Elvin Zhang
In 2017, I came to CBCWLA and attended Children Sunday school as well as Children Fellowship. There’s one verse from the Bible that I memorized during the children’s gatherings and still remembers. That verse is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The Bible is not the words of people. It is the word of God. He wrote the Bible through different people over a span of 1500 years. It is magnificent how God had people from diverse backgrounds and from different time periods write a cohesive collection of 66 books with over one thousand pages! Because the Bible is inspired by God, it is powerful and relevant to each and every one of us. The original books of the Bible do not exist because they were destroyed. The Bible exists because scribes made manuscripts from the original books. The incredibly meticulous process of copying the manuscripts ensured that they are accurate word for word. The manuscripts are no different from the original text.
The Bible tells us that everyone on earth is a sinner except the one and only Jesus Christ. I admit that I am a sinner and that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. I came to faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I began to read the Bible more and got closer to God. After praying the sinner’s prayer, I was really thankful to be able to ask for forgiveness. The prayer made me feel better; my past sins have been pardoned. After receiving Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I felt more refreshed and more protected than before. Instead of feeling alone, I felt God is next to me everywhere 24/7.
When I was little, I wanted to be baptized because my mom was baptized. I didn’t know what being baptized really meant. I now understand that Baptism symbolizes that my sins have been washed away through the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is a public declaration of my faith in Christ. I am very thankful that I can proclaim my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ today. I hope to become a better person from this day on; I hope I will be more like my Lord. Of course, no one is perfect except Jesus Christ. I hope I can have more self-control and be more sociable. I want to spread the gospel with the people I know so that they could also put their faith through Christ and become Christians themselves.
Today is my birthday. It is also my double Birthday as I have been born again into the family of God on this day! I don’t think there’s any word in the universal language that can truly convey how happy and thankful I am today!
中文翻译
2017年我来到洛杉矶西区华语浸信会，并且参加了儿童主日学。我在儿童部的时候记下了圣经里的一节金句，现在也还记得，就是约翰福音3章16节：「神爱世人，甚至将他的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信他的不致灭亡，反得永生。」
圣经不是人的话，是神的话，神亲自启示不同的作者，在约1500年的时间中写下了圣经。我觉得圣经的写作是一件伟大的事，因为神使用的这些人都有着不同的背景，在不同时代，却能一起完成这共计66卷，超越千页，却前后一致的书，圣经是神的话，它是带有能力的，并且对我们每一个人都有意义！圣经的原稿已经不存在，被毁坏了，但我们今天还能有圣经，是因为人透过手抄本复制把圣经的内容保存下来。非常奇妙的是，他们能够准确地、忠实地把原文一字一字地抄写下来，让圣经的内容与原稿完全吻合。
圣经有一个非常坚实的陈述，就是除了耶稣基督以外，世上的众人都是罪人。我承认我是一个罪人，而耶稣为我的罪死在十架上。我更多地读圣经，也更加地与主亲近，终于接受耶稣基督为我的救主和生命的主。在我决志祷告后，我非常感恩能够得到神的赦免，使我能从以前的罪中得释放。在我接受耶稣基督为我的救主以后，我感到生命的更新，也更加地有安全感。我不再感到孤独，我能体会到神随时随地与我同在。
当我年纪还小的时候，曾经想要受浸，却不知浸礼的意义，单纯只是因为我妈妈当时受了浸，我也想一起受浸。现在我了解了浸礼的意义：它象征着我的罪被耶稣基督洗净，他是我对主信心的一个公开的宣告。我非常感恩能够因信接受耶稣基督为我的主和救主，也希望从此能成为一个更好的人。我希望能够更加像主，不过当然，除了主基督以外，没有人是完美的。我希望我能更自律，更多地与人互动，分享基督的福音给我认识的人，使他们也能信靠主，成为基督徒。
今天是我的生日，我特别感恩，因为今天我也在主里得到重生，从此我有了两个生日！没有语言可以来形容我今天有多么兴奋与感恩。
妈妈寄语：
「记得Elvin12岁生日的时候，参加教会的活动后，问我：『妈妈，你说我要现在受浸吗？』心中的答案自然是yes，但是脱口而出的是：『你要问问你自己。接受浸礼，接受主，是你和神的关系。这个决定要你自己来做。』我知道儿女是耶和华的产业，我仅仅是给了他属世的生命。我深知：教养孩童，使他走当行的道，就是到老他也不偏离。 （箴言22:6）每天都为他祷告，我们一起查考福音书，感谢主，今年教会的第二季浸礼就在他13岁生日当天，神奇妙的预备！交给神，走他当行的道，让他到老也不偏离，阿们！」
——于涵
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