KNOWING JESUS ~ Alexis A. Goring ~ Devotional

Knowing Jesus

A devotional by Alexis A. Goring

“And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” – John 17:3 [NLT]

A famous entertainer once took a comedic jab at Christians. She mentioned that they think she’s going to hell because she “doesn’t praise Jesus.”

She meant it as a punch line and it drew laughter. But I took her words seriously and it made me sad.

I was sad because I realize that it is a trick of the enemy to get people to think that we can save ourselves, to think that we don’t need Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of the world, to save our lives.

The enemy wants us to think that we can get to Heaven by ourselves in any way we want. He wants us to think that we are our own god and our destiny is determined by us. He wants us to think that we don’t need God when we have money, health and happiness. He doesn’t want us to think about Heaven and what it takes to get there, according to what God says through His Word (The Holy Bible). Most of all, the devil doesn’t want us to think that he exists! He likes it when people say that he’s a fictional character made up by Christians. Ultimately, what the devil doesn’t want us to know is that kind of lifestyle will lead us to hell and eternal death.

Why follow the evil one (Satan a.k.a. “the devil”) who only comes to “steal, kill and destroy,” when Jesus Christ has come so that we may have life and live it “to the full” (John 10:10)?

Why listen to Satan’s lies when the Savior of humankind is gently knocking at the door of your heart? Here’s the catch: Only you can open the door because Jesus is a gentleman who won’t force you into having a relationship with Him. He won’t force you to choose Him. He won’t force you to live for Him and accept His free gift of salvation. But He does want you to experience eternal life! Which is why He keeps knocking at the door of your heart. Will you let Him in?

When I think of the entertainer who doesn’t think she needs Jesus, I simply think that’s because she doesn’t know Him yet. Because to know Him is to love Him! I can speak from experience. My life “B.C. (Before Christ)” was filled with fear, hurt, anger and a depressed outlook on life. But when Jesus Christ came into my life and I got to know Him personally as my Lord, Savior, Redeemer and Truest Friend, He changed me from the inside out!

God renovated the walls of my heart and restored the broken places. He gave me a new outlook on life, one that’s Christ-centered. I began to see the world through lenses of love (Christ’s love) and I began to see people as precious souls who are loved by The Creator of the Universe (God). And I had within me, this burning desire to tell the world about Jesus! To show everyone why we all need Him! I wanted to – and still do want to – share God’s Love with the world! To this day, I am driven to teach people about Jesus and show them why it’s worth following Him.

According to God’s Word (The Holy Bible), the enemy is REAL! We are all involved in spiritual warfare, whether we like it or not. We must remember that we “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12) and that our weapons of warfare need to be spiritual (Ephesians 6:10-18). It is the only way we can win!

I believe that if that popular entertainer came to know Jesus, she would change her tune and maybe even her career! Imagine the impact she could have for Jesus! I imagine that her millions of fans would become followers of Jesus too because they would see His Love radiating through her and they would want to know the source of her glow!

Knowing Jesus is my greatest blessing in this life! Have you heard the song, “All I Once Held Dear” by Robin Mark?

In the song, the artist talks about how everything he worked so hard to achieve and gain in this life is worthless compared to the blessing and joy of knowing Jesus! He shares that God is his all in all. It is his heart’s desire to know God more and to be known as one of God’s children here on Earth. He realizes that he cannot work his way or pay his way into Heaven. He knows that the gift of salvation is free and that we are “saved by grace, through faith … not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). He recognizes that there is power in the Name of Jesus and he wants to live for God, all the days of his life. The artist (Robin Mark) says that he looks forward to an eternity spent in the presence of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

He often says these words in his song: “I love you, Lord.”

Why? Because as I said earlier and various people from songwriters to preachers have declared: To know Him is to love Him!

In closing, please remember that Jesus loves you and He wants you to know Him. I pray that this devotional today has encouraged your heart and pointed you to the One who loves you with all of His heart. I also hope that you will let Jesus into your life (if you haven’t already) so that you too may see personally why to know Him is to love Him!

Author Bio: Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.