August 25, 2008

Akira's Story

The Goodness of God - Akira Kosuge is another one of my closest friend's.  We have known one another for 12 year's.  We met in college and from the start, we knew we where going to be friend's for life. 

We have had many great times together and have kept in touch over the years inspite of being continent's away from each other.  I remember when we both shared our testimonies with one another and we realized we had many things in common. 

Akira's story is a powerful testament to the Goodness of God and how serving Jesus from a young age can keep one from being polluted by the world.  Akira is a righteous guy and I know God has many great things in the future for him because of his life of purity for the Lord Jesus.  The Testimony I am sending you is a tremedous story of the Goodness of God in the life of a person who has served God from a young age.  Enjoy and be inspired as you read Akira's story.

Hi Everyone!
 
My name is Akira Kosuge and I am going to share a testimony of my path to coming to know Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.  The story is about a man who came was prayed that he would become a Christian, follower of God, long before he knew that he would become a Christian, and how he is continuing to develop a life long relationship with God once he became Christian.

I became a Christian on February 10, 1993.  I had been seeking God until this time, but I did not understand what it meant to become a Christian.  My parents, themselves non- practicing Buddhists (they are non- religious, almost agnostic people), enrolled me at Liberty Christian High School.  The school is part of a church called Central Baptist Church, (now called Crosspointe Baptist Church.  I was invited to a winter retreat held by the High School Youth Group at Big Bear, California.  I went to the retreat.  Pastor Jim Gane, was the high school youth pastor, asked if anyone wanted to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.  I did not receive Christ at that time, though I was thinking about it.  I had been thinking on it for about a month afterwards and soon realized everything about Jesus Christ began to make sense to me.  I needed Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.  The school holds an event called Spiritual Emphasis Week every year.  So I notified Pastor Jim Gane that I was interested in accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.  So, during Spiritual Emphasis Week, on February 10, 1993, Pastor Jim Gane, took me through passages of the Scripture and I prayed that Jesus Christ would come into my heart.  My life has changed since then because I have to live by the standards set forth in the Bible and God would convict me when I sin, or have sinful thoughts.  My life became accountable Jesus Christ and God.  I also began to develop deep friendships with other Christians, so I could be held accountable for my actions, and I too could hold my Christian brothers for actions as well.  In high school, the people I developed a deep accountability with were my youth pastor (He is now the pastor of the married couples group of Crosspointe Baptist Church) and other members of the high school youth group.  When I got to college, I had (and still have) accountability with my Christian friend Joey Escarsega.  I also joined a Christian Fraternity, Alpha Gamma Omega and this helped me keep accountable to Christian brothers.  With parents who come from a non- practicing Buddhist/ agnostic background, I am constantly defending and professing my faith so that one day they may know the saving grace of the Lord.  I do not struggle with living a Christian life, but like every other Christian, I still struggle with sin, and therefore I have Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, and I have had, have, and continually developing new friendships with other Christians so I would sin less and struggle less with living a Christian life..



Be Blessed,



Joey


PS:  If any of the testimonies from this series have blessed you or someone else, let us know so we can praise God with you. 

We will continue to pray that you become all that Jesus Christ called you to be in this life. 

If you haven't received Jesus Christ yet and you want to, pray this prayer with me.  Dear God I admit I am a sinner in need of a Savior.  I believe the Savior who can and will forgive my sins and give me eternal life is Jesus Christ.  I confess Jesus today as my Lord and Savior and commit my life to follow and obey Him from this day forward.  I pray this in the name of Jesus Amen. 

Let us know if you received Christ so we can celebrate with you because it’s the greatest thing you will ever do in this life.  We would also like to recommend some links on the net to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus.