Jesus Christ changed my life! Let me share my story with you!
This is the 2nd week of 'we unite' (a month where our youth group is joining up with 2 other youth groups! Last week was off the charts! This week our theme is 'we unite to reach!' I was looking through the bible for a text and this is where I believe God is having me to share from...specifically these verses!
Mark 5:18-19 18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
Essentially Jesus is telling this man that he does not need to leave home and follow him physically, but that he did need to go home and testify what God did in his life!
I frequently share all the great things God does in my life because he is that awesome! Truth be told...I can't keep up with all God does for me and my wife and others...but I try! However in the midst of sharing everything that he is doing.. I never want to forget or negate to share about the greatest thing that has ever happened to me!
Simply put..I was a church kid! Heard about God constantly. I knew when to raise my hands, how to cue tears, how the offering worked and how to find most books of the bible! I loved the songs because I loved music period..and I felt like I was a good kid!
At many services and revivals we attended while growing up I heard an alter call. Usually involved talk of hell, fire and burning forever! I ran to the alter maybe hundreds of times.
Funny though...I kept responding! Clearly the decision to surrender my life to Christ never really stuck because I never really surrendered! And the talk of just hell at that time in my life wasn't enough of a reason to turn around!
My 16th birthday party was on a Saturday. A christian coffee house I started to play at was having a tent revival (aka a tent in the grass cause it was nice outside). My drummer Danny was preaching and he gave an alter call. He said there is someone here..and God has been tugging on your heart for a long time. God has a plan for your life but until you surrender your heart to him...nothing is going to change. He said Jesus wanted to change my life! Instantly I knew he was calling me out without saying JIMMMYYY....I am talking to YOOUUUU! He waited and kept sharing the same thing...2 more times in fact! I hesitated because 2 of my friends from school were there. To my knowledge they were not Christian's even though we often had conversations about God.
Finally I knew...it was time! Regardless of the outcome or what my friends thought I needed Christ and I knew I needed a REAL relationship with him!
I went to the alter in the grass that night, and cried like I never had before! I literally felt like God was under that tent and that he did want to change my life! Suddenly the cross became more than a piece of jewelry commonly hung on necklaces and on walls! It was on a cross that Jesus paid the price for me and he died and then rose again to save me and set me free!
I accepted him! Jesus Christ literally SAVED MY LIFE!
Jesus Christ died for me and I accepted him into my life that night..to be my Lord and savior..he forgave me of my sins and he gave me hope and a purpose!
And he wants to do the same for you!
Like the man described in Mark 5 I often want to just hang out with Jesus! Why not...he saved me! And honestly...I don't hang out with him enough! I am striving to change that because he is worth more time! However..God has also called us to share him and what he has done in our life with others!
So..if you don't know him..he wants a relationship with you! He is worth living and dieing for! Those are strong words but they are too true! Ask him to come into your life, to forgive you, to change you! Ask him to help you to learn to love him and love like him..to live for him! Jesus Christ is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me! He is the reason I live, move and breathe! Do you know him?
To conclude...please pray this week! Pray these middle and high school students will come to a greater understanding of their need for Christ and the fact that we all need to share him and the story about how he changed everything!
Be encouraged and know that God is so mindful of you!
-jimmy akers
ps..not for shock or to be funny but that day is such a strong day en grained in my brain. Clearly my encounter that night with Jesus Christ will never be forgotten but...1 other thing. My 'red haired friend' (there is a reason for such description), Tom wore a shirt that day that I will never forget. It said 'pimp tom pimp' and the kid on the shirt had red hair, wore a fedora and had a girl on each arm. I am in no way endorsing the term or lifestyle of a pimp! That night I walked away with Christ! And as funny or as offensive as that image on that shirt may be to someone..it is strangely tied to the greatest moment of my life! I share this thought because if my friends that came that night with me read this blog..I hope they too will remember!
