I accepted an invitation to attend a meeting at the Christian Student Center on a local college campus that night, but never dreamed what was about to happen. The meeting went on as usual with attendees telling their story of being saved. I was about to have my 18th birthday. I recently discovered that to protect me until I was ready to make my commitment to Jesus Christ, my mom had me christened as a infant. I listened intently to the others in the room sharing their experiences and the events surrounding their life changing decision.
Suddenly I felt the power of the Holy Spirit. The teacher who had brought me to the gathering must have noticed what was taking place because she asked me if I would like to be baptized. I replied ‘yes’ thinking there would be a time and a place setup for this to happen. I was wrong. She surprised me and said we would be going to a church in the area that would be opened for my specific purpose right now. The urgency was shocking, but understandable on reflection. There is no time to waste in getting right with Jesus Christ.
As I looked behind us in the stalled traffic, I could see demons hanging on to the back of the station wagon trying to keep us from getting to the church. There were three angry looking monsters pulling and tugging at the tail end of the car to deter us from our destination. My teacher kept pushing forward.
We arrived at the church and walked to the altar where a preacher was waiting for me. I stepped into the baptismal basin fully clothed. The preacher asked me if I was ready to surrender my life to God. I said yes!
While he exclaimed ‘by the power vested in me, I give you to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’, he tweaked my nose, guided my backwards until I was covered by water and then raised me up from the watery pit. I felt cleansed and free of burden.
My life was born anew. From that day to now, I have felt the presence of the Almighty, the great I AM in my world.
What a joyous night that I will never forget. This ceremony put me on the path of righteousness and saved my soul!
HE IS FOREVER WITH ME 