I did not Consider Myself a Sinner
My name is Stacia Jablonski, and this is My Story.
I grew up thinking I was a Christian, but had never heard of salvation. I was raised in a United Church of Christ church and was baptized as a child. I always knew Jesus died on the cross and rose again the third day, but never knew I needed to repent and ask Jesus to forgive me. The Bible says in 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.”
I thought because I was a good wife, a good mother, and I have been baptized, so surely I would go to heaven. I compared myself to the people around me. I prayed every day and thought I loved God. But the Bible says in Romans 3:10, “As it is written, THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE.”
In 2003, an old school friend of my husband started stopping by our house inviting us to his church. I thought he was creepy and a religious nut, so I would hide on occasion when he would stop by. I actually wanted to start taking our kids to Sunday school, but I didn’t know which church, and I didn’t want to go to church by myself. This man, Steve, kept coming by and inviting us to his church. One day, my husband told me he had given Steve his word that we would visit his church on Sunday morning. I figured, “Well, it is only one time. I guess it will be OK.”
That Sunday morning, I was not looking forward to going. But, once we got there and everyone was so nice, I started to relax. It wasn’t at all what I had expected. We all had a great time. I felt different than I did at other churches we had visited on Easter or Christmas now and again. We took our Bibles to church and actually read from them. I had always owned a Bible, but had never read it before.
As we continued to attend that church, God started dealing with my heart and convicting me of my sin. I had never considered myself as a sinner before. I knew I smoked and drank once in awhile, but I didn’t think I was that bad. As we continued to listen to the preaching of God’s Word, it didn’t take long for God to change my heart and I recognized just how wicked I was. However, I couldn’t imagine walking down the aisle at church during an invitation in front of all those people.
My husband and I were talking a lot about salvation at home and reading our Bibles. We kept attending church and listening to the preaching of God’s Word. I knew I wanted to be saved, but something was holding me back. (Salvation, saved and born again are Biblical terms referring to the forgiveness of sins by God and the rescue of a person from the power and penalty of that sin. This is God’s requirement for everlasting life.) Then, one Sunday morning I knew I could not wait any longer. That day, November 23, 2003, around 1 PM, I went into the pastor’s office and bowed on my knees before God. I asked Jesus to forgive my wicked soul and to come into my heart and save me. Immediately I felt a huge weight lifted off me that I never knew was there before. As we went home, everywhere I looked seemed brighter. In my heart, I had an indescribable feeling of joy and peace. I KNEW I WAS SAVED!!!
When we got home from church that day, our house was full of people partying and watching football. The first thing we did was tell everyone we had gotten SAVED. They all cheered because they were drunk, but had no idea what we were talking about.
Everything looked so different to me now. The things I had never thought twice about doing before were now a conviction. The people I used to party with before now made me uncomfortable. I wanted to tell the whole world about what Jesus had done for me.
As I started witnessing to family and friends, I just got strange looks. Everyone thought they were going to heaven. After all, they were good people. But the Bible says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) They didn’t know the gospel, and didn’t want to hear it. They were just like I was before: lost and ignorant of the truth.
Almost every person in America owns a Bible, but the majority of them have never read it. It took a Christian who wouldn’t give up on a lost soul to make me hear the truth. I praise the Lord for the difference He has made in my life and in my family. I can’t imagine going through this brief life on earth without my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.