His Testimony
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Posted: April 30, 2022 His Testimony Shared By: Ashley Belcastro Philippians 1:6, New Living Translation “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” |
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I Am a New Creation in Christ - Part Two
I went downstairs and sat at my kitchen island so confused and thinking, “How could this be? God doesn’t exist!” But my heart was telling me differently. I felt His presence, and I could not get Him out of my head. I never went back to sleep. I waited until waking hours to text the only Christian I was close with, my sister in-law. I told her everything that had happened and that I didn’t even know where to start with this new knowledge of God. She has been guiding me ever since.
As soon as I understood that it was God who woke me up on that early morning, I started to flood my mind with the words and stories of the Bible and any other Christian resource I could find to help me on my journey. My heart began to burn for His Word. I was on fire, and the Holy Spirit was revealing things to me at lightning speed. I had no fear and was completely unstoppable. People at my work would start to come to me for prayer. I would intercede on their behalf, and healing would happen! God was working though me, and I was His witness to so many people. My heart was changing, and I had this supernatural force guiding my life every day. My anxiety and depression were gone. I stopped doing the sins that I thought were okay. I started to live for God and not my flesh. I tried to allow others to see God through me. I was a light shining bright, and it affected the people around me.
On March 14, 2021, I made the full commitment to be a Christ follower through baptism. I was spiritually on fire for a couple of months, but, by July of 2021, my life was beginning to turn upside down. I was faced with many trials and difficult circumstances. My faith was truly being tested. So many times I wanted to quit and give up being a Christian because I felt like I just couldn’t make the cut. However, every time I hit rock bottom, He would reach His hand down into the pit and pull me out of the dark. Before I was a Christian, I handled my difficult circumstances in unhealthy ways. Now, Jesus is my comfort and cure. How did I ever do life without Him?
God will frequently convict me of past sins that I still need to ask His forgiveness for. I will be doing some menial task, and God will just pop a memory into my mind. I simply say, “You are right God. That was wrong. Please forgive me.” Praise God that He made a way for us to be guilt free and wipe our slates clean. When I start to feel guilty about something that I have done, I remind myself of this simple phrase: repent and move on. God does not want us to dwell on our past. He is a God that wants us to keep moving forward. Any past sin that you are dwelling on is time wasted; this is time He could be using you to advance His kingdom.
Recently, I went to a Christian women’s seminar that included an art painting using alcohol ink. Before beginning, we were asked to pray to the Holy Spirit to help choose our colors and guide us in making our creation. As I began applying the colored ink, a blank canvas soon turned into something I wasn’t expecting. Then, as I turned my canvas from landscape to portrait orientation, the black ink I had applied flowed into the shape of a heart! Next, we were given the opportunity to choose a Bible verse written on transparency film to layer on top of our artwork; I chose one based on 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) which states, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” After my piece was done, the Holy Spirit inspired me to write down my thoughts and what the colors meant. This is what He told me…There was so much darkness in my life before Christ. My heart was dead (black heart). Jesus made me new and washed me clean (blue). I am God’s beautiful creation with still room for growth (white).
Jesus has made me a new person. I have been born again! All of my past sins have been erased and washed away. Jesus doesn’t care if we are perfect. He will keep pruning us which will allow for new growth! After all, God said it perfectly through the apostle Paul… “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6, NLT)
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