On Testimony Thursday today Andres is sharing how JESUS was and still is the ANSWER.
"I was an atheist, and it was experiencing God’s power firsthand that convinced me that God was (and is) real. When I was 16, I started struggling with depression, and I kept trying to find a way out. Over a period of of 6 years, I tried many things: therapy, antidepressant medications, exercise, omega 3 softgels, yoga, meditation, tai chi, and chi gung, among other things. Many of them helped or seemed to help (at least for a time), but then I would relapse into depression. Nothing I tried was ever enough to keep me out of depression for long. But then on Mother’s Day weekend (and over the following days) of May 2010, I experienced Christ’s power in dramatic fashion. It was the turning point of my life. And it’s in May of 2010 (I was 22 at the time) that I became a Christian. How did I experience God’s power? One way in which I did was when I received the gift of God’s Spirit, who is in me; and to this day I continually experience the vivifying and comforting presence of God’s Spirit within me. The gift of the Holy Spirit is given to every Christian. Another way I experienced God’s power was when I tried Jesus’ name in order to cast out a demon (that was in me) that was I believe was causing my depression (though at that point I don’t think I knew whether or not I had a demon inside of me before I tried Jesus’ name). And I don’t mean a demon in a figurative way, but literally! And Jesus showed his power! The demon started being cast out on Sunday night of that same weekend of May 2010, before the demon was no longer in me by Monday. If you read the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), you’ll see that the casting out of demons was a common occurrence in Jesus’ ministry. Not that the struggle ended there in May of 2010; I still struggled (and continue to struggle) with what one may call “high-functioning depression” (though not a psychiatric term), but now I’m “clothed with power” (Lk. 24:49, ESV): I have God’s Spirit in me, who gives me inner peace, joy, and strength. I’m building on the foundation of Christ, “my rock” (2 Sam. 22:47, ESV). I can rely on God my Savior: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Ps. 46:1, ESV). Do you have Christ in you? As Jesus said, “seek, and you will find” (Lk. 11:9, ESV). Or as God says in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (ESV). "
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Yours in Christ,
Testimony Thursday
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