My name is Jeremy Ralls, and I will be sharing my faith story with you tonight. I live in Dunstable with my Dad and Mom, John and Ann, and my sister Allison.
Ever since I was born, I was raised as a Christian. To me, everyone in the world was part of the church. It seemed like all I needed to do to be a Christian is go to church every Sunday, read the Bible, and pray to God before every meal and every bed time. I thought I was pretty good at being a Christian too. I could say all of the books of the bible in order from Genesis to Revelations. I knew almost every Bible story that existed, and I could recite considerable amounts of scripture.
When it came to salvation, I knew all the right answers. I could recite 1st Corinthians 15:4, which says, “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures” (NIV®). It had no meaning to me, however. It was just a concept that I memorized to show off how much I knew about the Bible or to just get verses checked off. Left alone struggling to discover salvation, I was far away from having a personal relationship with my loving Savior. Christianity was just a meaningless, monotonous routine.
God did not leave me there, as it says in 2nd Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful– for he cannot deny himself.” (ESV)
Around 10 years old, God used the Holy Spirit to change my view of being a Christian. He helped me to see that my life had more to it than just going to church every Sunday. I could tell that God had set me on this earth for a greater purpose, and as I continued growing in my maturity, I could tell that whatever God had planned for me would have to start after my decision to follow him. After God led me to repent of my sins and to turn to Jesus, which was a gradual process, I found that I had a new purpose to my life; a great voyage in which I am the boat, and Jesus is the rudder. Not only that, but I developed a very strong, personal relationship with the heavenly father who created me and the universe. Now, when I face difficult situations, I have confidence in God’s plan for me that he will get me through them.
If you have any questions about my faith story or would like to learn more about becoming a Christian, please come talk to me after the service.