Experiencing God to tears

John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

You are not a Christian, unless you experience God. You may solve equations, find solutions, come to understand what was a mystery, explain great truths through your intellect, even understand the Bible somewhat, but you are not a Christian until God has tugged at your heart. At your core, you must experience God from within, an emotion you might not be able to explain, but you genuinely “feel” God. It is at that intersection, that your life changes, and you are eternally secure if you have repented and believed that it was God pursuing you, and that Jesus gave you the only way to reach him. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. It is through the tug of God upon your heart first, that the need for the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes evident, the weight of sin becomes real, and the path of your life can step from damnation to paradise, all in a humble prayer of thanksgiving to the One who died for you. It all begins with God tugging at your heart, you experiencing God, and your reactions to that experience can (will) determine your eternity (you may only feel this tug once, not given another opportunity). When you feel a move of God upon you, react immediately, without delay, for it is a gift from God.

I grew up Presbyterian in the church, ran from God for about 20 years, after that God pursued me when I was in a Baptist church. I could lay out my grievances with both denominations in a very long letter like Martin Luther, but let me put this simply: One is stuck in religion, one denies much in the way of experiences. One is dogmatic in tradition, one turns their backs on gifts from God. Pentecostalism is another division, another blended sect that has many people abuse it, but understands the gifts of God are still evident for and to us today. Expounding upon these, I am not wise enough to do, but I struggle with all of them, and just choose to follow Jesus and his Word only, not bound by denomination. When I grew up in tradition, I thought you were saved by going to church. When I discovered grace, I was moved by experiencing God from within. When those “experiences” began to grow, not only in his Word, but seeing the evidences of prayers before me, I began to see how intimate God was with his creation. When I went to India, I could see, I could feel, I could testify to the levels of good and evil on a scale that takes me to this day to tears if I truly begin to open up to you about it. India changed me at more core, for I experienced God on a level I did not know possible. Many have heard me describe that trip as God dumping out the box I had put him in. A best friend of mine, a true prayer warrior, once told me, “You cannot be in the presence of God without being in tears.” That is truth, clear, simple, biblical truth. Have you been moved to tears by God? Then have you ever experienced God?

I am including a short clip, the one who prompted today’s OneMinuteMinistry. I pray it brings questions from within, ones that make you respond to that question, that tug from God upon your heart that you may have denied, or you may have acted once to salvation and never to discipleship. Jesus called you to become his servant, his disciple, to go out into the world and preach the gospel to all he has prepared to hear. I pray my Presbyterian friends would experience God, my Baptist friends to not deny the power of the gifts of God, and for you….to experience God….to tears.