Being a Chinese woman raised in a polytheistic environment, I used to think that Christianity was a Western religion or the “white-man’s religion.” My thought was, We Asians have our own gods. Later, as a young believer in Jesus, I still wondered from time to time if I had forsaken my own roots and believed in a foreign god.

Over the years, however, I’ve had the opportunity to visit churches in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and the US. I’ve joined with believers the world over to sing familiar hymns and new songs of praise. And though worship styles may differ, I’ve seen that ultimately we worship the “only one God, the Father, who created everything” (1 Corinthians 8:6).

These experiences have helped me confidently testify that “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth” (taken from the Apostles’ Creed).

The Hebrew word for “Almighty” is El Shaddai. It means “the God who is over everything, the One who overpowers.” He’s the maker of heaven and earth. In other words, His sphere of authority includes the entire universe.

I was once a polytheist—a person who believes that each race has separate gods with separate job descriptions for separate tasks. Then I became a henotheist—a person who believes that each god has certain sovereignty over a certain geography or ethnic sphere. But now, as a monotheist, I believe that there’s only one God before whom all tongues and nations must bow their knees, confessing that He is Lord (Philippians 2:9-10).

I know whom I’ve believed in—the one true God. And I’m so thankful that He found me. I’m a member of His family with brothers and sisters in Christ around the world!

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Exodus 32:1-29