Good morning. My name is Tiffany and it's a privilege to stand before all of you this morning and share the work God's done in my life. The unfolding of my testimony isn't linear, but looking back, God was working in every season of my life. And by God's grace, he radically transformed my heart, mind, and soul.

He took my heart of stone and gave me a new heart of flesh. Total death reigned in my body and even when I believed, I was saved, but his relentless love was greater than any chains of sin that held me down. I acknowledge that God's gift of grace through faith saved me and although it took time, he allowed me to see my depravity leading me to repentance.

I am nothing without Christ and even when I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. His love is more than I could ever comprehend. Because of God's saving grace and redemptive work, I was made spiritually alive by grace through faith in Christ alone. Although I grew up in a practicing Buddhist family, my parents put me in a Lutheran school from preschool until fifth grade, which marked my very first exposure to God.

Growing up in a Buddhist household made it difficult to explore God to the extent that I desired, but by God's sovereign guidance, I was introduced to a handful of brothers and sisters in Christ later in my life who helped foster the character I exhibit today. As a response to their financial struggle, my parents pulled me out of Red Hill Lutheran and I later found myself attending my local public school.

At this time, my character began to shift from a diligent and humble student to a boastful and attention-seeking delinquent. During my rebellion stage, I would partake in illegal drugs and alcohol even during school hours and the lack of respect I had for my teachers and parents increased. On top of that, I chose to spend time around the wrong crowds, shoplifted when I had the chance and dismissed the idea of purity.

However, there was a huge lack of remorse during this time and I found my life continuing to spiral downward in this path. There was a thrill in engaging in these activities and I never considered the consequences or recognized that I was sitting against a holy God. Looking back, the most absurd part is that it was all exhilarating to me and I never once felt an ounce of guilt.

Shortly after, I fell into a state of severe depression that took control of my life. I felt an overwhelming weight of darkness that resulted from a lack of identity. I didn't know who I was anymore and I didn't know how to respond. I sought professional counsel only to end up with a literal pill of a band-aid solution.

Over time, I felt like I was drowning and often found myself contemplating life and whether or not it was worth living. My appetite for apathy continued to grow and this led to multiple attempts of suicide as I had absolutely no desire to live. During my freshman year in college, I continued to be negligent in the way I studied and the way I conducted myself.

Several events transpired not too long after that caused me to disregard pretty much everything. Every day became a mindless passing that had no meaning and I no longer wanted to be a part of what life had to offer. I was burdened by the guilt and shame that I felt during this time from being suspended from a prestigious university to feeling like a disappointment of a child and I filled this void with substances.

Amidst the darkest seasons of my life, I was invited by a friend to a church she had been attending. Attending that service felt like a breath of fresh air after drowning in sin for the better part of my life. I remember bursting into tears after experiencing what it meant to find peace, have hope, and be joyful.

Though I was introduced to this newfound hope, I felt myself clinging to the world and everything in it. I felt almost comfortable in the darkness I was in even though a small part of me knew that Jesus was ultimately my savior. Unfortunately, this wasn't a truth I had yet accepted and the way I lived outside of church was evident of that.

In May of 2019, I became a part of a church where I would find myself playing Christian. I got involved in things like baptism and several church events only to find myself with temporary solutions to an otherwise eternal suffering. While I was more disciplined to control my behaviors and act like a Christian, everything I did was for my own self-righteousness and inside was still a heart that thrived on sin.

I had terrible issues of personal integrity and I concealed deep anger and resentment within me. I identified as a Christian but I was an unrepentant sinner. The pandemic was life-changing for me in more ways than one. I felt this desire to dive deeper in the word of God and it was a time where I was reintroduced to the entirety of the gospel as opposed to the small out of context verses I would see in the churches I had been attending.

I was introspective in the way that I was living as a Christian and questioned my salvation. I was reluctant during this time in believing in the God I had just rediscovered but I was patient and prayful nonetheless. Several YouTube sermons and one American gospel stream later, God opened my eyes and allowed me to recognize that my transformation was not something I had any part in.

It was foolish and prideful of me to believe that I, a wretched and broken sinner, chose Jesus when in reality it was entirely the work of the Spirit and His loving kindness and amazing grace that gave me the gift of repentance. And I am thankful that it wasn't up to me.

My life would have been completely different and I wouldn't be here before all of you if it was. I am grateful that in Ezekiel 36, 26, God gives us a new heart of flesh where we can say no to sin and yes to His grace and mercies. Not only did He choose me, it was also Him who regenerated me, blessed me with faith, justified me, sanctified me, and on top of that, adopted me as His own and promised to keep me forever.

I know that sanctification is a lifelong process and words will never express how grateful I am for the work the Lord has done in me. By God's grace, He radically transformed the desires of my heart and brought me from death to life, from sin to righteousness, from broken to made new.

I have hope that there is an eternal peace far greater than the fleeting pleasures that life offers, freedom from sin that I was bound by during the years leading up to this moment, and gratefulness for our Heavenly Father so beyond gracious that He would choose me as His own when I could not find a single redeemable quality within myself.

In Galatians 2, 20, I am reminded that I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. In the life which I now live, in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

My identity is in Christ alone and my soul rests and greatly rejoices in that truth. His truth is the cornerstone of my life and despite the trials and tribulations in my life, my hope is secured in Christ who is the author and finisher of my faith. You