The one where I get pushy about Jesus

((Please note that this was originally a facebook post late at night on 8/11/14. I have edited and expounded on raw emotions, but the core of the post is still there. I still feel as strongly about it this morning, and honestly feel the Lord pushing on my heart to share it. I am not a preacher. I am just a Christ-loving girl who does not want anyone to miss out on the privilege of knowing and loving God. No, I am not normally this pushy, but I feel God is telling me that pushy is the way to go right now. I pray no one is offended, and that you see my heart here.))

I was just told tonight in choir practice that we are going to be doing this song:

in a couple weeks. Just heard it for the first time tonight and I was blown away. Love it.

I want to tell you, if you don’t know Jesus yet, please watch it. If you do know Jesus, watch it as a refresher for your soul.

My dear friend, Jesus is the only One who can make your life worth living. Without Him, you have no real hope. There are so many people in the world who appear to be happy and have it all, but they have no real hope. I also heard about Robin Williams tonight during choir practice, and that news broke my heart. I have always loved him, and it tears me up that his life ended in this way. I have depression myself and battle it on a near-daily basis. Yes, I am a Christian with depression! I have posted on my blog about my depression many times. I know it’s almost taboo for Christians to admit such a thing, but I don’t feel it’s right to with-hold information like that. Christians are not perfect people. We still get sick. We still sin. We still have struggles. The only difference is, we have Jesus to pick us back up at the end of a super down day. Without Christ, my battle would feel absolutely impossible. If you are a Christian going through depression, please seek help.

If I didn’t have Him, I can’t tell you that I wouldn’t give up and throw my life away! Even with all the blessings that I have to live for in this life, without Jesus, it would still feel worthless to me! Salvation is the biggest blessing in my life, and makes all other blessings meaningful. Even with Jesus, there have been times in my life that I was so low that I almost gave in to the depths of my sorrows and tried to take my own life. Thanks be to God that He spared me. Now don’t get me wrong; I am not saying that Robin wasn’t a Christian, because only he and God know that for sure. I pray that he was. As I said, I have tried to end my life, and I was a believer at the time. So it is possible. I am not so naive to believe that no Christian has ever committed suicide. But his death has rocked me so deeply that I want to make sure no one that I come in contact with leaves my site without at least considering Jesus.

Think about David in the Bible. How many times did he call out to God in desperation and despair? I have no doubt that he battled clinical depression (though of course it wasn’t called that then!). He even asked God to kill him on several occasions. Paul faced his own problems that he begged the Lord to take from him. It wasn’t in God’s will to do so. Perhaps for our benefit, so we could know that even through the hardest times, in the most weak part of our personalities, God’s strength is all the stronger. (“My grace is sufficient for you: my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Please, friend, listen to His still, small voice calling to you – He will change your life. NO, He won’t make your life perfect and easy, not by a long shot, but He will make your life WHOLE! He will give you HOPE! He will give you LIFE, a real life, and a REASON to LIVE it!!!

Please, I beg you, take a minute. Pray that God will speak to your heart, then listen to this song. If you don’t believe God exists at all, pray that if there’s any truth to this that you will know it in your heart and mind. People who don’t believe in God are always saying Christians are so closed minded. Please take your own advice, and open your mind to the possibility that there is someone greater than you. That there is more to this life than just making it through today.

This blood, the blood of Jesus Christ is what can cleanse you. I may not know you. I may not be close to you even if I do know you, but the truth is, I love YOU and want to see you in Heaven with me someday. Perhaps you are a person who has been in church your whole life, but you just went through the motions. Maybe you’re an athiest who was wounded deeply by so-called Christians. Or a person who feels your sins are too great for God to ever forgive. The truth is, you have been forgiven of every sin you’ve ever done, or ever will do; you just have to accept that you’re forgiven, and accept the Gift of God’s grace.

It’s not about what you do – it’s about what HE has DONE! Personal salvation is by God’s grace through faith in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, His death, His blood, and His resurrection from the grave. To be saved, each individual must put their faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as satisfying the Father’s demand of justice for our sins. (Rom. 3:24-28, 5:1,9, 10:9; Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Gal. 3:24-26…Special thanks to my church’s website for a bit of that!)

I realize this post is already long, but I want to share with you a post my husband wrote over a year ago.

Suppose you were a doctor and you diagnosed me with cancer. Then you tell me that there is a cure for my cancer and you offer it to me free of charge. But I, of my own free will, reject your offer and choose not to receive that cure.

Perhaps I thought I didn’t really have cancer at all or maybe I thought I would be able to get better on my own if I just worked out more and ate healthier. Either way I rejected the cure that would save my life.

A few weeks later you visit me in the hospital. I am gaunt and ashen in appearance. I have no hair and I am barely able to speak. Would I, in these last moments of my life, be justified in blaming and cursing you for my imminent death? Or would my death be the result of my own foolish choice?

Our sin is that cancer and it has separated us from God. Jesus, the Son of God, is the cure. He laid down his own life for yours. He paid the penalty for your sin so that you could have eternal life. God reconciled himself to man, through the cross. He reached out to you because He loves you.

But here’s the catch; you have the free will to accept or reject His offer. All you need to do, to reconcile yourself to God, is believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, that he was buried, and that he rose again for your justification (just as if you had never sinned). You don’t have to do anything but believe that He did ALL that was necessary for your salvation.

But for many, many people that will be just too much to ask and they will die in their unbelief and suffer the consequences of that choice for eternity. If you have read this far, without giving up, I thank you and I ask you just one more thing. Do you know where you will be going, if you were to die right now?

If not, please take the time to pray, right now. It doesn’t have to be a long wordy prayer. Just tell God that you understand and believe that you are a sinner and your sins separated you from God but Jesus Christ died on the cross as the full punishment for your sin and that He rose again, on the third day, that you could have eternal life with Him. By believing and accepting this gift, you are saved for all eternity. I sincerely hope you pray this prayer because time is running out.
-Jerry

“And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” — John 8:23-24

And one more quick quote, by Les Feldick:

It would be like you had a dead battery in your car, and instead of just asking someone to bring a jumper cable and give you some energy from an outside source you decided to get a pan of water with some soap and a rag. You start cleaning up that old battery, and you get it shinning like a new dime. You get in your car and turn the key on and what? Nothing. Why? It’s still dead, but when when you bring in some outside energy either from a jump or you generate your battery, what happens? You’ve got power. It’s the same way spiritually. We’ve been dead as a result of Adam’s sin, and it takes an outside source of power. It takes the power of God to energize our spirit, and when He energizes the spirit He makes us a new person. We’re a new creation. It’s that simple.

God bless you,
Jenn
PS Don’t forget to check out the song!