Who is Jesus Christ?

 

How did I meet Jesus?

At the age of ten, I attended an event at which the reverend Billy Graham shared the good news of the gospel:

All of us have sinned - everyone. 

“As it is written and forever remains written, ‘There is none righteous [none that meets God’s standard], not even one.’” Romans 3:10 AMP

Not obeying God’s Word is considered sin and sin leads to destruction. 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 ESV

Jesus paid the price for our sins. 

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 ESV

God made a way for us to get right with Him.

“We are made right with God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. That happens to all who believe. It is no different for the Jews than for anyone else.” Romans 3:22 NIRV

Choose Jesus and be saved.

“Say with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 NIRV

At the end of the event, he asked, “If Jesus is calling you to follow Him, come forward.” I felt a pull in my spirit to step forward, so I did. I acknowledged that I was a sinner. I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins, and I asked Jesus to be my Savior. 

Afterwards, at the church my family attended, I shared my decision with the pastor, was baptized and joined the church. I went to a “new believers” class and learned more about God. Just like you get to know someone by spending time with them, I got to know Jesus by spending time with Him by reading and studying His Word, the Bible. 

Trials I encountered as a child 

That same year (1975), my mom died from a heart attack. Eventually, we moved to another church with a focus on Bible teaching - not opinion sharing. I continued to grow in my faith as I was listening to God’s Word being proclaimed and taught weekly and reading my Bible. I was earnestly seeking to know God.

When I was fifteen my dad remarried. A year later, it was decided that I would be better off living with my aunt Mary Lou and uncle Floyd in Raleigh, NC, so my dad moved me from PA to NC. They both loved Jesus and loved me. My grandma and grandad lived a few blocks away, and they were avid Jesus lovers too. Life was much easier in Raleigh.

How I walked away from God

In high school, my thoughts, desires, and time shifted away from God and to the things of this world. When you don’t actively grow in your faith, when you don’t spend time with people who love Jesus, you weaken in your faith. You’re either moving towards God or away from Him. I was doing things that I knew were not in obedience to His Word, but I wanted to do what I wanted to do. The world looked fun, and I wanted it. I liked what I was doing, and I didn’t want to give up my sin, and the shame and guilt of not obeying God was more easily ignored away from church, so I went to church less and less. But the amazing truth is that God never stopped pursuing me.    

Fifteen years later, married with one child, when our son turned one year old, I looked at my husband and said, “We’ve got to find a church. We have to teach our son about Jesus.” He agreed. God was calling me.

How God called me back to Him

We went to several churches, but when we went to Bayleaf Baptist, God brought me a lesson through a gentleman named Kevin Bentley. He read from Book of John, chapter 10:27-29. “The sheep that are My own hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me, And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand. My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” 

He taught that if Satan can’t stop you from knowing Jesus - if he can’t “snatch” you from the Father’s hand, then he’ll do his best to get you looking and acting like any other non-believer. He’ll lure you into sin, and then he’ll tell you, “You don’t belong in church. You’re a hypocrite.” 

I knew God was speaking to me. I was the hypocrite hiding from my shame and guilt. He reminded me that Jesus loves sinners. In fact, Jesus loves sinners so much He died for them. He reminded me of God’s promise that when we repent from our sin, when we turn back to God, He forgives us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. At that moment, I repented of my sin and rededicated my life to Christ. 

My prayer that day has been and continues to be, “Lord, let others know that You’re the real deal by how I live my life. May Your light shine so bright in me that others can’t help but notice something different, so I can share the joy You’ve given me.”

How my life changed when I gave God first place in my life

I started by giving God first place in my calendar, waking up early to spend time with Him. I still struggled with losing my temper, but God taught me that I could pray His Word and expect results. I would ask Jesus each day to help me be slow to anger, quick to listen and slow to speak, knowing that my anger does not achieve His righteousness. (James 1:19-20). It’s not like you ask God to be your Savior and “poof” all your struggles are gone. It’s a process of asking God to help you and believing He will help You. Finding what His Word says about your struggle and trusting and believing in His Word to help you with that struggle. Over time, our lives should look more and more like Jesus. Others should see the fruit of the Spirit in us that Galatians 5:22-23 talks about:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. 

How is my life different today?

Daily I make every effort to practice God’s Word. One of my favorite passages is I Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always and delight in your faith; be unceasing and persistent in prayer; in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. (AMP). In the morning, I thank Him for giving me breath, for giving me the health to be able to get out of bed and walk and talk and think. As I walk throughout my day, I work at remembering to talk to God, to be thankful, and to rejoice in the day He has gifted me with, because it’s super easy not to.

When struggles come my way, I talk to Jesus about them--like when I don’t feel like my husband or adult children are doing what I think they should be doing, or when things are not going the way I want them to or I’m just having a “bad” day. I can trust that God will work all things to my good, because I love Him and I’m called according to His purpose--that’s one of His promises for believers who follow Him. 

More promises for believers

I can also trust that He is always with me and will never leave me--another promise. I can ask Him for wisdom and He will give it to me--another promise. And when I pray about my concerns, I have perfect peace that is beyond all understanding--another promise. And it’s true! I have experienced peace in the midst of the storms in my life--like my brother dying unexpectedly at the age of 47, my son getting arrested, my work deciding that my talents were no longer needed. If we live long enough, we will all experience storms, and that is when there is nothing that can compare to the love and grace that God so faithfully offers to us. 

How do you get started?

Enough about me. What about you? Is your life missing something? Are you liking what you’ve been doing but know it’s not what God wants for you? Ask God to reveal Himself to you through His Word. He will. And when you meet Him, you will know it. I recommend that you start with the Book of John in the New Testament. 

How can you believe the Bible is true?

You might be thinking: But wait? How is it that you can place your trust in the Bible? How do you know that it’s true? If you read the Bible with the purpose of trying to prove or disprove that God is real - you will meet Him. He is okay with your doubt. You are not the first to think, “How could this be true?” It’s by and through His power that He will reveal Himself to you. If He can create the universe, how difficult would it be for Him to leave us a “Book of Life” to follow?

Need more proof? 

Research the facts of the Bible. One you might start with is: How do we know the Bible is true?: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/Bible/is-the-Bible-true/how-do-we-know-the-Bible-is-true/

Why am I sharing this with you?

First, Jesus is everything the Bible says He is, and He’s everything to me -- my Savior, my Lord, my Strength, my Rock, my Hope. He has made ALL the difference in my life - who I am - what kind of friend I am, what kind of wife I am, what kind of mom I am, what kind of leader I am. If I’ve done anything well, it’s because of Him. Not me.

And I want you to have the same joy, the same peace that surpasses all understanding, the same freedom, freedom from fear, from worry, from anxiety. I want you to have the same hope that no matter what happens, no matter what comes your way, you can know that God is with you, He will never leave you. I want you to have all the promises in His Word. They are real. 

Second, God’s Word commands me to tell others: Mark, chapter 16, verse 15, reads, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (NIV) And 2 Corinthians 5:18 reads, “But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].”

If I care about you (and I do), how could I not tell you about the greatest thing that could change your life?

Jesus really is who He says He is; otherwise, as Josh McDowell (who wrote Evidence that Demands a Verdict when he himself set out to disprove God’s existence) says, if He is not God who walked amongst us, then He would have to be a lunatic or a liar that was willing to die for his lie and so would 8 of His disciples that chose death over giving up their belief that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God. They saw it first hand as they walked with Jesus for 3 years while He was alive and then a little more after He arose from the grave - pretty good first hand witnesses to the greatest event the world has ever seen.

Ask God to speak to you through His Word, and I promise, He will. And if you ever want to talk Jesus - how to know Him more, have questions - please let me know (pattihudson4@gmail.com), I would love to share more.