Jesus is alive and real ... come to Him
Lately, I keep having on my heart about coming to Jesus and I keep coming across that in one way or another in the scripture. In my own life, I know I came to Jesus because He was presented to me by a friend as being alive and real. I had a sense of my own life not being right but what won my heart over to Jesus was hearing the reality that He was alive and set my friend free from a 140 mg methadone habit with no withdrawal. It was Jesus alive and the same TODAY that caused such a draw to take place in my heart.
In the gospel of John, chapter 4, the woman at Samaria had an encounter with Jesus. First He asked her for a drink, which was out of the cultural norm between Jews and Samaritans. Then He told her He had Living Water to give. Not really grasping what He meant, her heart was drawn by what He said, and her response was, “Give me this water”. Then He revealed her life of having five husbands, and the man she was with now was not her husband. She understood this to be sin in her life, but He revealed it but He did not condemn her. Somewhat shocked by what He revealed, she perceived Him to be a prophet, yet the fact that He did not condemn her opened her heart. Then she said she knew Messiah was coming, and to her further surprise He said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” Her experience with Jesus now could not be contained.
“So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and *said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.” John 4:28-30 As a result of her personal experience with the Lord, she went to the men of the city and spoke of Him and about what happened to her in such a real way it drew the hearts of those she spoke to. This is how the Lord draws many people to Himself; through people relating how they met Jesus, and the reality of how He let them taste Him. Their hearts were drawn through her testimony and thus “were coming to Him”.
“From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” John 4:39 Our testimony of Jesus that He is alive and real in our lives is part of how faith comes to people …. ‘hearing about Jesus’. As it says, “How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?” Romans 10:14
So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:39-42 So coming to Him and believing through her testimony, they then came to Him personally. Their personal hearing His word and tasting His presence caused them no longer to believe because of her. Instead --- ‘we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Once I ‘came to the Lord’ through the testimony of my friend, believing He died for me and I called upon Him to forgive and save me, what followed was me beginning to ‘come to Him’ myself. Then what I began to taste and experience from the word of God and my direct experiences with Him caused the same to happen. I no longer believed because of what my friend revealed of Jesus. I tasted and heard for myself.
The morning after I received the Lord, I woke up and asked the Lord to help me get up because I had to attend class at Brooklyn College. In a completely unexpected response I sensed the presence of the Lord in my bedroom, real. Believe me, I got up instantly but I was in a state that I can’t even explain saying, “Did that really happen”? A few weeks later I was praying about a girlfriend who had broken up with me. As I was praying, I heard the Lord say, “Let her go”. It was the first time I ever heard Him. Again, I was beyond surprised. I let her go both in my prayers and in my heart. I did not pursue her.
Two months later, as soon as I woke up one morning I heard inside, “You will see (He said my ex-girlfriend’s name) today”. Again, I was completely surprised and didn’t even really know if what I heard was my mind or the Lord. So I just went about my day and didn’t even really think about it. I went to visit a friend in a hospital that was near the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. Before going to the hospital, I decided to go to a church further downtown, near Wall Street, to see if I could get a New Testament. I went to the church and purchased a Gideon New Testament for fifty cents. Then I walked back toward the hospital, intending to give my friend that New Testament. As I approached a Subway entrance, up from that entrance came THAT GIRL. I spoke with her briefly, but as I left, that experience again revealed the Lord alive and caused my heart to believe in Him even more. It also sparked a desire to go after Him more and more through the word of God, to let me perceive Him.
Jesus Christ is alive; He’s real. Come to Him through the way He is revealed in the word of God. And come to Him as He graciously allows you to experience Him. I needed to hear the Lord was real before I could believe in Him. In ministering to people for over 50 years, I honestly believe that is the case for many people. People come to Him in the awareness of their brokenness, sinfulness, and need. But people also come to Him when they realize He’s not a story in the bible, He is alive.
Like the woman at Samaria, I believe those who do believe in Him are to testify about Him in the ways He opened our hearts to perceive He is real. That testimony will spark hunger in people’s hearts. And then what Jesus said will have opportunity to take place:
“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger; and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
By sharing personal testimonies of Jesus, coupled with declaring the gospel, I have seen people turn to the Lord in their homes, in a parking lot, at a restaurant, in the hospital, senior citizen homes, at Cornell University, at a rehab, in Wegmans, in jail and in church. May God continue to draw the hearts of people to His Son, who said these precious words: “… the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” John 6:37
Is it your heart that He is drawing today? If so I would very much want to hear from you and communicate with you to possibly help you. You can email me at michaelcor1950@gmail.com.