- Hi, my name is Samantha Lee and I'm Tyler's sister. I'm currently a fourth year in college studying business. I grew up in a Christian household with Christian parents who brought me to church faithfully ever since I was a baby. I heard the Bible stories hundreds of times and at age five, proclaimed Jesus Christ as my savior.

The words came out, but I didn't know what they truly meant. Then it seemed like every Sunday school after, I would pray the salvation prayer with my teacher just to make sure I wouldn't go to hell. Continuing into high school, outwardly I looked like a great Christian, serving in children's ministry, food pantries, and refreshments.

At school, I worked hard and never partied, defining myself as a good worker for God, but never sharing the gospel. In reality, my actions were aimed to build and protect my own kingdom, not realizing that I was rotting in the comfort of my bitter thoughts, self-pity, and pride. All along, I justified sin by the flawed logic, allowing me to sincing fare for any horrible adversities thrown at me.

Plus, I would even out my sin debt with good deeds, making me an A-plus Christian who would in turn receive a ticket out of hell. My faith had become solely work-based, independent of any need for Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Going into college, church became a place where I could just fulfill my Christianly social needs.

My worth was in my own strength to follow God's laws in my friends and future, but when these were abruptly stripped away from me and I was left to sustain my own faith, I failed. The more that I forced myself to follow God's commandments, the deeper into sin I would fall, to the point where I couldn't even uphold my own standards.

I saw the true ugliness of sin and how it has destroyed this world from the inside out. I was broken and wondered what I'd been believing my whole life. For months after, I desperately searched for the truth of my existence and I awed it back to God. Yet, I didn't understand how loving He is until one day I heard that believers are to be co-heirs with Christ in heaven forever.

What did mankind do to deserve a glorified place with a holy God? Nothing. It was at the beginning of this year when I was saved. I was bounded for hell and had no ability to pay back even a fraction of my sin, but the Prince of Heaven could and did.

He who never sinned was executed in my place to wash away my sins. From the beginning, Jesus knew how painful His journey to earth would be, yet out of an incomprehensible love, He still came and died for those who murdered Him. But His power over the universe was proven as He rose victoriously alive three days later, defeating death.

The sin I once ran towards is a sin which Christ saved me from. I can no longer justify my wrongdoings, but come to God for forgiveness. Christ has changed me to become more genuine, helping me work through my struggles with others instead of secretly wallowing in self-pity and bitterness.

I can live each day freely building a relationship with my Creator because I'm secured by His gift. There is nothing I could do to earn it, and there is no power in man or hell that can take it away. I will gladly consider my own kingdom and life as foolish in comparison to receiving an everlasting relationship with God who's prepared a beautiful place for His people, asking nothing in return but their broken hearts.

As Paul said in Philippians 3, 8-9, "More than that, I count all things to be lost in the view of these surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.

And may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is their faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith." I accept Christ as my Lord, not because I grew up hearing that, but because I'm too scared to go to hell.

I accept Christ as my eternal King and Savior because He gently loves me to the point where He will pull me from death so that I might be His treasured daughter forever. (audience applauding) (microphone feedback) , (microphone feedback) (microphone feedback) (audience applauding)