How God’s Word Redeemed My Life
For years, I called myself a “Christian.” I just didn’t know what that word actually meant. This is the story of how God’s Word showed me, and how it has been redeeming and changing my life ever since.
Before Christ: I assumed I was a Christian
Growing up, I just assumed I was a Christian. I’d made up my own idea of what that meant: a Christian was someone who believed in God, was kind, and did good things. I figured maybe there was a hell, but only for the worst of the worst. If you tried your best, you’d probably make it to heaven.
Where did I get all that? Mostly from TV shows and movies, the occasional visit to church, and ideas I’d pieced together because they sounded good to me. I had made up the definition, and I fit the definition, so I called myself a Christian.
The Bible on my shelf — I was curious about God, so every so often I’d try to read my Bible. I always started in chapter 1, got burned out, and never finished. I’d get confused and wonder, where is this Jesus guy that churches talk about? So I’d close it and set it back in a pretty spot in my room.
College: something was different about them
When I went to college at 18, I wanted to stay on the “right track.” Since I assumed I was a Christian, I figured I should find a Christian group, so I got connected with the Baptist Student Ministry (BSM). The leaders were so kind. They got my number and invited me to everything: game nights, beach bonfires that lasted late into the night, worship nights, Bible studies, church. These were Christian friends I got to do life with, not just sit next to on a Sunday.
But the more time I spent with them, the more I noticed a difference. Whenever the conversation turned to God, they knew something about Him that I didn’t. I assumed they just had more head knowledge. I’ve always felt like I didn’t know enough, so I decided I’d learn to read the Bible and catch up.
The day I read Mark 4
That year, I figured out something so simple: you don’t have to start the Bible on page one like a regular book, because it actually has many books. So that night in my dorm room, I Googled where to start reading, and it pointed me to the Gospels. I decided to start with the book of Mark because it was the shortest.
By chapter 4, I got to the Parable of the Sower. (A parable is a story Jesus told.) A man scatters seed. Some lands on the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some on good soil. Then Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9). When the disciples ask what it means, Jesus explains it: the seed is the good news of God’s kingdom, and the soils are how people receive it. Three soils don’t last. One does.
I could relate to the path, the rocks, and the thorns. The only soil I had never been was the good soil, the one that hears God’s Word, accepts it, obeys it, and bears fruit. And that was exactly what I wanted.
On my knees
When I read that parable, I was cut to the heart (Acts 2:37). The Lord let me feel this deep, godly grief (2 Corinthians 7:10) over never fully trusting Him or believing His Word. I got down on my knees and cried out, “Yes, Lord, I’m sorry. I’ve been all those other soils. Now I want to be the one that’s firmly rooted and never leaves you.”
My life changed that day. Everything changed.
I finally heard
In Romans 10:17, it says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” When I heard that parable, that’s exactly what happened to me. I had sat in churches before, and I had sat in Bible studies. But now it was as if I was hearing with brand-new spiritual ears. I wasn’t reading to catch up on my knowledge of God or the Bible anymore. My faith was awakened, and I could hear the words of Christ clearly and receive them.
Lining my ideas up with God’s Word
I went to a mentor in the BSM and told her everything. I still had hard questions, because now I wanted to take all those ideas about Christianity that I had made up and line them up with what God’s Word actually says.
For example, in high school I had lost someone I loved, and I had always wondered: if a person dies without trusting Christ, what happens to them? Is hell actually real? She lovingly walked me through Scripture, not even knowing why I was asking. And I remember thinking, I still have a choice to make. I can agree with God, or I can reject Him. That was one of my first real tests. Would I keep following Him, even if the answer was hard? I don’t have the answer to where that person is today. But I chose to agree with God then, and I still choose it. I trust that God knows what’s best (Genesis 18:25), and that His goodness and His justice aren’t fighting each other. They support each other.
What now?
I wanted to know what I should do next as a follower of Jesus. So I stayed in Bible studies on campus, and I was encouraged by a mentor to join a local church. She told me there was no perfect church, just pick one and commit for a year. And not just Sunday mornings, but serving and really being a part of the church God had for me.
I was still having a hard time reading Scripture on my own, so I asked a mentor in the church, “Will you help me read?” She said yes. We met every week to go over the next section of Matthew, and I brought all of my questions. She taught me how to study in context.
The proof that everything changed
From the moment I placed my faith in Jesus after reading His Word, I had a joy and a hope I’d never felt before. That feeling has never left me. My circumstances have changed many times since then, but my God is the one thing that does not change (Hebrews 13:8). And because that’s true, I have a security I never had before.
God’s Word is still changing me today. It has shifted how I look at everything: how I think about a career, how I looked for a spouse and the godly character I wanted in one, why I go to church, and how I’m raising my kids. Scripture says we’re “transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2), and that’s what I’ve lived. No matter what you’re facing next, when you’re in God’s Word, it will shift how you make decisions about anything, even your everyday work.
I’m still learning something new every time I open it. Every time I peel back another layer, or get reminded of something about the Lord, I feel more secure in who He is and who I am in Him.
Why I teach
God used His Word to redeem my life. That’s why I started Redeemed, and it’s why I create resources and teach: so people can grow in confidence in seeking God.
I believe what Scripture says is true: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). I can’t make that happen in anyone’s heart. That’s a spiritual awakening, and it’s between them and God. But I can give them tools, so that when they’re ready to really seek Him, they know how to do it in a way that honors Him and helps them hear Him clearly.
If you’re new to faith, or you’re walking with someone who is young in faith, the resources I create are for you.
