Acts 26:18 – “..to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”
The following is the testimony of Tina of Buckinghamshire of how Almighty God worked in her life by His grace to bring her ‘from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that [she]..receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith’ in Lord Yeshua the Messiah, Son of the living God.
Tina, roughly how long have you been saved?
24 years, since 2000.
In your own words, what does “saved” mean and where in the Scriptures do you derive your understanding?
I believe I have been saved through faith by grace and not from my works (Ephesians 2:8-9). In Acts 16:30-31, when the Philippian jailor asked the Apostle Paul and Silas what he needed to do to be saved, they replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Jesus saved me out of the darkness of my sin within me, including the darkness of the occult by hanging on the cross and dying in my place to bring me into His gift of eternal life.
Another Scripture which informed my understanding is Romans 6:23, ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
In your own words what is repentance and its connection with salvation?
It is turning around from the sinful life to Lord Jesus Christ in obedience and faith towards God.
For me, repentance was seeing the sinfulness within and, feeling remorseful and shame then confessing to God, asking for His forgiveness. I then turned to God through Lord Jesus and was saved by His grace through faith.
Tina’s Background
Can you share with us about your family background?
I am English and was born in Buckinghamshire, England. My parents were nominal Christians – although they believed in God, sent me to Sunday School and my mum read bible stories to me, they did not attend church themselves. I grew up in a small village with few friends, going to the village school which had a strong connection with the parish church and have a younger brother, who is not a believer.
Can you remember when you first heard the Gospel?
I would have heard the Gospel at an early age probably through the bible stories my mum read and more especially at Sunday school. I remember very clearly kneeling on my bed looking out of the window praying to God asking for a baby brother around the age of five or six years old. My mum and I were staying with her mother at that time, waiting for the delivery of my brother who arrived in the early hours of that morning. I am not sure if it had an impact on me then, but I did love going to Sunday school and later to the after-school bible club.
When did you become conscious of the Gospel of Lord Yeshua, that Messiah died for your sins, personally?
This was during a Christian girls’ camp I went to at ten years old in Devon, South-West England with some schoolfriends. During this time, I responded to an altar call to “give my life to Jesus”.
Tina’s Journey to Faith
What was your journey to saving faith from then on? How did God work in your life to bring you to the light of the saving knowledge and salvation of Lord Yeshua the Messiah?
My time at the Christian camp sadly did not turn out to be where my belief in God was transformed into saving faith. After returning home and when at eleven years old I went off to secondary school, I left all that behind me.
During my early years I was sexually abused by a friend’s brother on many occasions which didn’t stop until I realized what was happening around the age of nine. The only person I told at the time was his sister and I lived with the memory for over fifty years. After this experience I became very promiscuous and at the age of seventeen had an abortion. I ended up leaving home, travelling first to France and then Florida where I settled and had two beautiful boys. It was during this time that I started going back to church.
Ten years later the relationship broke down and I returned to England with my boys, staying initially with my parents. A year after this I got married to my husband and we settled down to married life. I then became involved in the New Age and went off to do lots of study on Reiki, Reflexology, crystals, tarot cards, Wicca etc. God allowed me to continue until He said no more! That night I had been at a meeting with a group who call up the spirits (channelling) At first, this evening seemed no different to others until one of the ladies during a meditation became demonic in appearance and behaviour, fell to the floor in a fit/seizure for a few moments then recovered. It was a very scary experience! On my way home reflecting on the evening, I had a voice/impression in my head warning me if I continued in these practices I would go to hell.
The very next day I met my neighbour for the first time who invited both myself and my husband to a debate on Creation v Evolution. It was after the debate that my neighbour asked if I believed in God to which I responded ‘yes.’ He then went on to ask me if I was born again? I asked him where in the bible it says that I must be born again to go to Heaven. Very gently, he showed me and explained the Gospel with such love, and I knew then I needed to be saved. I was convinced however that God would not want someone like me.
I went back to the gospel meeting the following week and on my way home experienced a real demonic battle with a demon saying to me that I was his because God hates those with blood on their hands! And that I was dirty! I almost became hysterical and started to scream at God for allowing the abuse to happen to me, which probably led to my promiscuous sinful lifestyle. I arrived home thinking there was no hope for me to be saved, went to bed and slept like a baby. The next morning, as I had my coffee and reflected over the experience of the previous evening, I picked up a Bible tract, which told the parable of the precious pearl [Ed. See Matthew 13:45-46]. I came to realize then that I am the precious pearl and God had brought me with the blood of His Son Jesus. His sinless shed blood has made me whiter than snow; He restored my purity and has set me free from the shame and guilt. In Him I am a new creation – waiting now for my Saviour (Bridegroom) to return to take me with His Church (His bride) to be with Him. How awesome!
Once I was made free, I turned away from all the occult practices, burnt all my books on the subject and threw away all clothes that were deemed to be sexually provocative. Shortly after I was saved I was baptised as a believer in Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
When did the assurance of salvation come? When did you know you were saved? Can you describe how that felt?
Before I was baptised, I battled with demons sitting on both my shoulders telling me I wasn’t saved and why would God save me. This was constant for a week or two and I began to doubt that I was saved. But God through His word told me I was saved and a child of God. The bible verse I repeatedly held onto was Romans 10:13, ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ God’s word brought me the assurance.
From then to now
Since then, can you share a little bit about how the Lord Yeshua has worked in your life?
After my baptism I started attending church every Sunday, reading the Bible and praying daily and became very zealous in sharing the Gospel. I gave up the Reflexology and massage business I had and swopped it for looking after the elderly in the community – a job I loved. I made the most of opportunities of sharing Jesus with them all. I have recently retired from working with a hospice for six years, an experience which was another gift from God.
Can you tell me about the ministry you serve in now?
I am now becoming more active in a Pro-life ministry called PASE – Post Abortion Support for Everyone. I became involved with this ministry last year after doing one of their recovery courses for eight weeks and then attending a PASE conference and a March For Life in Central London. I was asked to assist in a recovery course this year with two ladies that had gone through abortion. It was such a blessing to see how God heals and restores these broken souls. I am also involved with a Prolife ministry in Israel, regularly featured in the Prayer for Israel prayer diary [Ed. see https://prayerforisrael.org/].
What is your heart’s desire for this ministry?
My heart’s desire is to do more to bring Jesus to broken souls for hope and healing and to see an end to abortion.
Within the will of God, do you have any particular hopes for the future that you can share with us?
To see in my lifetime both my sons, their wives, my brother and his partner saved. I also hope to share in a ministry together with my husband.
Last words
Can you share a Scripture passage through which the Holy Spirit has really encouraged, strengthened or instructed you in your walk of faith in Lord Yeshua?
Jesus said “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). I chose this particular verse because He is light (Jesus), and I was walking in darkness, going deeper into it but now am following the Light of the world.
I would also like to add John 7:37-38: ‘On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ This Scripture was given to me in 2015 when I was in Israel and by the sea of Galilee on the last day of The Feast of Tabernacles. I wanted to renew my commitment to God by being baptized in the sea with some very precious brothers and sisters when one of the sisters spoke these verses to me. This was so special. God is so so good!
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