
I needed to do my part and surrender my everything to him, but I couldn't let go of the things 00:02:39.920 |
that I thought were keeping me together, but in reality were tearing me apart. 00:02:44.960 |
There was no date or time in which I accepted Christ, but gradually within the past year, 00:02:49.360 |
as I participated in small group accountability and Friday night Bible study, God's love was 00:02:54.960 |
exposed to me, and in turn, my love for him and desire to know him grew exponentially. 00:03:00.220 |
I learned to love and what it felt like to love. 00:03:02.600 |
I learned that love is different for everyone, and that I cannot have the same standards 00:03:10.240 |
The more time I spent studying his word, the smaller I felt towards God's holiness and 00:03:16.400 |
I realized how much sin had invaded my life, how it clouded my views on God, and how much 00:03:20.560 |
I needed the Lord to save me from my hopeless state, which led me to true repentance. 00:03:26.120 |
A verse that I have been meditating on is 1 John 4, verses 7 through 8. 00:03:31.240 |
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born 00:03:36.920 |
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love."