My Testimony

By:  Jonathan Morisoli

When I started the Life Above Reproach discipleship program, I didn’t know what to expect.  I only knew that it was an eight month program where I would be going through the New Testament.  My personal objective was to learn about “The Love of Jesus” because I wanted to know how to look at the world through the eyes of Jesus.  I gained this and more.  I actually found that reading the Bible on my own was special quality time in a busy day.  As I went through the program, my focus and objective became ministering the Word of God.  I also found myself identifying areas of my life that needed attention in order to live a godly life.  Life Above Reproach helped me to have intimate time in the Bible.   I would meditate on scripture and gained more than just knowledge.

Life Above Reproach gave me an intimate time with the Lord where His Holy Word could speak to me one-on-one.  During my week, I would go to service and have bible studies, but it was not the same as having that one-on-one time with the Lord in His Holy Word.  I didn’t have the pressure I normally experienced in a Bible study where I was concerned with what others may think.  I didn’t lose focus as I did in church service because it was long, in depth, and drawn out.  Rather, this one-on-one time in the Bible has been a time of concentration and meditation.  I could ponder or meditate on a section or verse without any pressure or loss of focus where God would reveal details in His Holy Word.   All I did was set the same time each day and dedicated it to reading the three chapters.  I would start with the introduction in order to prepare me with the theme of the reading.  This time would give me a better understanding of the readings through the power of God and His Holy Word.

Life Above Reproach helped me practice ministering the Word of God to others.  As I read the assigned Bible reading, I selected the section and verses that meant the most to me.  I would put my focus there and read the commentary in the study Bible in order to get the best understanding of it.  I would come to group ready to briefly minister the Word to the group.  This practice prepared me to minister the Word of God to others by teaching and preaching as it applied to my life and hopefully to theirs.

The questions asked each week helped me to be accountable in my Christian walk.  When I realized I had to answer questions each week such as, “Did I entertain any appropriate thoughts?” I paid more attention to my thoughts and what I did with those thoughts.  I realized there was not much I could do about the thoughts that had come into my head.  I used self-talk and chose not to act on or entertain the thoughts that did not glorify God.  As time went on, these questions made me more aware of my thoughts each day and more accountable in my Christian walk.

The Life Above Reproach program has helped me learn how to have an intimate time with God through His Word, the Bible, where I could meditate on scriptures.  Through this process, I gained more than just knowledge.  I also learned to study His Word and minister to the group what God showed through His Word.  Ministering the Word was not something I did normally.  God used the Life Above Reproach program to put this ministry work into action in my Christian practice.  I also found that the group was keeping me accountable in my Christian conduct through the questions asked each week.  I appreciated the group because they instilled a good Christian lifestyle and created a greater self-awareness to my thoughts and conduct.  Life Above Reproach helped to shape me into a stronger Christian.