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Your spiritual rebirth story - An event, or a gradual experience?

SteVen

SteVen

Active member
For years I thought every one who had a "born again" experience of spiritual rebirth recognized a moment in time when it happened.

I came to discover that this is not always the way God works. Even my own wife reported a more gradual experience.

Please comment, or share your story here. I'll post mine below, which some of you may have read on a different forum.

At eight years of age I was attending a Summer Bible camp in Wisconsin.
In a morning chapel service the man speaking did as they always did, he gave an invitation to receive Christ.
He asked that all heads be bowed and all eyes closed. But I found myself peeking to see if
any of these "lost sinners" would raise a hand. At that moment God spoke to me.
Though it was a supernatural event, it seemed as natural to me as anything.
I knew who it was and wasn't frightened, or disturbed by it.
What I heard was mind-blowing. It came like a tap on my shoulder.
The message was clear and direct. "If you think it is so important, why haven't you done it?"
I was speechless. I answered with my feet. I knew the drill.
I rose to my feet and pushed my way to the aisle to go forward before we were even asked to do so.
When I was a young adult I made a connection about this event that had not been apparent to me at the time.
The man who led me to Christ was the son of the man that led my father to the Lord.
A Christian Alliance missionary that went from farm to farm inviting people to Sunday School
and sharing the gospel in the area where my father grew up.
Basically in the middle of nowhere. Such a wonderful mystery, the workings of our great God.

What's your story?

/ cc: @Mr E @O'Darby III
 
I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic church and by the time I was around 18 or so I just felt like something was missing. I remember as a teenager watching the 700 Club (prior to my conversion while still searching for the truth) and I must have prayed the sinner's prayer with Pat Robertson a half of dozen times or so expecting something miraculous to happen, but nothing happened. My problem at that time was there was no repentance and faith on my part, and I thought that just by reciting those words as a magical formula would cause a miracle to happen. I was a very confused Roman Catholic at that time.

I eventually came to receive Jesus Christ through faith years later on a late Saturday night. About a month prior to that, my mother-in-law had passed away and I was thinking very seriously about the afterlife. Soon after she had passed away, I remember asking Jesus Christ that whatever it takes to get me to heaven, just put the answer right in front of my face so that I will know with absolute assurance here is the answer and now it's up to me to accept the truth.

I had no assurance of salvation prior to my conversion because I was trusting in works for salvation and not in Jesus Christ alone. Also, just prior to my conversion, I had read through a gospel tract that really caught my attention which led me to thoroughly search through the Scriptures. I knew the Lord was drawing me. Finally, after reading through the book of Romans and eventually the book of Ephesians, I came to Ephesians 2:8,9 and that's when the light came on! I had then placed my faith (belief, trust, reliance) in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and knew without a doubt that I had become born again! Praise the Lord!

I remember over the years how several people had tried to explain the gospel to me, but at that time the truth just went right over my head, but right after my conversion, I could look back and say, "that's what he meant, that's what she meant, that's what they meant!" Praise God!
 
mailmandan said:
I remember over the years how several people had tried to explain the gospel to me, but at that time the truth just went right over my head, but right after my conversion, I could look back and say, "that's what he meant, that's what she meant, that's what they meant!" Praise God!
Click to expand...
Thanks.
Sounds like you had a bit of both. A gradual process and an event.

Reminds me of the Parable of the Sower. And some statistics about how many times
someone needs to hear the gospel before the lights come on. It seems that the soil the receives the seed
can actually change over time. I'm glad God doesn't stop with the first seeding.

/
 
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