My husband Bill had an epiphany about Jesus the other day. We were visiting a church where evangelist Ronnie Hill was speaking. Ronnie is a down-to-earth kind of guy. I had heard him speak one time, almost 20 years ago, & still vividly remember the impact he had on all of us that were at the little church where he preached. Bill & I decided to go hear him speak.

Ronnie’s plea to come forward reached my husband’s heart. It wasn’t the plea for salvation that drew him that day, for he has already accepted Jesus as His Savior. It was Ronnie’s plea to live unashamedly for Christ, so that “others see Him in you”. Many believe, but they do not always “live out loud” for Jesus. My husband & I had recently been talking about “what if” scenarios: “If”, like the young lady at the Columbine shooting, we were faced with our own mortality at the end of a gun, & the gunman asked “Do you believe in Jesus?”, would we unashamedly say “Yes”, knowing our life here on earth would end at that moment? Do we love Jesus that much? Or would we say “No”, in hopes of sparing our earthly existence? What “if” your loved one was being held captive & the only way he or she would live would be if you denounced being a Christian? Would you do it? Or would you stand firm, knowing your loved one would die that very moment, right in front of your eyes? How MUCH do we really believe in the saving grace of Christ?

Well, my husband went forward that morning at church, & came back a changed man. The light in his eyes was apparent. He had made a decision to make a change for Christ. I was thrilled & so proud of him!

As a result of that day, my husband proudly wore a ball cap he owned to lunch the next week that said “Jesus is my Boss, Amen!” We were eating at On the Border when an older lady, dining with her husband, turned to Bill and said, “I like your hat.” Bill said thank you & smiled. We both smiled. My husband removed his hat, & we bowed as he led us in a prayer of thankfulness for our food. We began eating our meal, & when the couple got up to leave, Bill motioned for the man to come over to us. Then he motioned to the lady, who was already a good distance away. She said, “Who, me?” in surprise. My husband said, “Yes, you.”, with a big grin.

The four of us began discussing Jesus. The times. What’s going on around us, politically. How it is obvious that we are now seeing the fulfillment of (or beginning of fulfillment of) scripture, such as 2 Timothy 3, Mark 13, 2 Thessalonians, Revelation 9, and others. The man (whose name also happened to be Bill), said “I don’t think I’ll be around to see the worst of it, but my wife will, you will, your wife will. It’s fixing to get REALLY bad, I tell you. We as Christians will be persecuted. We will have to be strong enough to stand for Christ as never before.” Then he said, “I know that Christ is real. I have died on the operating table three different times. I tell you, Jesus is Real!”

When I heard this, it just thrilled my heart! This man saw Jesus! He saw Him! Oh, how I would love to see Jesus. Of course, hearing about this did not make us any more of a believer than we are already. We BELIEVE and need no “proof” that Jesus is who He said He is. But nonetheless: HE SAW JESUS!!!! How cool is THAT?!

As we were leaving the restaurant, I told my husband, “That man had soft eyes.” Do you know what I mean by that? He had Jesus in his eyes. He KNEW what was waiting ahead for him. He had no fear. He had peace.

My question to you today is: Do YOU have peace? Do YOU have confidence & reassurance of what lies ahead for YOU? Do YOU know Jesus? If so, are you committed to “live out loud” for Him, no matter what? Have you taken the step that my husband took? You either believe, or you don’t. You choose to live unashamedly for Him, or deny Him. He gives you the choice. What do YOU choose? As my husband says, “Whatever you decide, be willing to accept the consequences for the decision that you make”.

As for me and my house, we choose to serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14-16) We choose Jesus. Won’t you?

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