Former Atheist Gets Baptized

Before I knew Christ I was a proud atheist, and I thought I was in control of my life. Growing up I always felt unloved, unwanted, and alone. At the age of 16, I started to use drugs and alcohol to deal with the loneliness. I became an addict and was in and out of jail, falling deeper and deeper into my addiction and feeling more alone and unloved. My life was out of control.

I cried out to God and prayed for him to take my addiction away and to change my life, no matter what the cost…even if it meant sending me to prison. Two weeks later I was arrested and incarcerated. While on my journey through incarceration, I started attending church in jail.

I couldn’t help but to hear the word of God, and the Holy Spirit was moving inside me. Matthew 22:14 says, “Many are called but few are chosen.” I felt like Jesus had chosen me of all people and he started to do a work in me.

Jesus opened my eyes, my mind, and my heart to him. I finally realized I was loved and I wasn’t alone. Jesus had been with me the whole time, I just didn’t see it. So I started to read the gospel and attending church as much as I could.

When I arrived in prison, I realized my body was in chains but my mind was finally free from my addiction. My prayer had been answered and that was when I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. Since then, I’ve been accepted into a faith-based halfway house.

Jesus has blessed me every step that I’ve taken…now I have a home, a job, a church, and over two years of being drug free! Today, I have chosen to be baptized because I have been transformed by Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus Christ has given me a new life with him as my foundation. I am here to repent of my sins and my old way of life and publicly declare that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.

Anthony — Originally published in September 2017