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Dana Joe Testimony

I have been raised in a Christian family and gone to CBC my entire life. I think that because of this, I came to take the Gospel of Jesus for granted in a way. I knew about Jesus and was told numerous times that He died for my sins on the cross and rose again three days later, but I didn’t truly understand the significance of that or really begin to want to know Him until around middle school. It was then that I started to be challenged to think for myself instead of blindly accepting everything that I was told to believe. I eventually accepted Christ and was baptized when I was in 7th grade.

 

 Being a Christian has definitely not been easy, but then again God never said that it would be. Something that I struggled with for a long time was having the feeling that I was a “bad” Christian, because I wouldn’t do quiet times and instead would put school above God, was afraid to share the Good News with my friends for fear of rejection, was prideful, apathetic, and in general felt like I failed God at being a reflection of Christ. It took some time for the truth of the Gospel to hit me that no, I am not perfect and never will be perfect like Christ, but it’s because of Christ that I don’t have to be perfect. I am unworthy of God’s love, but the truth is that God first loved me and sent his own Son to die on the cross for my sins, so that I can be called righteous and blameless before Him. It’s nothing that I do but everything that God does.

 

 I still struggle with some of the things mentioned earlier, but I thank God for placing certain friends in my life who can help keep me accountable for learning and growing in Christ and keeping my heart focused on Him. I have also learned a lot from my mentors from church and hope that I can pass on what I learn from them and from my own experiences to the person whom I mentor as well as the next generation of youth. I thank God for blessing me with a church family, whose love and support I have taken for granted far too often.

 God continues to remind me that it is by grace that I have been saved and that true joy and life are only found in Him. Turning to worldly things for comfort leaves me feeling empty; nothing and no one else can ever satisfy like He can. His grace is enough for me.