Unsure about the whole Jesus thing? What Can Jesus Do For You? Really.

Hello? Are you out there? Who actually reads this blog other than my mommy and daddy? :) It's cool, but here's the deal. If you haven't read my previous post Christianity - not just a box on a form, then you should. Especially if you are unsure about your soul, or if you are not sure you have a relationship with Christ. That post will tell you how. Now, if you have decided that the whole "born again" thing, or Jesus thing, or Christianity thing is not for you, then you should read this post. I'm going to be writing about my personal testimony. Why you should believe in Jesus, because here is what he's done for me, and here is what He can do for you. If you are already a believer/follower of Christ Jesus, then feel free to comment at the bottom of this post and share what Jesus has done for YOU! I'd love to hear!

So here's my story...

I grew up in a tiny little old Southern Baptist church. Well, I didn't literally grow up IN the church, but I grew up GOING to church every time the doors were open. I went to Pioneer Christian Academy from Kindergarten to 3rd grade. I also had a mother and father that were, albeit not perfect, but trying to live a life in Christ even if they didn't always know how. Based on all this  background, at a very young age I knew A LOT about the Bible and could quote you stories back and forth. At the age of six, I decided that I wanted Jesus to live in my heart, but really, although I did have faith as a kid, I just wanted to be baptized. Let me be very clear about this: Baptism does NOT save you from anything. It is an outward symbol of what Christ has done IN you once you become a Christian. But back to my story...

Around the time I was 12 or 13, an evangelist came to our church and preached the gospel. I found myself truly wondering if I was saved. I'd always thought I was. Did something change? Did it really work? Did Jesus really live inside of me and if so why was I all shaky and nervous every invitation?

I was a little girl and I didn't know how to reconcile these feelings. So I just did what every typical 12 year old would do (HA): I started reading the Bible every night before bed on my own and trying to have a relationship with God. Praying and studying His word. Once I started pursuing God a little more on my own, I realized that there were things in my life I needed to surrender. Silly things to me now, but to a 13 or 14 year old teenager, these were NOT silly. Slowly but surely, I surrendered my right to have American Eagle clothes (not that my mom didn't still buy them for me, but the "right" to have them), the right to date, the right to do what I wanted when I wanted. Finally, I was able to surrender all of me. After several years of struggling to know if I truly knew Jesus or not, at 15 years old I went down the altar at a hellfire brimstone revival and just said decided to "get saved" and I got baptized again. Honestly, I think I was already saved because not a whole lot changed after that. That the thing about Christ, is once He comes to live inside of you, there's an outward change.

By the time I was 15 years old, I was a pretty passionate teenager. Passionate about Jesus, the Bible, and that I was a princess. God is my Father, and God's a King, therefore, I am His princess. Same for you. I share the love. I was probably a very overwhelming teen to talk to. Very serious, and I was home schooled, so I definitely enjoyed being with adults rather than kids. I still dated. At one point, I had a boyfriend. He shall remain nameless as some of you might be friends with him. We dated for a year, and I definitely gave  my heart to him (NOT my body, just my heart). When we broke up, I was devastated. I was so broken and hurt. It was SO very hard. I can honestly say that I grieved and my heart was a million pieces. I went on this retreat in November of 2001 called (North Georgia Vida Nueva #23) and on that retreat God showed me that He wanted to heal my heart and give me a new one. A restored one and that my heart was HIS. He would be holding it in his hands and protecting it until it was time for me to give it away to my future husband. After that, I dated a few guys. But truthfully, honestly, I am here to tell you: I never gave any of them my heart. I knew better. The Jesus that healed me and restored me to a whole person, a whole individual with no need for a guy to make me happy, was worth it! That is just one of the MANY things He did for me. He gave me a new heart when mine was completely broken.

At 16 years old, I felt called to ministry. I was sitting in the youth group at Grace Baptist Church and the  youth pastor asked us to raise our hands if we felt called to ministry. I didn't raise mine, but thought about it, "Am I called?" I have always felt passionate (moreso than my friends) about God and what He was doing in my life. And at that moment, I felt it. God was like, "YES! I have work for you." My heart burst open. Since then I've been doing some form of ministry ever since. Here's the deal with this one. I was honored that Jesus would want to use me to serve Him. There's nothing special about me, I wasn't exceptionally good at anything (I was only mediocre at music, I was smart but not a genius, horrible at any sport whatsoever, hate public speaking, you get the picture). Why and how could God want to use me? But He did. I am the clay and He's the Potter. He's molding me into a beautiful Vessel of Honor.

From the time I was 18 until the time I got married, there was some really good moments in my relationship with Christ, but there were also some really dark moments. I had a thorn in my flesh. A sin. I'm not going to tell you what it is, and you don't need to know. What you need to know is this: I was in a VERY dark place. My heart felt callous, black, and encased in sin. I couldn't get rid of it. I tried. My own efforts were never good enough. Each time I thought I was free, I would fall. I was messed up.

I'm sure you've been there. Haven't you ever had a bad time in your life? Maybe it wasn't guilt over sin, but maybe it was. Maybe you had a death, or a heartbreak, or a child rebel, or a husband cheat, or a wife leave?
What was the darkest point in your life?

'Cause whatever it is, whether you are going through it now, or just dealing with the aftermath, I'm here to tell you that God completely healed me! It was NOT overnight and it was a LONG, slow, steady climb out of the dark pit. But nonetheless, He picked me up, out of the pit and set my feet on a rock! The Cornerstone is Jesus, and I'm resting on Him! He has saved me from sin, from MYSELF. He has changed me so that now instead of wanting to follow myself I WANT to follow Him. Can you imagine if your whole "WANT TO" got changed? My "wanter" has been changed and my desire is Him. He's made me clean, pure, and whole.

If you think you can be a whole, unique, individual without Him then you are wrong. It is BECAUSE of Christ that I am an individual. I don't NEED anyone else to make me happy. Jesus does. I find complete contentment and wholeness in Him. And as much as I ADORE my husband, my child, my mom and dad: Those relationships help me get closer to God. I love God more. He is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear.

If I haven't convinced you by now, then I'm sorry. But Jesus can help you deal with every issue you can imagine. He can:

• Set you free from addiction (shopping, materialism, drugs, alcohol, men, women, sex, etc)
• Restore relationships with loved ones (troubled marriages, wayward children, etc)
• Heal you
• Love you when no one else will
• Redeem you
• Save you
• Give you LIFE and life abundantly
• Take away all your fear, because he PROMISES peace
• Help you to forgive yourself and others
• Cleanse you
• Purify you
• Live inside of you, always there, never leaving, promising heaven
• Provide for you

SO much more.. What has Jesus done for you? Will you let Him do all that for you?