045 - Life Transformation Stories (Part 10)

Summary 

#045 – Life Transformation Stories (Part 10). Meet Asia Nicholson, the Director of The Bridge, a young adult ministry at First Baptist Church of Glenarden.  She shares how Jesus has made a difference in her life since she dared to ask God questions that only He could answer. 

Engage with Debora Barr at https://tbtwpodcast.com/ 

Stay tuned for our next episode where we will discuss another Life Transformation Story

Call to Action

If you love the podcast, please give it a positive rating and review at https://lovethepodcast.com/TBTWPodcast

Follow the podcast at https://followthepodcast.com/TBTWPodcast

Connect with Debora at https://tbtwpodcast.com/

Guest Links

To learn more about The Bridge, a ministry of First Baptist Church of Glenarden for young adults:

Email thebridge@fbcglenarden.org or Text Join FBCG ID to 77411

Podcast Subscribe Link

https://tbtwpodcast.com/

Transcript

Announcer

Welcome to Transformed by the Word, a podcast about discovering how to live your life with gratifying purpose. God created you for a reason and the Bible contains the keys to unlock your transformed life. Now, here's your host, Debora Barr

Debora 0:26

Thanks for joining me for episode 45 of Transformed by the Word. I am excited to bring yet another amazing guest on the show today to share their story of life transformation through their very personal encounter with Jesus. But before we go there, I want to thank K.C. for leaving a five-star review for the podcast - writing, I found this podcast to have really great insight on what it means to seek joy and knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. No matter where you are in your walk with Christ, you will benefit from all the content presented throughout this series. Thanks again, K.C. for taking the time to leave a review. 

If you would like to share your thoughts about the podcast, please go to lovethepodcast.com/TBTWpodcast. I also encourage you to share it with your family and friends if it has been a blessing to you. 

Today, I've invited a guest to the show that I met relatively recently. Her name is Asia Nicholson, and she's a ministry director, a teacher of filmmaker, a visual and movement artist, dog, mom and lifelong learner. Film credits include working on behalf of kids and education and faces of a redacted diaspora. Both being documentaries that assess the multitude of ways in which systemic racism negatively affects the advancement of black and brown people of the African diaspora. 

Her experience with studying and performing classical ballet and theatre for over 20 years with the Washington Ballet, the Pennsylvania ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem Shakespeare Theatre Company, Stella Adler, and Joffrey Ballet, birthed an appreciation for the tool of auditory based disciplines, which value sound, verbal and nonverbal storytelling as a tool for entertaining and for learning. This appreciation would soon benefit her as she found a deep passion for teaching, using her background in theatre and dance to keep learners engaged and entertained. 

Stay tuned. We'll be back in just a moment. 

<<MUSIC INTERLUDE>>

Debora

Hey, Asia, thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Asia 3:48  

Wow. Thank you for having me. Very excited.

Debora 3:52  

I am excited too.  I was so blessed when we connected a few weeks ago. I just know that this is going to be a great conversation. I just read your bio, and I learned something new about you in reading your bio. I had no idea. You're a ballet dancer. Yeah, that is awesome. I have never actually met someone who's a ballet. Really? No.

Asia 4:17  

Yeah, long time like 20 something years.

Debora 4:21  

So you can get up on your toes, huh? Yeah. If I did that, it would be all over.

Asia 4:32  

No, yeah, that's what I. That was like something I learned immediately. I was on. They call it on point. But I did that when I was like eight, which is really young. Yeah. Yeah.

Debora 4:45  

That's amazing. I would love to see your dance. At some point. Maybe I will. Yeah. So we are in a series of messages about life transformation as a result of people's personal encounter with Jesus. You are my 10th guest in a row to share your personal life testimony with us. So can you just start by telling us a little bit about your family background?

Asia 5:13  

Yeah, so I kind of grew up around the I grew up around Christians, but my parents definitely didn't, you know, like, force us into church, which I think, was a good thing. And I actually love that they did that. Because I was definitely, with, you know, the love of Christ, throughout my family. It just wasn't rule based. You know, I mean, like, I just kind of knew, like, oh, because my family loves God, this is why they do this, or because my family knows that I am supposed to love God, this is why they're telling me to do that. And I know that sometime. With Christianity, it can kind of seem like, Oh, if you aren't raised in church, you're like, bound to like, be taken by the world and taken in my culture. But when people find out that I wasn't raised in church, they're like, Huh. And I'm like, Yeah, you can't necessarily assume that because someone wasn't raised with these, with, like, the knowledge of doctrine in church history, and all this stuff, that they're going to end up, you know, in some, like, like hell bound or something. 

I don't know, I just like, as I got older, I started really appreciating how I was raised more and more, because you know, as, as a teenager, or someone you know, as you get older, you start to compare yourself to how your friends were raised. And like, Oh, I didn't necessarily learn this or whatever. But now, as I'm 25, I kind of am happy that I was raised around who I was raised, how I was raised, because it made me into you know, who I am. And sure, there were things that I maybe wish were different. But ultimately, I content with how I was raised, you know, like, I've got great experiences, I know how to empathize with people. And I'm not kind of tied down to these rules of, of what I should be doing and shouldn't be doing because I got to experience God on my own versus being forced into some binding relationship that I felt like I could never get out of.

Debora 7:25  

Yeah, tell us about how you got into your personal relationship with Jesus. Because some people do think it's, you know, religion is about a bunch of rules. And I don't want to go there because I want I like my life, and I don't want to make changes. So tell us about your journey with the Lord.

Asia  7:42  

So, I definitely, like I said, Before, I had a general concept of God, I knew that my great grandma was super into church, and she still is she was the she was a mother church mother Deaconess in the COGIC church. So super Christian.

Debora 8:00  

What does COGIC mean? For those that don't know? 

Asia 8:04  

it's a church of God in Christ, and I'm just now learning about like, what even all that means, but in inshore, it's very, it's like, when you think of Christian, that's what you think of like, you have to dress up, women are typically hyper feminine

Debora 8:23  

And not supposed to dance either, are you? That's a problem.

Asia 8:28  

And so, you know, my, my Big Ma, that's why I call it my grandma, she's the matriarch or the family. And she's also a Christian. So I knew she was Christian. My mom has always been Christian. Um, so it's been like here and there that I've kind of experienced it. But when I was 16, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and OCD tendencies. So basically, I'm just super nervous, really. So I'm, like, super nervous all the time. But then also, I'll just pick one thing to think about, and then that'll be where I was about. So it's a great little cocktail, I've got going on here. 

But when I was diagnosed, I remember it being like, three in the morning one day, and I didn't want to wake my parents up again. So I was like, Okay, let me just talk to God, I guess, like, I need this to have this general idea. And I didn't immediately feel better, but I kind of felt like, there was another presence that I could talk to you, you know. So I think that's important in whenever I can talk about it, I definitely emphasize the fact that it wasn't an immediate fix, but it definitely felt like there was another part added on to the story that I got to include and that I got to consider versus just feeling like all is lost. And ever since then, it's been a slow progression of understanding what is holiness, what is sovereignty, what are all of these Big Christian jargon words. 

But it was a progression of me messing up understanding the difference between like anxiety and conviction or understanding the difference between what is a good feeling what is Holy Spirit, what are you know, just navigating the practical aspects of having a mental illness, and then also being like, okay, but this also is still submitted to God. Like, what how do I navigate that? So that's, that's been my journey. And it's still my journey, because, you know, I still drink coffee, and I'm not supposed to, and it makes me anxious. And so I'm like, oh, gosh, this is on me, you know. So that's, I've come to learn, I had to learn God, I got to learn about God as a friend versus some dictator, that I feel a lot of my peers who were raised in the faith, had to experience him until I got to learn God as a friend, as a father, you know, as a listener. And so it's helped me trust him more, because I get to ask really wild questions sometimes. And I'm like, There's no way I would have asked this, had I not had the experience with Christianity that I had.

Debora 11:14  

Yeah. So once you made that like decision to start talking to God, how has your relationship with Jesus? I don't know, transform your life since then?

Asia 11:26  

Well, I definitely have a sense of he's, and as it can sound cliche, or whatever. But so it was a little nervous system situation. Ah, that was the only thing I wanted. I just wanted to not be nervous anymore. So I was like, Hey, God, if you could just do this one thing, that'd be cool. You know? So no, I was, I think, now, I'm excited to learn more about God. When I first started out, I wanted to learn more about myself. And you know, who I was created to be? And why did I have a proclivity toward this? Or why was I likely to get angry or likely to look at this, or whatever the case? And I think now that I've learned about God's grace and God's sovereignty, it's less about me, which is a big relief, because

Asia  12:27  

I'm like, okay, good, I don't have to learn anything, stuff that was not intended. And just and even considering, as I got older, the fact that I maybe was never supposed to know as much as I did, anyway. And understanding how generations of sin have affected me or how my proclivity towards a certain sin might not have anything to do with me anyway, it might have just been something that was inherited. And I picked it up as a young person in in, you know, and taking the shame off of myself. And just looking at the reality of the situation of okay, if I was never supposed to even be introduced to sin as a child of God in the first place. That means that yes, some sin is my fault. But all sin is not my fault. 

Like I just am not responsible for every sin in the world, and their sin that is hidden from me in God's grace, but then also their sin that I can just confess immediately in God forgets it. And just that just reminding myself of, like, how little shame there actually is. And it just kind of helps me be encouraged and be confident in my walk with Christ, because I'm not so Asia focused. I'm more God focused. And I was telling my friend recently, because we both have personality types that fall into the wrath and the pride. Like those are like our top two, like when I tell people my like, big three, like my big three sins, it's always like pride, wrath and lust. Those are my like, top three, which is like evil villain type, not really, like, um, complete archetype for a villain in a movie. B

ut lately, it's been pride, because or pride or wrath for me. And I was telling my friend that it's only when I'm falling into pride that I'm focused on my own sin, and then I'm anxious about my sin. I'm never anxious about my sin when I'm in a posture of humility. Like, it doesn't bother me. But it's when I'm like feeling myself a little bit, that I tend to be a little bit more anxious about what I'm doing or past sin or whatever the case. And it's because that's kind of just enemy territory, just thinking. I'm already focused on myself. So it's like, okay, you want to focus on yourself, you just gotta focus on your sin. It's the next step. And yeah, so I just been kind of learning, experiencing more about God, you know,

Debora 15:00  

Well as a young adult in society that has morals that are so different than what is taught at our church. And I mean, you've got the spiritual side of our being in, you know, trying to live for God. But yet, there's so much I mean, you turn on the TV, you listen to radio, you listen to music, and it's so opposite of what the Word says and what the Lord wants for our lives. How do you live in that tension? And how do you interact with people, basically, in the world,

Asia 15:36  

as opposed a couple years ago, I think it was from one of my friends, sisters, and she said, she doesn't know she's a believer. And you know her, she bears fruit, it's, you know, it's all good. And she reposted an Instagram post that was talking about vulgar rap music, and just vulgar music in general. And she said that she doesn't count out that music. Because, if anything, it tells the story of someone's perspective on how they view life and what they experienced. And I was like, that's interesting. And I kind of see what she was saying, because now when I hear that, or when I think of music in that regard, or TV shows, it's like, okay, outside of the fact that this is completely, like, really just explicit and unnecessarily sexualized for whatever reason. This Rapper is reflecting a reality. And it's a mirror to what, you know, we're seeing.  

When I was in film school, one of the things that I learned was, whatever films we you would see during the time period is what the this the culture was doing. So, you know, in the 40s, and 50s, you know, homeownership was a big thing. So you saw like The Dick Van Dyck show you saw, like, I Love Lucy. So you see, so all these type shows, and nowadays, everything is either about temporary relationships, sexual identity, and the fluidity of that, or making fun of hyper spiritualize people. And it's always set up against a background of almost like an apocalyptic culture that's coming to ruin, like climate change, or a pandemic, or racism. And it's an escapist kind of mechanism that I've been noticing. And so I've not been as harsh in condemning it, because I'm like, Okay, I have to remember non-believers are going to do what non-believers do. It's not like it's not new. But what helps is number one, remembering that, if they haven't been presented with the gospel, there's nowhere they're going to reflect what we're, what we're called to do. So there's a little bit of grace in that, because sometimes I know what I'm supposed to do, and I don't do it, so I can't really, you know, but also presenting a challenge to my peers, just just to listen a little bit more, because we've, we've been shut down so much by either systems or whatever the case. And we it's hard for us to, to feel like someone's actually listening. 

And so when we do speak, it's either really loud, or it's not convoluted. So we don't have one specific argument. We're trying to make a bunch of different arguments at the same time. And so I think that hearing what the messages are that my, you know, we're trying to say are my peers are trying to say, and the reason I specifically say our my peers, is because I'm still connected to, you know, culture in the sense that I am part of Gen Z, I'm 25, you know, and I'm just as easy, I'm just as likely to fall into sin as the next person, just because I'm a person. Yeah, and I think that, you know, maintaining that, that posture of this could very well be me, keeps me keeps me focused, and in a posture of breathing with God versus, versus feeling like, oh, I don't understand. My peers, like they're just so different. But it's just like, I hope that I don't get to that place. Like I hope I'm able to, to empathize, and hope that I'm able to grieve what God grieves, so that when a person comes asking, you know, have you ever dealt with this? I can be like, No, but I know the root of why you might be dealing with this or No, but I can point you to someone who could be dealing with this, so that I'm not so. So what's that saying? Like? You're so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good. Yeah. So and I don't ever want to get to that. Get to that place that I can't relate to people who decide every day.

Debora 19:56  

What would you say to someone who may be listening that is not sure about any of this Christian stuff. I mean, they don't know if they even want to explore that, what would you say to them based on your experience?

Asia 20:17  

I don't know that I would give them something to do, like I would give them a task, I'll probably just ask questions, I'll probably ask some questions about why maybe, and what their experience with it was. And then from there seek a genuine relationship. Now, I think, what I fall into the habit of doing, and I was also talking about this, I have a habit of trying to be God, and not allowing the Holy Spirit to, you know, deal with where it is work on behalf. Oh, God, you know, the whole Trinity situation. And so sometimes when people would receive salvation, and I had nothing to do with it, and I knew them, sometimes I will feel offended. I'm like, set like, what are you know, you're saying, like, you didn't run it by me, you know what I mean? And, and I had to, I had to, like, ask myself, did I want them to actually receive salvation? Or did I just want them to like, look to me as like this? Yeah, like the Savior? Oh, it's so disgusting. And I still do it. Sometimes. It's so so ridiculous. But I think that if someone were to tell me that, I would hope that that Congress court Well, first of all, I would hope that that comment would come. Because they felt comfortable telling me that in an already established relationship, like, I hope that I have a relationship with someone and that that conversation is able to be you know, is able to happen. Because, honestly, if someone were to come up to me, like if I were on the panel or ever being interviewed, you're like, Why should I be a Christian? I would ask them the exact same question. Jesus did that. Like, if someone asked him a question, he would just ask them? Well, I don't know. Why should you know what I mean?

And so I found that that's helpful, number one, because you don't assume you have all the answers, although Jesus did. But and it also gives them an opportunity to maybe think through something that they might have never thought about before. Maybe they just need you to be a sounding board. And considering the fact that we're called to listen and hear people and maybe be that reason. I would simply be, you know, that other part of their brain kind of asking them the questions that they maybe haven't had a chance to ask themselves. So, yeah, but I would I would probably ask them well, you know, why not? Why did Why do you think he should? And is there anything you're afraid of? Maybe, but I can't tell you why you should be a believer. I could just give you my witness, explain my experience, and, and maybe hope that my life, you know, replicates it, but I can't, I can't force you. Because God didn't force me to become a Christian. He simply presented an opportunity.

Debora 23:18  

Right? Yeah, he doesn't. He just extends that free gift to us. And it's up to us to reach out and take it or not.

Asia 23:26  

Yeah. Which is really scary. But yeah.

Debora 23:30  

What do you believe your life purposes? And how did you arrive at that? Conclusion? Not that you know, everything at the moment, but where you are now? What do you believe your life purposes?

Asia 23:42  

That is such a good question, because I'm on, I don't even Okay, so like, I know, right? I thought I knew before. I was like, I'm going to be on television, and in movies. That's it. But then as I got older, and as I learned about Christ, I was like, Oh, my gosh, I only want to talk about Jesus all the time. But then I started learning about how God uses gifts. So then I was like, Okay, I'll do movies and use that to talk about Jesus. But now, I have no idea. Like, I have an idea, but I have no idea. It's, I was reading Luke the other day. And it was a Tony Evans Study Bible. So they're like these little excerpts that he like, kind of puts his own twist on. And I was reading this part where Dr. Tony Evans was talking about how you're typically exactly what God wants you to be when you done everything you possibly could have done and there's no fruit in it. Not to say that it was like a dead work it just, maybe you just it just nothing happened. And then the second thing is what God is telling you Do make zero sense. And that's kind of where I am, I left one of my contractor jobs in December. And I've literally for like the last three months, it'll probably be gone for have not done anything, like gotten anything now that's super fun, right? 

So I was telling my friend, I was like, I don't know if I'm discouraged or from content because I just don't know what to be feeling. Because I'm not not doing anything. I'm just not getting paid to do so. So, but but I'm still being provided for financially, like, so that's where the whole what what is what is going on? Um, and I don't know, it's, it's, I feel like, I should be worried, but I'm not worried. Um, because I know what gifts I have. They've been used before. And now it's just a matter of what God wants me to do next. I, I think I believe yesterday when I was reading, like I said, I was reading Luke, and what was standing out, you know, when you read scripture in certain parts, like stand out randomly, like, it's just like, oh, everyone really, you know, focused on that before? 

This is my first-time reading Luke in the Christian American Standard. But I don't know, I think that CSB version was whatever ca SB is, that's what Tony Evans Bible is. I've never read the Gospel of Luke in that version. So when I was reading other words, the standout Uh huh. And I didn't realize that Elizabeth and Zachariah both went into like hiding for a specific amount of months before they were presented to do something. And Elizabeth, I think, was in hiding for like five or six months. And it'll be going on for months of me just not being doing anything. And so I thought that that was interesting, simply because I, I hadn't been counting the month, but it's almost four months now. And it's just one of those things where I'm like, Okay, I never realized how folk how time focused the Gospel of Luke can be or how, you know, like, Jesus went, he went and prayed, and you went into seclusion. So just stuff like that, that I was noticing. And I find myself to be in a similar position of just not hiding, but, you know, just just specific pullback time,

Debora 27:30  

perhaps a period of preparation. 

Asia

Yeah. And the next thing, which is interesting, because I'm also still very much visible in front of, like, if I'm either doing pre show at church or, or something. So any attempt that I typically have, at, like, I'll be like, I'm not going to get on my Instagram, because Instagram shows me out and my profile gets, it grows into stresses. And so I'll log out of my public one, in a log into like a private one for like, only friends and family are all like, only be on Facebook, because that was my only friends and family, people that I know. But every time I try and do that, it's like, in like real life, I'll be more and more visible. And so I'm like, Okay, I don't really know what is happening. So I don't know. But I also know, my purpose is ultimately to be reconciled back to Christ and to spread the Gospel. Got it know that. Yeah, but how I do it? I don't know yet. I have no idea. Right now. It's, it's one of those before Jesus gets born things and Holy Spirit is like, Alright, time to move over. Yeah. And that's where I find myself.

Debora 28:42  

Tell us about this new leadership role that you've stepped into in the ministry at First Baptist Church Glenarden. Tell us a little bit about that, and how people can connect with you there.

Asia 28:52  

So I'm a ministry director at the bridge alongside my assistant director, easy ward. And we are both young adults. And it is a young adult ministry specifically for 18 to 25 year olds, and it was birthed out of the need to connect with that age range. And one of my mentors, Joshua Jenkins, we were kind of he told me that long ago, this was kind of a vision to always connect with this age group. 

And in October of 2020, we filmed a mini series on YouTube called The Vault. And after I'd spoke, Josh called me and was like, hey, and he had only known me from plays and from dancing and acting or whatever. And he was like, hey, you know, scripture, you know, something like that. I was like, Yeah, I know Jesus. And so he told me that he wanted to, he wanted to mentor me and push me into the direction that God has for me and which was helpful because you know, sometimes you need people Like, tell you what God has for you because you can't really see it. 

And I definitely have great leaders in just great, specifically male authority in my life who have a very specific they see from God. And it's helpful because sometimes it's so much I'm like, I don't know what exactly I'm supposed to be doing. And so they kind of come in are like, I, you need to be doing this. This is what is obvious. And so that's what Josh did, and ended up in me being a director of this ministry that focuses on building bridges. This literally it's called the bridge, and connecting young adults back to the church or connecting young adult Christians back to culture in a way that is not so separated and divisive. Because, you know, sometimes, like I said, there are lots of young adults who were raised in the faith who have trouble navigating into the world, there are new Christians who don't know how to navigate with, like, non-believers, because we get really scared we will get pulled back into the world.

Asia 31:07  

And so just realizing, you know, how practical the gospel really is, and how there's, there's no way to not live for Jesus once you've heard the gospel, because it's so everything you do, inevitably is tied to like, Jesus. And it's one of those things where I'm excited to teach our peers and learn from our peers about how God is. So it's so he's so accessible, there's just no way you can access God. And I think that's one of my favorite things about God and just about the way that we're navigating the ministry and focusing on community and sustaining that community, and talking about things that genuinely affect my, you know, my generation, and you know, we had our first launch event. And one of the questions were, you know, what are some topics that we want to hear about, there were things about sexuality, that, you know, in regard to just the whole sexual fluidity of our culture, or sex out of wedlock, and having children and you're not married, and I've already had a kid drugs, because that's a thing, apparently, a lot of young people today. And, you know, all of these very, genuine concerns. And I'm excited. Number one, I'm excited to not have all the answers so that I could learn because I also have some more questions. And, you know, just to just to make people feel a little bit more comfortable approaching this big God, that has often been used as an oppressive or fear, fearful tool to get people to do what they want. And I'm just excited to lead alongside some really great leaders who really put like, take it and go on the ground running. And that that's what I'm excited for.

Debora 33:08  

So how do people connect with the bridge? I mean, do you have weekly meetings? Or how does that work? And how would someone that's interested, learn about this and get connected.

Asia 33:16  

So we have an email, which is thebridge@fbcglenarden.org. And you can text join FBCG ID to 77411. And what that'll do is it'll connect you to our app that we use this Church app that we use, and it will also introduce you to the young adult group, which will lead you directly to the bridge, young adult group is full of young adults who love Jesus, and also love normal things that might not be explicitly Christian. Like TV.

Debora 33:53  

Yes, yes. Excellent. Is there anything else that you would like to share with us as we're wrapping up?

Asia 34:02  

Ask God, any question that you that you want. Don't be afraid of asking questions. That's how I came to Christ just by asking a bunch of questions that might not have made sense. And that if I said them out loud, someone would be like, That's offensive, but they weren't. Because I wasn't talking to you. It was only offensive because you're not God. And you don't have the answer. So you're offended. And I think, just ask, ask questions, and then be open to what God has to say. Because it might not be No, it might be yes. It might be. It might be probably, you know, so God, God's favorite thing to say, I think is yes, considering Amen. mean so be it. I mean, I think God wants to say yes. Yeah.

Debora 34:50  

And for someone who's never talked to God before, it's it's, it's prayer. It's, you know, asking those questions from your heart. You can do it in your mind. You can allowed and He will answer he wants to answer you. He wants a relationship with you. Yes. Final thing. I would love it if you would pray for our listeners today.

Asia 35:15  

Yes. Absolutely. Okay. Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you so much for allowing me to join Cobra on this podcast. Thank you for all of our listeners, Father, right now we just ask that you allow for them to get to know you in the everyday things father, allow for the dishwasher to stop perfectly on time allow for the male to come as soon as they walk out the door. Allow them to see you in these little mundane things that show that you're watching them, that you see them that every aspect of life is interconnected and woven into your love for us. And we thank you for little things for the wind for the rain. We thank you for safety for safe travels for our family smiles and laughter and joy. We thank you for the beautiful things of the world that you created. We think that every good and beautiful thing comes from you. And we just ask that you give us the courage to ask questions to love on you to be disappointed by you to be angry with you. And we ask that you allow us to receive as much as you as you allow in this time in this space for us. We love you and we bless you. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Debora 36:27  

Amen. Thank you so much for coming on the show. 

Don't go away. We'll be right back after this short break.

<<MUSIC INTERLUDE>>

Debora 7:15  

We just heard from Asian Nicholson about how she came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and how her relationship with him has grown over time. She is now serving as the ministry director of the bridge, a ministry for young adults at First Baptist Church of Glenarden. Once again, if you are interested in connecting with that ministry, please send an email to thebridge@fbcglenarden.org. Or you can send a text message to 77411 and type in the message join FBCG ID. 

This week is the week leading up to the most amazing thing that God did for humanity to save us from our sins and given us an opportunity to spend eternity with Him. This is Holy Week, where we commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

If you have never surrendered your heart to Him, and asked Him to guide and direct your life, you can do that right now by praying this prayer along with me. God, I confess that I'm a sinner and I need Jesus in my life. I repent of my sins and I turn to you. And I believe that Jesus came to the earth. He died on the cross for my sins, and was buried and rose from the dead. And I accept this by faith and invite Jesus to be the Lord of my life, to reign and rule in my heart. And today, I surrender my life to Him. Lord, take control and teach me how to live for you. Thank you for forgiving me and saving me. Amen. 

If you just made that decision for the first time to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please go to my website at TBTWpodcast.com. And click the link letting me know that you made a decision for Christ because I would love to reach out to you and connect with you and help you with the next steps of your faith. 

If you or someone you know, would like to be considered to be a potential future guest on the show. Please send an email to me at DBarrMinistries@gmail.com Or connect with me through my website, I'm looking for people whose lives have been changed by their relationship with Jesus. 

My prayer for you today is that you will trust the Lord Jesus with your life. Surrender every part of your life to Him and allow Him to fulfill his plans and purposes for you. Stay tuned for our next episode of transformed by the word, where we will hear another life transformation story.

Announcer 40:37  

Thank you for listening to transformed by the word with your host Debora Barr, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or Google Play and connect with us at TBTWpodcast.com. Until next time, be blessed.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai