My name is Ranti Valdez. I was brought up in a Southern Baptist home. I am so thankful for my mother who prayed for my family and for me. I do believe the Lord Jesus used her to cause me to follow Him. She often gave her time to take care of the children in Sunday school and volunteered to help with church activities. I remember others in the church commending her to me when I was little, that she was a good pattern.

Our family moved around quite a bit. With every move, we changed churches. My mother simply wanted to meet with other Christians and went wherever she felt led. As a result I had a varied experience of Christianity, from Presbyterian to Pentecostal.

When I was in college, I took my mother as a pattern and started seeking other Christians with which to study the Bible. Eventually, the Lord led me to a Bible study group on campus in Austin, many of whom met with the local church. The more I met with them, the more I realized that there was a rich supply of God’s life flowing that I had seldom experienced before. I believe that this sweet flow of life came from enjoying the Lord in my human spirit.

It is this flow of life and touch with the Lord that strengthened me to walk the Christian life. Before, I had always struggled with living a “double life,” that is, a life of “holiness” in the church meetings and a life of self and sin the rest of the time. Eventually, I was strengthened to live a life that kept my conscience at peace with God, so I could freely fellowship in prayer with Him and other believers.

My mother noticed this change in me. We began to have fellowship together, which we never really did before. The more she had fellowship with others in the church, the more she also was supplied and strengthened to continue pursuing the Lord despite some hard circumstances. I am so thankful that the Lord led me to the church in Austin during my college years. It was there that I found a rich supply of life that encouraged and strengthened me to continue in the Christian walk, and to pursue and love the Lord.

Unveiled to See God and His Purpose

After meeting with other Christians in the local church, my love for Christ and my enjoyment of Christ increased. I believe that the main reason for this increase is the ministry that we enjoy. This ministry unveiled who Christ is again and again to me. I remember that my first touch with this ministry was when I was given two small booklets. One was called the Assurance, Security, and Joy of Salvation and the other was the Precious Blood of Christ. My initial thought before reading these two booklets was that I knew these basic truths already and my reading them would just be a review of what I already knew. But the more I got into them, the more I saw fresh light in the Bible concerning Christ’s redemption. This light released me from so much condemnation by showing me who Christ is and the effectiveness of His blood.

It has been over five years since I first touched this ministry and my love and appreciation for the Bible is much higher than it was. This is because the ministry of Watchman Nee and his coworker Witness Lee has opened the Bible in such a way as to show me God and His eternal purpose. Now my God is not One who is far away anymore, dwelling in unapproachable light. He is so near and dear. He is everything to me.

R.V.

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