The Day I Came Face to Face with Jesus

April 6 is the day, 13 years ago, that my life started. It was the day I came face-to-face with Jesus and submitted my life to Him. Not the day I started going back to church or the day I became a member at a church or the day I joined the staff of a church. Because you can do all of these things and still not know Jesus. I had been reading my Bible and attending church for half a decade. But there comes a moment of decision and April 6 was that day for me, when I traded my pride for intimacy with Jesus. It was the day God ambushed me with His love and showed me how broken and futile my life was as long as I was in control of it. So, at age 36, I tearfully went forward and confessed in front of God and other people that I needed a Savior to forgive me and a Lord to lead me. I finally saw how perfect and beautiful and faithful and true Jesus is, and how I could be none of those things apart from Him. I couldn't stand to go one more minute without knowing I would be with Him forever. Since that day, He has transformed my heart and my life so dramatically that I don't even recognize who I used to be.

There is no greater joy than really knowing and experiencing Jesus. And I'm forever grateful for my church that didn't lead people down a path of church "membership" but instead pressed in and challenged us to pursue a real relationship with Jesus. I guess this is why I push back against things that give people the illusion that they are good with God when they may not really know Him at all. Because I was that "good person" that few people ever would have questioned. That's why I confront individuals and leaders and ask hard questions, sometimes to the point where they are offended and don't talk to me again. Still, I passionately believe there's too much at stake to let people we love go through their whole life only to discover they've missed life altogether because they never came face-to-face with Jesus.