Testimony
of Suzanne Farnell
On February 18, 1988 I was born into the Christian family of Charlie and Peggy Farnell. I will always be thankful that God allowed me to be raised in a Christian home; He spared me from the pain and trials found in a non-Christian home. Because I grew up in a Christian home, I have been taught the message of the gospel my entire life. I do not specifically remember a time in my life when I didn’t know that Jesus Christ had died for my sins. My parents told me that I prayed and asked Jesus into my heart when I was just 5 years old. I do not remember doing that. A few years later, while attending a Good News Club at the Community Church my family attended, an invitation was given to pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of your sins. We were told that we should pray the prayer, even if we’d done it before, just to be sure that we’d asked Jesus to come into our hearts. I accepted this invitation, thinking that it couldn’t hurt to ask Jesus to save me again. I knew I’d already done that, but what if it hadn’t worked? I specifically remember a third time that I asked Jesus to come into my heart. I was laying in bed thinking about my sinful condition, knowing that Jesus was the only one that could save me from my sin. I had been taught that you get Jesus in your life by asking Him to come into your heart. I remembered that I’d done that before, but I wanted to be sure that Jesus had heard me and come into my heart. As I prayed that night, I told Jesus that I knew I’d already asked Him into my heart, and maybe He’d already come and washed my sin away, I thanked Him for that if that was the case but told Him that if He hadn’t already come into my heart and washed away my sin I wanted Him to because I knew there was nothing else that could take care of my sin.
As time went on, I matured in my physical and spiritual life. I began to understand the gospel more clearly and I began to love my Saviour even more as I saw the great love with which He first loved me. 1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.” I am nothing more than a poor, wretched sinner. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” There is a price I deserve to pay for my sin. Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin [is] death;” This death isn’t the physical death of the body that we all die, it is the eternal death of one’s soul in hell, separated from God. Revelation 20:14 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” But God loves me, and doesn’t want me to have to pay for my own sin. 2 Peter 3:9b “…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Out of His great love, He made a way for me to go to heaven in spite of my sin. He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die in my place. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” I deserve to pay for my own sin by dieing eternally in hell, but God offers me the gift of eternal life through His Son. Romans 3:23 “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I have received this gift because I have believed in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. Acts 16:31 “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” When I believed in Jesus, I received Him as my personal Saviour and became a Child of God. John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” Even those who believe on his name receive him, then they are given power to become the sons of God. Galations 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” He is now in my heart bearing witness with my spirit that I am saved. Romans 8:16 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” Without him, there is no way to get to heaven. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” And because I have Jesus, the Son, I know that I have eternal life. 1 John 5:12-13 “He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
There is only one reason that anyone will go to hell. God does not want anyone to should perish, but many will perish because they do not believe. John 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Their sin debt has already been paid: Heb 10:10 “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all].” They just haven’t received the payment by believing. Eph 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:”
Salvation is a beautifully simple gift. So simple that even a small child, like I was, is able to receive it. Mark 10:14b “…Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” So simple that many will not walk down the straight and narrow path to heaven. Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
The Lord has carried me through many seasons of life, complete with joys, trials, challenges, and lessons. He picks me up when I fall down, He chastises me when I make mistakes. He helps me through the little things and the big things. He guides me down the path He wants me to follow, continually reminding me to be still and know that He is God; to wait on Him so my strength can be renewed. Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.” Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
As a little girl, the Lord taught me a valuable lesson that I will never forget. I would frequently ride my bike down a big hill by our house. I would always pray for God’s protection as I started out on my adventure. One day, I neglected to pray for the Lord’s protection as I headed down the hill. An accident occurred; I was cruising along at about 35mph when I wrecked. My front wheel turned sideways in front of me and I went flying over the handlebars, skidding across the black pavement, confident I had just screamed the last scream of my life. I ended up with my right arm in a full cast, a stitch in my upper lip, and a badly scraped left arm. But I was alive, and I knew I shouldn’t be. I hadn’t even been wearing a helmet. God cares about us and wants us to include Him in everything we do. It is important for us to pray for His protection, and thank Him for it, rather than just taking it for granted.
I remember when the Lord first impressed upon my heart the importance of spending some time alone with Him each day. I was faithful to do so for a while but then reverted back to my old habits. But, God showed me that He is a jealous God. Exodus 20:5 “… for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God…” I had been doing my devotions each evening, just before climbing into bed for the night. One night, as I was going to bed the Lord reminded me that I hadn’t done my devotions. I told Him to leave me alone, that I was tired and I’d do my devotions the next day. He didn’t like that idea much and decided to keep me awake. The Lord didn’t let me go to sleep that night until after I got out of bed and spent some time in my Bible and prayer.
As a college student, I realized that Jesus truly is my best friend. I lived alone at school and didn’t even have a cell phone to stay in touch with my family. When I needed to make a decision, the Lord was there for me to go to for direction. When I needed someone to talk to, the Lord was there for me. When I was overwhelmed by assignments, commitments, obligations, and responsibilities, I could take my burden to the Lord in prayer, hand it all over to Him, and just trust Him to take me through it all. Whatever my need was, Jesus was there for me.
The Lord has taken me through so much. He has taught me so many lessons, and He has loved me so much. Thinking about it causes me to love Him more, realizing that He cares what I do and cares about the things I care about causes me to stand in awe of Him. Psalm 8:3-4 is one of my favorite verses: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”