Personal contact with Jesus alters everything, because when we encounter Him; we are never the same again. That’s because Jesus is in the business of changing people and transforming lives.
This is a guest post by Beth Harris. She is a wife, mother, Bible study leader and volunteer editor for markalanwilliams.net.
I grew up in the Catholic Church and my family never talked about how Jesus alters everything. We attended a mission where the priest spoke Latin and I learned from a young age about the separation between Catholics and Protestants. I am grateful for my catechism instruction about God, confession and forgiveness.
I was taught that the Priests prayed to Jesus and honestly, I felt more comfortable praying to Maryand the saints, because they seemed more approachable. If I lost something, I prayed to St. Anthony and for hopeless situations, I prayed to St. Jude. I had various prayer cards to remind me who to pray to and for what reason. Later, I understood that they were human beings as we are and in need of forgiveness as well.
I reserved prayer to God only for extreme emergencies. I was too afraid to address Jesus directly and I had a large wooden crucifix in my room that was scary.
Before I became a Christian, I was too afraid to have personal contact with Jesus because of my sins. I didn’t understand that He died on the cross so that I could approach Him, based not on my goodness, but on His atonement for my sins.
Everything changed when I became an adult and I understood the message of the Gospel. This led me to pray and accept Him as my Lord and Savior.
Here are 4 of many ways that I and others have experienced the reality that personal contact with Jesus alters everything:
1. We understand our need for forgiveness.
Jesus alters everything because, we see clearly and understand that God is holy and we have offended Him.
I don’t know if you have given much thought to the subject of sin before, but personal contact with Jesus alters everything because we recognize His holiness and standard of perfection. As a result, we have to admit that we have broken both God’s and man’s laws.
The realization that we are sinful leads to a change of mind and heart about Jesus.
Personal contact with Jesus alters everything, because it’s only through His perfect life and death on the cross for our sins that we can be reconciled to God. This truth leads us to acknowledge that we need Him to be our Savior. When we comprehend His love and suffering on our behalf; we want to follow Him as our Lord, and with His help, live differently.
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 (NLT)
Godly sorrow is genuine remorse that we have offended God; versus worldly sorrow that can be summarized as self-pity with no intention of changing.
2. We find grace and mercy.
Personal contact with Jesus alters everything, because through the Gospel instead of receiving condemnation, we find grace and mercy. We see Jesus waiting, not to condemn us, but with open arms, to forgive us because of the cross.
We recognize that we are dependent on Him for His grace and mercy.
2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (ESV)
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (ESV)
Not only do we receive forgiveness through Jesus, but God gives us the free gift of eternal life as well.
Jesus took our place on the cross and received the punishment and death that we deserved, so in exchange we can receive His righteousness.
3. We become born again.
Personal contact with Jesus alters everything, because when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior; we become born again, (John 3:3-8).
Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (NIV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
Through Jesus we receive a new heart and a new Spirit. God gives us new life through Christ. He transforms us!
4. We receive the Holy Spirit.
Personal contact with Jesus alters everything, because when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we receive the Holy Spirit and we become empowered to live for Him.
Luke 24:49 says, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (NIV)
John 14:16-17 says, “16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.”(NIV)
In Christ, we have access to His power to live. He gives us new desires and thoughts. He sets us free from bad habits and things that once enslaved us. He gives us power to resist temptation.
Jesus gives us love for Him and others. In addition, we’re no longer comfortable with sin. He helps us to confess our sins and bring them into the light to receive His forgiveness, (1 John 1:9).
How have you discovered that personal contact with Jesus alters everything?
Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Please click here if you would like to do so now.
Your thoughts are welcome! You can leave a comment below.
Help Spread the Word! If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!
Additional resources about related subjects on this site:
How to Rely More on the Spirit for Life and Ministry
Quick Video — The Wilderness Gardens Mill, the Scriptures and the Spirit
NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth