Baptism Testimonies: Sojourn’s Jeremy Grace

We will celebrate another Baptism Sunday on May 16.  If you would like to take this important step in identifying with Christ and His bride, email baptism@sojournchurch.com by Sunday, May 9.

And now, Jeremy Grace tells the story of her salvation, which led to a recent baptism at Sojourn Gathered:

Before the Cross, I lived a dark, lonely, and seemingly pointless life. As a young boy I went through periods of depression as a result of seeking to find my worth in the acceptance of others. I moved from one group of friends to another trying to become more popular by changing who I was. This sent me from one sinful lifestyle to another, never finding true acceptance and fulfillment.

I practically grew up in the church, although I did not see or know God as a Father. I thought of God as impersonal and distant. For me, religion never changed anything. I was once an idolater worshiping the acceptance of man. I was once an adulterer who gave in to the pleasures of the flesh. I was once a liar and thief selfishly taking advantage of my friends and family. I was once a murderer hurting others with my words and deeds.

However, praise be to God, after following a group of college friends to a strip club my freshman year, I finally met Him. All the sermons, people and scriptures He had placed before me for years were His way of drawing me to Himself. I met Jesus that day in my brokenness, sin, and confusion. I knew I was fully deserving of God’s wrath, but God gave me grace. I took Christ Jesus as my Savior and Lord, believing He bore the wrath of God for me by exchanging my sin with His death on the cross to give me life.

I now live in eternal life, no longer consumed by darkness and no longer alone. God has given me a purpose — to give my life back to Him by losing it for the sake of others. He has reclaimed my perspective on life. He has placed within me a deep desire to serve people and proclaim the gospel. I have traveled overseas on mission trips and God has since called me to be a missionary.

By no means am I perfect, I still struggle with my brokenness, sin, and confusion, but I am being made perfect through Christ. There is forgiveness and it is found in His presence. And there is incomprehensible grace, peace, and love — His name is Jesus. I was once dead, but now I am alive. Because of Jesus, I have eternal life.

For He rescued me from the dominion of darkness, and transferred me to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (from Colossians 1:13-14)