Awakened

I want to know You, Jesus my Lord
King of the Heavens, King of my soul
I trade my treasures and all my rewards
Jesus to know You, then know You more

I Want To Know You - CityAlright

Have you ever truly wanted to know Jesus more? I know that’s a loaded question. It’s one that I never put much thought into until two years ago. Like most Christians, I was going through my day and living at the “speed of life.” I meant to write life instead of light because life always tends to get in the way of truly knowing Jesus.

I visited our men’s group at church a few weeks ago for the first time. On this particular night, they showed a video by Craig Groeschel on his book The Christian Atheist. Craig talked about what it means to know Jesus truly. It was pretty impactful for me and has caused me to think very deeply about that. I kept asking the question in my mind: Do I know Jesus? The question was like a nagging ring inside of my ears.

Two weeks ago, I met a pastor who asked me another question. He asked me how I came to know Jesus. It brought me back to the video I had watched a few days before.

I thought about the question that the pastor was asking me and then answered him. I told him I had been in church for most of my life and was baptized in my early teens. I wasn’t shy about being truthful in my answer. I told him I got baptized so my parents would buy me the James Avery cross necklace I wanted. I was ready to proclaim Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, but I didn’t fully know what that meant. I was also baptized with other family members at a private Saturday service because I was too shy to want to go before the entire congregation. Then I told this pastor that I did not begin to truly know Jesus until two years ago when I joined my D-Group Bible study and started digging in and reading the Word while praying consistently for Jesus to help me get to know Him.

I feel that I awakened to knowing what it means now, and it’s fantastic. It’s always at the forefront of my mind, and I’m happy about that. What this experience has taught me is this: Jesus stands at the door and knocks always. If we genuinely seek Him, then he will always be there.

See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20 CSB

Profession Of Faith

I remember talking with my D-Group leader and pastor last year about my baptism experience. I asked him if he thought I needed to be rebaptized. He told me it was a personal choice but that there wasn’t a reason to do so.

Most of you reading this know I was married earlier this month. I inherited three amazing kids. The youngest one has decided that he is ready to be baptized. I have been talking to him about his faith and my own, and it has been amazing. He is hungry and seeking, and I could not be more proud of him. This kid is always the one that wants to pray out loud. He always holds his mom and me accountable when he hears us saying negative things. I feel that the Holy Spirit is speaking to him, and I cannot wait to see him make his profession of faith and continue to help guide him in his faith journey. I may even be able to stand in the baptistry with him, and that will be awesome!

I love being awake for Christ. I love knowing how to seek Him and having the desire to. It makes me want to figure out how to spread that feeling to others. It makes me want to show others how easy it is. You have to ask for Him to reveal Himself and then keep asking again and again and again.

If you’re interested in checking out the video that I was watching, you can click here.