My Testimony on How Jesus Saves

Christ has saved and freed me from my past and now I want to share (especially on my college years).  I pray your life is impacted in some way. Here is my testimony, a story on how my Jesus Saves by Brandi Richardson. 

Ok so growing up my family and I would go to church on Sundays but to be honest I thought church was BORING! And I thought reading the bible was boring. I had the King James Version of the bible. It's the version that has the Shakespeare like words. "Thou, Art etc." So I rarely read it because I didn't understand it. My childhood was awesome but from a very young age I was a bit snobby and placed a lot of value in my looks. Mainly because my dad spoiled and treated me like a Barbie doll. But my parents were still great. In high school, I met my "first love" if that's what you want to call it, whom was the epitome of a "bad boy" thug. We broke up before I went to college at Albany State. Before I left for college my mom gave me a new bible. It was the N.I.V. (New International Version) of the bible. I was actually able to understand this version but honestly had no intentions to read it.

COLLEGE YEARS: ALBANY STATE 
             So I got to Albany State Fall 2008. My friends and I immediately became the "new hot freshman" crew and got into every party free. I clubbed/drink almost every week my freshman year. And then I had the nerve to be in the local church Sunday; Even though I was just at the club the night before. I was so blind. I consider myself a Christian, but in God's eyes I was A Sinner!
1 Corinthians 6:9 "Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who practice homosexuality,nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God"
I used to say one of the worst sayings ever "God KNOWS My Heart". Even though MY HEART desired to club, party, and have sex before marriage. MY HEART desired to do all the things that God HATES. So Yes that is what God KNEW about my heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can understand it?" 

          Committing a sin and then saying I won't be punish because "God knows my heart" Is just like thinking: I will not be punish and will not receive a ticket for speeding if I truly in my heart did not want to speed. It’s a Complete contradiction. The police will still punish you by giving you a ticket just like I would have felt the wrath of God's punishment had I kept sinning. As Freshman Year continued I fell in love with this guy. Compared to my ex he was a "good guy". We were very close, shared sacred stuff with one another, and met each other moms. But we had NO type of godly foundation. We had sex often and rarely talked about God. We would soon turn into a complete disaster.

THE WORST TIME OF MY LIFE
           After my freshman year ended, Summer 2009 came and this summer My Father committed suicide. It was the WORST time of my life. After he died, I fell into deep depression and had suicidal thoughts of my own. I always had knots in my stomach and I cried myself to sleep almost every night that summer.  No one knew. I kept my true thoughts to myself because I felt like no one understood. It was the WORST heart break one could ever feel. The #1 man in my life had taken his life. The only thing that kept me alive and sane was reading the bible. God kept pulling me towards him during this time, but I kept rejecting him and going back to my old ways.
            Because of this incident, I returned to Albany State and became crazy attached to the guy I fell for my freshman year. The more I clung to him the more distant he grew from me. I started to resent him and did a lot of trifling things to him, just so he could hurt like I was hurting. During my Junior year, we eventually cut each other off, but it was more of his doing. Apart of me wanted to feel heart broken but my heart was just completely numb; Another man that I had loved was out of my life.
            After this, I became very bitter and angry. I was super snappy towards people and my friends. I just felt like the whole world was against me. I started to act stuck up and look down on others. This was all a defense mechanism to hide my pain. I also started smoking weed during this time. Heavy. Again I kept that a secret; I wanted to act like I was just a little good girl so I kept it on the low.

GOD STARTED TO DRAW ME IN 
             So I graduated on time in May 2012 and moved back to Atlanta. During this month I kept telling myself that I was about to start a new chapter in my life because I was leaving the past in Albany and that the next time I would have sex will be on the night of my wedding. Now of course, I DID NOT actually believe this AT ALL! I was just saying it to myself because I was single and it sounded good. (Never realizing that was God and it would actually be true). It was like God started to strip away sexual desires and started to draw me in. Because he knew. He knew in a few months he was going to save me and I would be all his.
           So anyways, I became a homebody living in Atlanta and I started to read my bible more and more. I Didn't go out as much because most of my friends were still in school. In December 2012, I moved in my own apartment and was so excited. But deep down inside, I felt so empty. It was a familiar empty feeling. I had felt this feeling for many years and never knew why. Just a feeling of incompleteness. I didn’t understand, I had everything I wanted, but I was still empty? What was missing?

THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!! 
So On February 5, 2013, I was sitting on my couch reading my bible and I came across
Matthew 7:21-24: 
"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I say to them, ‘I never knew you; get away from me you evildoers!" 

            As I read this verse, All I could think was, "THIS WILL BE ME!". I kept saying it to myself "THIS WILL BE ME!". At that moment Christ opened my Eyes! For the first time I realized that, the life I was living was leading me to hell. Up until this point I had always consider myself a good person. I thought I would make it to heaven because I read my bible on a regular and went to church. More importantly, I thought I would make it to heaven because I repeated the sinner's prayer, "If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart Jesus died for your sins, you will be saved" taken from John 3:16.
          But if you read the verses that follow John 3:16, You will see God didn't just mean Confess it with your mouth, but Confess it with your LIFE! If I truly believed in my heart Christ died for my sins then I would have done everything in my power to TURN AWAY from sin. But Instead I pursued sins like getting drunk and having sex before marriage etc. My entire life had been a complete contradiction to what I said. In God's eyes, I said one thing but my actions showed different.

BEING HONEST WITH GOD
           So I busted out in tears. For the first time in my life, I sat and was completely HONEST with God. I simply said, Lord for the past years, I loved to club, drink, have sex before marriage etc. Although, these things left me empty, they are enjoyable during the time. I am a sinner and I am sorry. I know the bible says you HATE these things but they are fun. I told God that as much as I loved him and wanted to live for him, I desired and loved sin much more because it was fun. My last words were, "Lord I want to give my Life FULLY to you but I don't know how. Can you help me?"  YES! I was that HONEST with God!
         Afterwards God spoke to me (no not literally people, I didn't hear a real live human voice lol) but He spoke to me in my head (through the holy spirit). God told me he knew everything already but was waiting for me to finally be honest with him. He told me that I was about to start a new life and he was going to free me from all of my sins, but I had to do three things:  Spend time with him daily, OBEY his every word (everything in the bible), and Do not look back. He said he would handle everything else as long as I did those three things for now. AND HE DID!

 FALLING IN LOVE WITH CHRIST 
            Weeks started to go by and the more I read my bible and talked to God, the more he stripped away my sinful desires. I no longer had a desire to go to clubs, drink, or listen to secular music. God gave me a new perspective on sin and salvation. I realized how loving God was and that if I commit a sin, I would make God feel the same heart break I once felt. More importantly I started to FEAR God as the bible stated, and realized I should not take advantage of his mercy and grace. God showed me how I use to idolize myself and placed so much value in my looks instead of in him and that's why I never felt complete. He showed me how he HATED the fact that I was not humble and that he would have NEVER let me live a life of happiness, had I not come to him. Without Christ, you will have a feeling of vacancy, incompleteness in your life. You might have everything you want and you will still be empty inside and you won't know why. You substitute CHRIST for success, money, jobs, clubs, liquor, popularity, clothes or a common one MEN(for us women). You think these created things can fulfill you when only our Creator can do that. I started listening to pastors like Paul Washer, David Wilkerson and John MacArthur who preached the TRUE gospel(holiness, repentance, turning from sin, total depravity, how God is love but is also HOLY etc.) And STOPPED listening to pastors that watered down the gospel and preach the false prosperity gospel (success, self esteem, money etc.things God could care less about). Remember God owes us NOTHING!
         God started to teach me about forgiveness and letting go of the hurt from people in my past. He told me not to just forgive but to forget, have amnesia to what they did to me or else I would not be forgiven. He didn't fix my broken heart; he gave me a complete NEW one. He gave me complete new desires. I went from loving sin to HATING sin. I was born again. My heart was regenerated.
Ezekiel 36:26 "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you" 

SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 
          So it’s been 7 months, since My Jesus saved me and NO I didn't get saved at Church, I got saved right on my white couch in my apartment. My Jesus saved me from depression, suicidal thoughts and most importantly SIN and HELL. That is what My Jesus does. At first I wanted to live for Christ just because I did not want to go to hell, but now it’s also because he is just so WORTHY! How could I not? It has been a journey! Am I perfect? No! Do I sin at times? Yes, HOWEVER I do everything in my power to NOT sin. And when I do Sin, I feel so convicted and I immediately repent. Living for Christ IS NOT easy; it is a constant battle but IT IS Possible.
         Looking back at May 2012, when I told myself the next time I would have sex would be the night of my wedding, I realized that was actually God because for the past 16 months I've been living that out. Well God has given me the strength to do it because Lord Knows It Was Tempting at first! But God Created Sex for HUSBAND and WIFE Only. God revealed to me that before I give my heart out to another man, he wants me to give my heart to him FIRST.(God’s just protecting me) During this time, I'm falling in love with Christ; Trying to imitate him in everything that I do; Becoming OBSESSED with Christ. I no longer wear things that expose my figure (tights, short shorts) or things that will make guys lust after me. And only when GOD is READY will he bring my HUSBAND, my SOUL MATE into my life; A man who will ALSO be obsessed with God and who will bring me even CLOSER to Christ. And Yes Ladies and Gentlemen There are PLENTY of Young People walking in Purity! Ladies I know what you are thinking, I thought the same thing but don't be fooled. There Are MANY Guys on fire for God and they are abstaining from sex until marriage because they are honoring God and they know their future wives will be WORTH THE WAIT.
          For the ladies who read this, Instead of going out LOOKING for the right person, try BECOMING the right person through Christ, so when the day comes you can be the best Wife and Help Meet to your future Husband. Our Father God wants our marriage to be the best love story. He wants that for all of his daughters. More importantly, I pray you try something different and for once Desire A relationship with CHRIST more than you desire one with A GUY. I know you might get lonely, see relationship pics on social media and feel you're the only woman single but you will NEVER be completely Happy until you have Christ.
      And YES! YOU CAN STILL ENJOY Life! Lol I have lots of fun with the new people God has brought into my life from my church, but we DO NOT engage in sinful activities (sex before marriage, gossip, clubs etc.).

 CLOSING
         So this is just the 1st part of many testimonies I will have. In my years to come I will have more. I will end this one by saying God has Freed me from my sins and my past life! I have a strong passion for Christ and I've never felt so complete. And guess what? He can do the same for you!! Regardless of what you did in the past, IT IS NOT TO LATE! REPENT and believe in the Gospel. You could get in a car crash next week and die. Ask yourself where would you spend eternity? SORRY! I know that’s scary but it’s the TRUTH. We must go to God and confess our sins, NOT to inform him (he already knows), BUT to humble ourselves. Then we must TURN AWAY from Sin and Strive for Holiness.
       I know it might not be the most POPULAR thing to live for CHRIST. People will say you’re being Too Holy, or say You're doing the most. Or they Might Bring Up Your past but God Will Make You Strong and Courageous! Your acceptance will no longer come from others but from CHRIST only! I KNOW I will have family, friends, and peers who dislike me for spreading the gospel; I know I will get CRITICIZED and bashed, just like I was talked about when I was not living for God; Only this time I will STILL love them just as Christ does. I care MORE about your SALVATION then I do your feelings towards me. More importantly, I care more about serving the Lord than I do pleasing others. And I’ve learned one of the highest forms of worship is SPREADING THE GOSPEL. I want people to see and know my Lord Jesus Christ.

Harriet Tubman once stated, "I freed many slaves, and I could have freed many more, if only they KNEW they were slaves"
Well Jesus Christ has freed many from their sins and he can free many more if only we RECOGNIZE that we ARE Sinners and need true saving.

     I will end with a verse from the bible; a verse that most people do not like to think about it. A verse that should make us ALL question how we are living, not what we SAY or THINK, but Are actually LIVING. Are you living like the world like so many do which leads to destruction? Or Are You Amongst the few who are different and living for Christ and Eternity?

 Matthew 7:13-14 
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the NARROW gate. The highway to hell is BROAD, and its gate is WIDE for the MANY who choose that way. But the gateway to LIFE is very NARROW and the road is difficult, and only a FEW ever find it

 I am Brandi J. Richardson, I am Born Again and I am Living For Eternal Life
And My Testimony Continues………