Kyrston Denlinger's Testimony

Kyrstron provided the following testimony just before her baptism today:

I was baptized at the age of 14 into the Old German Baptist Church. I did not understand the real reason for baptism. All I knew was that I didn't want to go to hell and all my friends were doing it and I desperately wanted to fit in. And besides that I would get a new wardrobe. I knew real Christians read their bibles and prayed but there was no desire or thirst for the word in my life. In fact I really didn't think prayer worked, cause God had failed to give me the one thing I begged for over and over, for my mother to come back. I also had no real understanding of the depravity of my heart, after all I was a good kid, and that without the calling of Christ I could never choose him. I thought that I had to do all these exterior works to get on God's good side.

I had seasons in my life when I would try hard to throw myself into the Word but when I read I could not seem to understand and I felt so confused. To make a long story short a few years ago we came to Grace and I saw a side of the followers of Christ that I had never seen. I saw a joy in their faces and a love for others and I was reminded of how lost I felt. Then two years ago we left the G.B. church and became regular attendees here. But instead of feeling free I felt even more lost. Through a series of events, sermons and the prayers of my husband and others who knew of my struggles, I came to realize that I was drawing my identity from the things I did and the way I acted instead of from Christ and His work on the cross. So a couple of months ago, through the grace of God I fell on the ONE who could forgive my sins and give me eternal life. And now I know that without Christ all my trying and works are to no avail and mean nothing. I knew this before, in fact I had a lot of head knowledge but it never reached my heart. I was a very good pretender and knew how to act and talk like a Christian, but inside I was full of dead men's bone.

The next Sunday when we went to church I was able to grasp the message not just have it bounce off. This was so exciting for me and I knew then that the Holy Spirit was at work in me, waking my dead heart to a hunger for the truth. So because I know in my heart that this is the first time that I have truly given my heart and life to Him I wish to partake in a believer's baptism. There are a lot of things that I could share with you that the Lord has shown me but I think it best to say in closing, He that has begun a good work in Kyrston will be faithful to complete it in me. May our lives Bring Him glory!