Overcoming Doubts About The Church Of Christ
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Michaela Serafica: “Am I doing the right thing? Should I really be doing this Bible study?” My grandfather, they would always say that, “Oh, you can study in New Era, but don’t believe in their doctrines.” At first, I was nervous, but then, for some reason, there was a pull that I can’t deny.
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Michaela Serafica: My name is Michaela. I am 26 years old. I was born in Davao, Philippines, but I was raised in Quezon City. Well, I grew up with my grandparents. My mom went abroad when I was six months [old]. I used to be bullied around school because, like, I was very awkward. I didn’t know how to speak with other kids.
Is There Something Wrong With Me?
From then on, I always thought, like, I don’t know, is there something wrong with me? As a teenager, the bullying stopped, but I remained an awkward person. I joined … to hide all that, I joined CAT [Citizenship Advancement Training], became an officer, tried to show all other people that I’m the tough guy. Like, you can’t bully me. I’m an officer. But I stayed awkward. I didn’t really have people to call my friends.
When I got to college, I studied at New Era University. I was scared and wary of everybody because I was the only non-member in my class. I was like, “All of them, they’re Iglesia Ni Cristo. And I’m a Protestant. I might be like, ignored. I might not be in.”
So I try to interact with them. I try to reach out to them. I was like, “Hey, I want to be in. I want to hang out with you guys.” And then they were like, “Okay, so we have this thing we call panata [devotional], that we pray every 12 in the afternoon and four in the afternoon. We pray and we go out to eat after that.” And I’m like, “Okay.” At first, I was just like, “I’m going to wait outside.”
I Was Curious
But as the months went by, I found myself curious. I went inside with them, and then from then on, it’s just been like consistently me doing the panata [devotional prayer] with them. And then suddenly I wanted to attend the Church activities, and then I wanted to see how the worship services were like.
They brought me to the local, and then they introduced me to a minister.His name was, I remember Christopher Lawler. So he was the one who did my Bible studies. It was actually so fun because he made all my lessons very fun, very interactive. He would quiz me on the lessons. And if I wasn’t able to answer them right, he would take his time to explain to me until I got it right the next time he asked the question. And they were they were very, very good. They were very patient with me, and they made sure that I understood all the lessons.
I Have Nothing To Lose…
The one question that I always asked was about the Trinity. Like I thought it was God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And I asked Brother JP and I asked Brother Christopher Lawler, “Why was it only one God?”I thought Jesus Christ was also God.
They always explained to me that’s not in the Bible. This is what was written in the Bible. And those teachings, they’re not true teachings. There were false teachings. At first, I was nervous because my grandfather, they would always say that, “Oh, you can study in New Era, but don’t believe in their doctrines.
At first, I was nervous. Am I doing the right thing? There was that urge to know what the Bible lessons really are. I wanted, I wanted to listen. I wanted to hear and to see what the Church Of Christ has to offer. I already was doubting if there was really a God, if this wasn’t the true Church, I wouldn’t have anything to lose.
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Michaela Serafica
Former Protestant
But if it was. I’ll gain. I’ll gain salvation. I’ll gain a God. And that was what was really—that was what was really important to me. That’s why I went through the Bible studies.
Now I Know God Will Always Be With Me
There are times when you’re going to go through something, and then you listen to the worship service—it solves a lot of the problems that you might have. Those lessons helped me get my life together. I might be somebody who’s very, very quiet and who sometimes is lonely. And my friends might not be there 100% of the time.
But now I know as a member, now I know God will always be with me, and at any point in my life that I am going through something, God will always be a prayer away. It feels enlightening to know that I’m not alone, and it gives me strength to persevere every time I wake up. And I just feel blessed knowing that I’m not alone. That God is always with me.
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Michaela Serafica
Former Protestant
I’m not scared of anything now, like every single disaster that can happen in my life, I would just accept that and pray to God, and I might be struggling. But in the end of the day, I know I have a God.
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