Let Me Tell You About Jesus
What Jesus Did For Me
I grew up in a Christian home. I was taught about who God is, why Jesus came, and how that is good news. I accepted Christ as my Savior at a young age, and got baptized a few years later.
I went to church, youth group, and read my Bible. My home was a safe and loving place. I loved my family and my friends. I was a rule follower and had no interest in rebelling in any way.
I was in my 20s when my faith was put to the test. I married young, at age 21, and thought I knew what I was doing. Things started out fine, but quickly went an unexpected direction.
My marriage went from mediocre to rock bottom. I am a loyal person, and at this point, despite my loneliness, hurt, and buckets of tears, I never once thought about divorce. That’s not what I wanted. I wanted to spend more time with my husband, I wanted us to be friends again. I just wanted to be wanted.
I chose to stay. I chose to continue trying to be the best, most loving wife I knew how to be. I regularly prayed for him, our marriage, and for me to be a better wife. But for 3 years, my life was painful. My marriage hurt and I didn’t understand why.
I easily could have been too depressed to get out of bed, allowed anger to ruin every other part of my life, or drowned in pain and sorrow. While I had my moments, it did not overcome me because I ran to Jesus every time. In Him and Him alone, I found peace, joy, strength, and hope no matter what chaos was swirling around me. He carried my burdens.
After 7.5 years into my marriage, it ended in divorce. There was tremendous pain and tears, loss and grief, and processing the betrayal. But I also realized I was free from the confusion, lies, and manipulation. Now I could really heal.
I had prayed for a husband that loved God first and knew how to love me the way God intended. His answer was not like anything I ever expected. He didn’t change the situation. He rescued me out of the situation. My faith was tested and strengthened. And for that, I am thankful for the trials I have been through.
Fast forward, He led me to my current husband, who loves Jesus first, and loves, cherishes, and honors me the way God intended. He is more perfect for me than I could have ever dreamt up myself. God is good.
We then walked through fertility struggles. We did all the tests, procedures, and there was no reason we couldn’t get pregnant. After 22 months of trying, we finally got a positive pregnancy test, only to miscarry 9.5 weeks later. This happened not just once, or twice, but three times. But once again, we are clinging onto the promises of God. We remember His faithfulness and goodness, and trust He is taking care of us now.
I spend my mornings with Jesus, thanking Him for all He has done, and trusting Him with the unknowns of the future, and the challenges life brings. I know my God is good. I know He loves me. Because I know what He did in my past, and I trust Him with my present and future. When I feel angry, sad, or confused with the present, I can dump it all on Him. He can handle all my emotions and questions. I know He is real because I feel his peace, joy, and hope that surpasses all understanding. I could not survive life without Jesus. My life today is all because of Jesus. All Glory to Him.
My desire is that my story offers you hope and encouragement for wherever you find yourself. No matter what, God’s hand is extended to you, and as long as you hold on, He will never let go of your hand.
What Jesus Did For Us All
THE PROBLEM:
We are all sinners, and mess up all the time.
Problem 1: The penalty for sin is death.
Problem 2: Sinners cannot get into heaven. Nothing we can do can make us good enough to get into heaven.
THE GOOD NEWS:
Solution to Problem 1: The good news is that Jesus loves us enough to come and make a way for us to be in heaven with Him forever. We deserve death. But He took our sins upon him and died on the cross on our behalf. He paid the penalty that we all deserved.
This is Mercy: not getting what you do deserve.
Solution to Problem 2: Salvation (getting into heaven) is simply a gift offered to us. We can’t do anything to deserve it. We just have to accept the gift. That means, believing that Jesus is your Savior (came down to earth, died on the cross for your sins), and choosing to follow Him as your leader for the rest of your life.
This is Grace: getting what you don’t deserve.
If you believe that and want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, pray something like this:
Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I need and want your forgiveness. I accept your death on the cross as the penalty for my sin, and recognize that the gift of Salvation You offer to me is because of Your great love, not based on anything I have done. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Please forgive me for my sins and come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(Remember, the words you use don’t matter. Jesus looks at your heart.)
If you just prayed something like that, you’ve just started your relationship with Jesus. You are saved and will go to heaven. But not just that, the Holy Spirit is living in you and will help you with everything you face in this life, as well.
Now what?
Now, take time to get to know Him by reading your Bible, praying, and find a good church to rub shoulders with some of His other followers. Go, and tell others what Jesus has done for you. I’d love to hear about your story in the comments below, or send me a private message from the contact page.