As a young child, I thought I was doing the right thing by walking down the aisle and saying the ABC salvation prayer that I was taught to say. I knew my family members wanted me to do this. I didn’t understand it, but I knew the importance. I cried thinking that one day I would be without my family in heaven. I didn’t want that and I didn’t want to hinder anyone else from getting saved just because I didn’t take that first step. I didn’t fully understand the concept of salvation or really what I was as doing at the time but I did it anyway. Later, I was baptized and continued to live my life thinking I was saved. I mean, I was barely over toddler age when I walked the aisle. It seemed every time someone would preach on salvation I would feel convicted or like I wasn’t saved at all, but I kept convincing myself I was. Once again, saved and baptized at a young age. Even in my testimony, I’ve said I was saved as a child then came back to God, but I now know I was wrong.

In my early teenage years I turned my back on God and the church and did things my way. I rebelled for years and stopped going to church all together when I was old enough to work and drive on my own. I started working at 15 so I slowly started getting out of church because of work and I just didn’t want to go. In college, I continued to do my own thing with no worries or thoughts of being wrong. I was always right at that time. 

But then one day, after my boyfriend and I had been living  together for a few years, his grandfather passed away. At his funeral, my husband said they talked about what kind of legacy will you leave behind? What will people remember about you when you are gone? He was truly convicted by this and decided that the it was time we turned our lives around. He told me right then that he was going to church in the morning with or without me. I didn’t think he was serious but Sunday morning came and he got up to go to church. Shocked, I found some “churchy” clothes and went with him. For a while we bounced back and forth from my childhood church, Elljean Baptist church in Pickens, to his childhood church, New Beginnings Baptist Church in Six Mile. I felt like everyone was staring at the “prodigal son” when we walked in the church. I knew I needed Jesus in my heart but I never was ready to admit until one day at New Beginnings. My heart raced, I gripped the pew, and tears poured that Sunday morning in July of 2009 as I realized I had never truly been saved. I didn’t have Jesus in my heart and I didn’t have a clue what I was doing with my life. That day, I prayed to God like I meant it, not just the ABC prayer I quoted as a child, but a sincere prayer that secured my salvation. I knew from that moment on, I was saved. At the time, my tears embarrassed me and I ran out the door as soon as I could and put my sunglasses on so no one could tell I was crying the whole service. My pride was a work in progress to get rid of. Years passed by and I felt like something was still missing. I continued on in life and started teaching some with the youth, my husband was licensed to preach, and eventually we were youth leaders at 3 different churches. Every time I taught on baptism or listened to the preacher preach about it, I convinced myself I was ok because I was baptized as a child but I still felt convicted.  Baptism doesn’t save you – it’s just an “outward expression of an inward confession” letting others know you have changed. . My pride kept me from talking to any pastor about getting baptized. What would people think? I was a youth leader, taught and even directed VBS for 3 years, and led conferences for teenage girls. What would people think if I got baptized almost 9 years after being saved??? Time and time again, I questioned myself and even spoke with my husband about it and prayed about it with him. Then I finally told him, “I feel like I’m telling God no every Sunday.” I knew what God wanted me to do but I wouldn’t do it because of my pride. Last Sunday, May 27th 2018, I walked the aisle and told pastor Jamie it was time I got baptized. He prayed with me and guess what, I’m getting baptized next Sunday, June 3rd at East Pickens Baptist Church almost 9 years after getting saved.

Baptism doesn’t save you but it does show others you are not ashamed of your salvation and you’ve changed your life for Him. When you go under the water it represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You are showing others that you are a new person in Christ.

The Bible says over and over again for us, as disciples of Christ, to “go and baptize others in His name.” 

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,”

The Bible also tells us that we should not be ashamed of our salvation or let our pride get in our way of following His commands. 

Matthew 10:32“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in Heaven.”

Mark 16:16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16

I’ll end with this, don’t let your pride or your worries about what others will think, hold you back from doing God’s will. I told God no for several years and lived a life “thinking” I was saved and could do whatever I wanted. Then when I realized what I had done, and asked God for forgiveness and salvation in 2009, I still let my pride hold me back from baptism for almost 9 years! (Man, I’m stubborn!) 

No one is perfect, and no one knows what tomorrow holds, so secure your salvation today and be baptized to let everyone know what God is doing in your life. As Pastor Jamie said Sunday, “this is a time of celebration!” I look forward to celebrating my salvation with my baptism on Sunday! 

-Kayla Rampey

May God Bless You and Show you His Grace every day!

This blog is not just for Seniors. It’s for High School Seniors, Rising Seniors, teens of all ages, or even Seniors from years ago. In other words, it’s for everyone. I think this Biblical advice is relevant for all ages but especially for those graduating and entering a whole new phase in life. So here it goes:

Dear Seniors (and everyone else),

I know you’ve heard it all. “This is the first day of the rest of your life.” “Congratulations! Welcome to the real world!” “Your future awaits you!” And of course, “God has a plan for you just stay close to Him!”

I could sit here and tell you all the same things and more, but I’m not. Instead, I want to give you Biblical advice for the future.

First of all, “this is the first day of the rest of your life” is kind of crazy when you think of it. The day you were born was the first day of the rest of your life. Even before that, God had a plan for your life and knew it from start to finish.

Second, “Your future awaits you” well sort of but as we speak, your future is happening. Every step you take is one step further into the future. The future won’t just “wait” for you. It’s there whether you are ready or not. My advice to you is to look to the future by looking to God. Don’t look to the future and look for dollar signs, your future Mr. Right, or anything else – just keep your eyes on God and your future will become the future He has planned for you.

And “God has a plan for you.” I love this one because it always is true. No matter what stage of life you are in, graduating, getting married, getting a job, growing old, etc., this statement will always be true. God had a plan for you the day you were born. (even before you were born He knew the plans for your life)

There’s an old hymn that goes, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future and life is worth the living just because He lives.” If you grew up in a Southern Baptist Church, I’m sure you’ve heard the song. In my mind, I can still hear every word to it just as I can “Amazing Grace.” In his 80s my Papa would stand in the choir with tears in his eyes and sing this song without ever once looking at the hymnal. He knew every word and I know he believed them just as much. Every night, he would bow beside his bed and pray, every day he would thank God for giving him another day to serve Him. He was a Christian example that I will always look up to. He passed away almost 2 years ago, but his life forever changed mine.

I want you to look around you as you grow up, who do you see? In your life, from here on out, you’ll see WAY more people than you did in High School. You won’t see the same faces every day, and believe it or not, you may never see them again. Life gets busier and I pray that you’ll use every chance you get to be a Christian example to others.

So who do you see around you now?

At my age, I see my husband and my children, my co-workers and a bunch of patients that come into our office each week, my extended family, and my church. Outside of my direct view, I see strangers walking through the grocery store, neighbors that I don’t even know their names, and thousands of different people on the road or in passing that I may never see again.

What kind of influence am I making on them? At night, they can’t see me kneel with my children and my husband to pray. In my private time, they don’t know what how much time I spend studying the Bible. So what do they see when they see me? In the brief seconds they see me in passing, what do they see?

Ask yourself the same question every day. “What do people see when they see me?” If your answer isn’t Jesus, you need to really think about what matters most in life. The Bible says we are to be like Christ. In 1 John 2, the Bible says, “3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

When you look in the mirror, who do you see? When life gets busy, it’s hard to see God. You get distracted, you get busy, and you just don’t have time to slow down and spend time with God. My advice to you is to never get too busy for God. I pray that God will place people in your life that will see Jesus in you and forever be changed by your influence. Be the example that my Papa was to me, and don’t wait until you’re a grandparent to be an example. I know, most testimonies go something like this, “I was close to God as a child, I grew up and left God for a while to party in college, do drugs, or something crazy like that, and then I came back to God and now I’m amazing following Him.” Your story doesn’t have to be that way. Your story can be greater by the influence you can make on others in college, in life, and in this world just by being like Christ always.

It’s a challenge, a daily challenge to wake up and be like Christ, but if you pray and you stay close to Him, in His Word, and living for Him by His commandments, you can do it!

I want you to know I’m praying for you, and I’m here for you! You can always message or call me anytime! College, school, life, work, whatever stage of life you are in, I’m just a phone call and a prayer away. Send me a text and I’ll pray for you! (864) 915-8094

May God Bless you and Show you His Grace every day!

Kayla Rampey

“Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭2:37-47‬ ‭NASB‬‬
http://bible.com/100/act.2.37-47.nasb

In my reading this morning, I tried to imagine what it would be like if everyone acted like this today. What if 3,000 people were saved in 1 church service; better yet by a missionary standing on the street. Today,  we get excited about 1 soul getting saved – can you imagine 3,000? My husband just came back from a mission trip in Cuba and he came back so excited to tell us about the eagerness of the people to learn about God. He said one day they walked through a tobacco field to get to a small home and talk to a family about Jesus. 2 people were saved in that home. Can you imagine what those 2 people can do in that small village if they “go and tell”like we are called to do. Dustin went on and on about how happy the people were wherever they went. There were no cars, a few horses and buggies and bicycles but not even a Walmart! And can you imagine – no WiFi?!!!! I know scary! But these people were happy with what they had. No AC, no WiFi, no shopping besides open markets… and they were happy.

Maybe we are missing the point: happiness is not about the “stuff” you have. It’s about Who you have around you – and the best person to be around you is Jesus Christ.

With Jesus in your heart you’ll want to act like the people in th scripture above, You’ll desire to share His Word, and you’ll find out what real joy is.

One more story and I’m done – last week while my husband was in Cuba for 7 days – my hotwater heater flooded….27,000 gallons or water….under my hous over the last 2 months. Apparently a small leak turned to a big leak and busted a week ago. My water company called with concern and to tell me my water bill was going to be outrageous- so I grabbed my flashlight aka my phone and crawled under my house to check it out. BTW make sure you always kno where a flashlight is in your house. Phones are Great but not for crawling under the house. It didn’t take long for me to find the leak and step in water. I called my dad – no answer. I couldn’t call my husband – no service in Cuba. And then I called on of my church friends, Amber. For some reason, her husband answered. I was almost in tears and asked him if he could come check it out. We’ve only known this couple since last Fall but they have been such a blessing to us – that’s a story for another day – but that day – Jon came to my house, checked out everything and decided I needed a new hotwater heater. $$$ is all I could see. He removed the old one, helped me find a new one with a good cost and rebate from my power company, and the next day he installed it himself for no cost at all. I had hot water by lunchtime. Sometimes sharing God’s love is not by telling others abou Him – it can be by serving others and helping those in need. I tried to tell him we would repay him and he said no, he just loves to help others. Be thankful and be blessed for what you have and who you have around you!

May God Bless you and Show you His Grace every day!