I
was always a believer in Jesus Christ, I knew he
wanted me to be saved, but I didn't know anything
else. I wasn't a fan of organized religions,
because so much of it was about what the "church"
can do for you, and not about the actual Word. They
were interested in glorifying themselves, and not
God or the Lord. About five years ago, after
talking to a girl from work, I started having bible
studies with her father. I was baptized in the
Lord's name later that year. Due to various
circumstances I stopped attending that service,
about a year and a half later. I again stopped
searching until something told me that there was
something else out there.
I then contacted the Christians on
Campus group here at USF. I attended a home meeting
at one of the brother's house, where about 15 saints
were. It was the first Christian group I had been
involved in where the people genuinely loved not
only each other, but even new people they met. A
few months later, I attended a conference in
Gainesville, where many saints from the Christians
on Campus groups around Florida were, and people I
had just met treated me as if I was family. It was
the first time I experienced this in a genuine way.
My first thought was, this is the way we are
supposed to be if we're living the Christian life,
not just attending services on Sunday and not caring
about each other the rest of the week.
From my bible study, I really learned that the Lord
wants us to do things in a certain way. And
everything we need is written in the bible. As such
I am very skeptical of things that are not in the
bible, and I was very happy that everything was done
in a proper way, according to how the Church is set
up in the New Testament with not things added for no
rhyme or reason.
James S