WRITTEN IN MY HEART
1) My Path to New Life in Jesus, Part 1 We are called to be witnesses for Jesus. On this website, I am going to include personal testimony of experiences during my walk with Jesus; beginning with God’s steps to my becoming born again in Jesus Christ.
My Path to New Life in Jesus, Part 1
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
During my childhood and youth, I was raised attending Sunday School and Church. I do not remember a time in my life when I did not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. I believed that He died on the cross for man’s sin. I believed He rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven. I believed the facts about Jesus.
When I faithfully went through confirmation classes and I was about to be confirmed, my pastor asked this question: Do you receive Jesus as your Savior? I answered yes. But did I really? I was not sure. Did I know what I was professing? Did I have a heart understanding of what this means? I actually had reservations about what I had answered “yes” to.
Since the time Pastor Carlson asked the question – Do you receive Jesus as your Savior? – and throughout my teenage and adult years, until the age of 56, I had the sense that I was “not right” with God. I sensed, I was not in a right relationship with God.
I tried, on my own terms, to respond to this knowledge. Satan and demons believe these facts about Jesus and they are not and cannot be saved. I had head knowledge. But what was missing was surrender; a surrender of my “self will.” What was missing was an actual personal relationship with Jesus. I was not walking with Jesus. I was not in a right relationship with God. Somehow, I had some understanding of this inside of me.
At the time I married, I informed my husband-to-be, who had been attending church with me often, I told him I believed in Jesus and wanted to be active in church after we married. He agreed this would be okay. After our wedding, we made our home in his hometown in southern, Minnesota, where my husband worked for the Green Giant Co. He grew up on a farm. I grew up in St. Paul.
I made a promise, to God or at least in my mind, to go to church and raise our children as church goers. I made sure to join a church of the same Synod. We have three children. They were raised going to Sunday School and each of them were baptized and confirmed. In this church, I attended regularly and served as a Sunday School teacher, as Sunday School superintendent and even for a period of time as a Church Council member. I was also active in service groups.
For all of the 26 years of membership in this church, I sensed in my heart, I was not in a right relationship with God. I am certain it was the Holy Spirit reminding me of this. I kept saying: “I must get right with God before I die.” Did I even understood what this meant, to be in a right relationship with God?
My son, who found the Lord and became a believer, tried to point out in his humble way the shortcomings of this church. Throughout the years, I felt it was too social and not spiritual.
I do not believe I grew spiritually at all in this church. After my youngest daughter finished high school and went off to college, I decided to leave this church. My intention was to look for what I needed spiritually. Well, for about seven years, I did not search for another church nor did I attend church.
Everyone who has repented and given their life to Jesus Christ, I believe, recognizes through their own experience that it is the Holy Spirit who works to draw a person to Jesus Christ. God first calls you to Himself. Then, the Holy Spirit awakens you to your need for a Savior and enables you to come to a point of repentance with a desire to surrender to God.
It is important to understand that each of us is born with the desire to sin. This is referred to as a sinful nature that we have all inherited from “Adam and Eve.” Because of the bondage of this desire to sin, we are not capable of coming to God on our own. The Holy Spirit is essential in this process. The Holy Spirit must draw a person to Christ and prepare (enable) the person to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
God has His way of drawing people to Jesus Christ. God calls you to Himself. He calls your name. You may not realize God is calling out to you. He called out my name, Dorothy, in an audible way in March of 2001. The Holy Spirit works on you to draw you to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit enables you to see your need for Jesus and to respond to this need.
Personal Testimony of Dorothy von Lehe
2024