Stories of Faith Archives

Finding True Peace with God

Despite growing up with a religious family and a strong belief in the power of the cross, his search for peace in countless religions left him with more questions than answers. Now Devon shares his journey and discovery on how he found true peace with God.

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Devon Smith: I was always searching. Different religions. And different points in time. Of course, I was disappointed after each one because there was something very off about each one, and I couldn’t find the real answers I was looking for. I was big on the cross, I even had a cross chain and I didn’t leave anywhere without it. Because I knew that was gonna get me through the hardest times. But it turns out the cross was indeed a sign of those who were to be condemned.

I’m Devon Smith. I was born in Virginia; I was raised in Colorado Springs. I was raised in a single parent home. Well not having a father growing up, that’s a really really tough time. I would be resentful. Violence was quickly happening all throughout the city. You know, this was early 90’s where a lot of racial tensions were happening, even in school.

I do remember a bully in school, he was an eighth grader and I was a sixth grader. And he used to terrorize everybody. He even came to my home outside banging on the door one time looking for me, for whatever reason. But later on I found [out] that he was shot, after the last time he picked on me because of gang-related activities. That’s when I realized; he was roughly my age — that could’ve been me.

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“Always Searching”

My teen years, they were a little bit rough, only reason because, I was always the new kid. My mom moved around a lot, and it was always hard making new friends. I was very close to my grandma. All I needed, love wise, came from my grandma.

Grandmamma taught me to hold on to God and she also taught me that God is going to be where He chooses to be which is inside a church. So I did know, to some degree, that church was important and I also [sought] to find one. That was something that my grandmother taught me at a very young age. As early as 4 years-old. And I’ve had that strong belief in the Bible since I was 12. I had my own copy of my Bible with my name inscripted on the bottom right at the book. I even had a cross chain and I didn’t leave anywhere without it. Because I knew that was gonna get me through the hardest times.

I was always searching. Different religions and different points in time. Of course, I was disappointed after each one because there was something very off about each one, and I couldn’t find the real answers I was looking for.

I graduated high school, which surprised me at the time. But my desire at that point was to join the military and try to make something of myself because we didn’t have money growing up, I didn’t have a plan but I knew I needed something better.

I was first introduced to the Church Of Christ by a friend named Richelle. She came out to visit one of her friends that I happened to stay next door to in the military. And she talked about church. And at first I said everybody talks about church but then they lose interest, nobody really takes church seriously. But it was something about how she kept speaking about and how she held onto the teachings.

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“The Cross Is Something Significant To Me”

There was a snowstorm and I was the only trusted out of my next door neighbors friends to drive Richelle to a worship service. She was like, “Please take me, I gotta go.” And when I drove her there, found the church and I went in. And I listened to the first worship service in Colorado Springs for a total of 53 minutes which is the shortest time I’ve ever spent in a worship service, so I was also surprised.

My apprehensions about the Church Of Christ was the worship service building. I didn’t see a cross on the building, you know, something I was expecting when I took Richelle to church. I’m used to a cross on the building, this is the church, it has to have one, the cross is something significant, it’s something I wore around my neck all the time. It was all growing concern. Why should I continue going if there’s nothing I recognize on there?

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“I Can’t Be Mad At The Message”

Of course, I was big on the cross, but it turns out the cross was indeed a sign of those who were to be condemned. And it hurt. It really hurt me and I wasn’t mad at the teaching itself. I was mad at myself because all my life I believed that the cross would carry me through the worst of times. And you know, I quickly learned the truth, and the truth does hurt. And I can’t be mad at the message if I already accepted the Bible. And I wanted to keep studying.

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“I’ve Never Looked Back, I Can Only God Forward”

When the truth finally clicked in my eyes, one of the main ones, was the history. The Church history and how it coincided with World History. I’m just imagining this in my head, how everything went down, back in 1914, right at the spark of WWI, like that really happened. I’m like, “Hold on! So you telling me the Church came back right at the spark of the prophecy in these last days?”

It said the heavens were quiet for about half an hour. The math on that problem was impeccable, I did it at home, with the whole formula. Once I got the formula I did my own Algebra. And just coming up with it, listening to this, following the teachings that were done for that lesson, that was amazing to me.

And it just broke it down in complete detail. And various other lessons did that You know, breaking down of how the worship service is conducted. To me that’s structure, absolutely I would have it no other way. No, we’re not running around in church praising hallelujah, and that was something I’ve seen often in my day, but what about the actual lesson we need to get?

I was hooked when the Bible was broken down. What is the Bible for? It only strengthened my belief in the Bible itself. From that moment I was locked in. I couldn’t believe that I’d been going without the truth for so long. And so glad that I found something to really hold on to, it was real. I’ve never looked back, I can only go forward. I really am thankful for that.

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“God Is My Reason”

The Church Of Christ offered me the truth. Everything was in the Bible and I knew that book was very significant anyway. I never doubted anything that came out of the Bible and that’s what the Church was about. What makes me happy, coming from my background, is that I am being guided, I am being used by the Almighty Father. He has turned somebody like me, a person I thought would have no chance in this world, into a member, an officer, one of His leaders even in the Church Of Christ.

God is my life. God is my savior. God is my reason. God is my focus. God is my love. God is the father I never really had.

And through His teachings, through His worship, through His words of truth, I learned everything. From just being a model person, for having a responsibility, for having love and compassion. You know, the Church Of Christ is the reason I have a family now. And I would know nothing about being a dad, a father of 2 myself, if I didn’t have the Church Of Christ.

I have God. And I have to let everybody know, family, friends, and the like, that He is real, He is the truth. He hasn’t forgotten anybody. To those who say we don’t need a Church. Do the research first. Hear the lessons, and understand why. Give the Church Of Christ a try because: #1, everything is coming from the Bible

every question you can ask will be answered from the Bible, 100%

And should really consider doing research and comparing before you make any judgment on that. But I mean, what have you got to lose?

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“Favorite Answered Prayer”

My favorite answered prayer is peace. Because even as members of the Church Of Christ, we’re not excused. We’re not spared from all of the drama, all of the dangers of this world. We go through it just as much, if not more. But knowing that God is with you at all times, knowing that He will always protect you, He will always be with you in the trials, He will always give you a way out. It’s peaceful. I can go into any situation knowing I have a chance, a 100% chance of making it out alive because He’s with me. It’s peace that He gives me every time I call on Him so I can face the world ahead.

Letting God Fill the Void

Feeling empty can sometimes bring you to dark places in life. For Mitchell, an unexpected friendship helped fill a void in a way he never could have imagined.

What Really Matters

Life is hard. And a hard life made Isaiah long for a successful future. He wanted more, materially. A chance encounter leads to chasing what really matters.

Finding God: Knowing Where to Look

Trauma left Teresa feeling let down, so she turned away from God. Now a mother, she was determined to find her way back for the sake of her son.

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Teresa Rios (former Catholic): I kind of lost my faith in God. I put a lot of blame on God because of being told growing up that God protects His children. At a time like that, when you don’t feel like you’re protected, I felt completely let down. I lost all my faith in God. So I stopped going to church. Then I was lost after that.

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Teresa: My name is Tersa Rios, I’m 29. I was born and raised in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Until about 3 years ago I moved to California. I’m the youngest of 7 siblings, so there was a pretty wide age gap. So I was pretty sheltered, and inside a lot, by myself a lot. So I ended up pretty shy. Up until about 12 years-old I was going to Catholic church with my mother. When I was 7 my parents separated but she still continued to take me to Catholic church. I kind of questioned a lot about Catholicism growing up. I didn’t understand why if we were supposed to call God our Father, why we would call a priest “Father.”

At 12 years-old I went through, I guess, personal life crisis that kind of broke my faith.

My mom’s boyfriend at the time ended up abusing me. I blamed my mother for bringing him into my life. I kind of lost my faith in God. I put a lot of blame on God, and at a time like that when you don’t feel like you’re protected, I felt completely let down. And I lost all my faith in God. So I stopped going to church..

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Wanting to Believe Not Knowing How

Teresa: My teenage years and highschool life ended up revolving around my friends. Having a boyfriend when I was a teenager. During the whole time I still grew-up struggling with my faith, wanting to believe in God, wanting to have faith in God, not knowing how. Still feeling angry about things. I was married. And soon after, I ended up having a son a year later, we’re separated and I became a single mom. Even though I questioned my own faith in God, I wanted my son to have a better relationship with God.

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Getting A LIft

Teresa: I came to know about Iglesia Ni Cristo about a year ago. I was working a terrible little job, didn’t have a car, and I ended up having to get a Lyft ride after work one day. The driver ended up happening to be a brother. The brother I met, his name is brother Chris Baniaga. He was really welcoming, he was super nice. And really friendly, easy to talk to. The ride ended up being about half hour long, trying to get home and even though I’m pretty shy, it’s hard for me to talk to new people I ended up feeling so comfortable with him. I just couldn’t stop talking.

So eventually, we exchanged numbers and he invited me out with some of the brethren. I got to know them a little bit better and eventually he brought me to worship service.

From that day, everyone was so welcoming, and seeing how emotional the prayers and brethren were. People crying and sniffling. It was different from other churches I’ve been to. It was a pretty emotional service. I wanted to know more about what more of that was like so I continued to go from them on.

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I Was Hooked

Teresa: The first worship service I went to, visually there were no crosses, crucifixes, stained glass, pictures of people that no one should even know what they look like. At first I wasn’t sure what to think about that because it was something I’ve never seen before in any church. But it caught my interest and once the service started, the main thing that I really noticed was the Minister at the time was reading directly from the Bible. Usually, any church service I’ve been to, they’d have a Bible there, and they’d give their sermon but a lot of the time, they never even opened the Bible or they’d say a story they would give, some kind of testimony.

But when I went to INC (Iglesia Ni Cristo), the whole sermon was read directly from the Bible. That was something I’d never seen before. It really peaked my interest. I wanted to know more. The was also the same day, I signed up for Bible studies. I was hooked after that.

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Questions Answered

Teresa: When I started Bible studies, one of the things that stuck out the most to me was, I believe it was lesson 7, it was about Catholicism. It was things that I questioned. Even if I hadn’t said those questions out loud, they were answered just in that Bible study alone.

Some of the questions I had when I started Bible studies, a lot of them were like “Why do we call priests father?” or “why can’t they get married?” “why can’t nuns get married if marriage is something that’s in the Bible?” “why is the pope always wearing these robes and extravagant when he’s supposed to be worrying about the people that follow them?”

Things that I kept to myself and never said a word, he answered for me. If I ever asked someone, they would just tell me “don’t question it. That’s going against God.” But at this Bible study, it was written right there in front of my face where I couldn’t deny it in a way that I could understand it. That was the thing that really caught my attention and blew my mind of wanting to know more about this Church.

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I Couldn’t Find God On My Own

Teresa: A lot of the things I’ve learned in INC (Iglesia Ni Cristo) about what we should be like as followers of God, I’ve never learned going to catholic church growing up. Those things that I never would’ve even known growing up in there.

For a long time, I felt like there was a place I needed to go or something I needed to find. Because I couldn’t find God on my own no matter how much I wanted to and no matter how much I wanted to believe in Him. I wanted Him to be real. I wanted guidance in my life. I didn’t know how or where to go for it. That void filled up, And now all we get is love and support from the brethren. I don’t have that void anymore. I feel I’m where I’m supposed to be. I believe that I did find the true Church.

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After going through the Bible study lessons and having hr lifelong biblical questions answered, Teresa was baptized in the Church Of Christ.

A Stronger Bond

Teresa: After I started going to the Church, it was a few months. I would ask my mother if she would go with me, at least go to a worship service, or a Bible study with me and over and over again, I would always get “no, not this week, I’m tired. Maybe next time”. And when she rejected me I told her “why don’t you love me?” and for the first time, the puppy dog eyes worked, so she went. Something happened in her just like it did with me that got her hooked and now she recently was baptized into the Church as well. The relationship I have with my mother is quite close. We’ve gone through so much together. A lot of struggles, a lot of blessings. But one of the things that I love the most is getting to go to Church together. We have the same thoughts about God that we’ve both had differences in before. But when it comes to the Iglesia Ni Cristo now, we have the same thoughts and the same feelings. Getting to go to Church every Thursday or Sunday together as a family, it feels good. It’s a very nice relationship to have.

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Wanting More For My Son

Teresa: When I became a mother, putting my son first is my main priority. Wanting him to become a better person than I ever was. Or wanting him to have a better life than I did. It includes wanting to have a relationship with God that I felt I didn’t get to have, as well. So as I raise him, I want him to become closer to the Church and have a better faith than I ever did. Because even now, my faith has grown so much but I still regret that I ever questioned it in the first place. That’s something I don’t want my son to have to live through.

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Having Hope

Teresa: As an adult now, going to INC (Iglesia Ni Cristo), to me God is hope. Everytime that we have struggles, because there’s always struggles in life, now… compared to before when I was younger, if I had a struggle, l would feel like it’s the end of the world. I would feel like there’s no way out; cry, get angry, you don’t know what to do with yourself. You think “how am I gonna get out of this situation?” Now, when there’s a struggle, it’s hard times, you always have hard times. But now I always think, I leave that to God now. He’s not going to let me fail. He’s not going to let any of us fail. He’ll still be there to protect us. That gives me hope, no matter what we go through, no matter what hard times we face. Knowing that He’s there watching, that He’s still going to protect us. He’s just gives us hard times to make us stronger people. I always hold on to that bit of faith, that He’ll always be there for us.

Breaking Tradition

Tradition led Sol to follow her family’s religion. Now with a family of her own, she’s letting God help her start new traditions for the sake of her soul.

Cecilio & Norma Acuña

Cecilio and Norma Acuña didn’t hear God’s calling to join the Church Of Christ like most do. But despite the obstacles they faced in their journey to find the truth, and no matter how long it took, or what language they learned in, it was the words of God taught in the Church Of Christ that spoke to their hearts.

Hunter Family

God is the ultimate builder of our family — a lesson the Hunters learned when medical concerns stopped them from conceiving, but led them to find the answers to their prayers in adoption. In time, they received everything they ever asked for … and so much more.