got Jesus?

Bumper stickers.  You hate them or you love them.  You either see cars plastered with multiple bumper stickers polluting your vision while driving or you see blissfully clean bumpers.  I'm of the none category.  I don't know what it is about them but I find them distracting.  Perhaps because it always makes me want to get close to the vehicle in front of me so I can read the silly things, only to be chastised with "the person in this vehicle finds you are driving too close and would appreciate that you give more space" - or something similarly worded in a not so friendly tone of voice.

However, every so often I see one that makes me think.

I was driving behind a vehicle the other day and it had a bumper sticker that blended in with the bumper.  All you could see were the words:

I am sure some people are really put off by that question.  But it made me stop and think.  Well, I didn't really stop - I was driving after all.  But I did think.  Do I have Jesus?

It's sad to say that many times in my personal journey with Jesus, that I have asked that same question.  Do I really know Jesus?  Am I really saved?  Am I really going to heaven?  Do I have a faith strong enough to put that bumper sticker on my car and my blissfully clean bumper?

Sometimes I wish we were living in revelation times and we could see the marks of believers.

Revelation 14:1 - Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.  

But then I remember everything else of the book and am very happy we aren't living in those times!

So how do I know if I've 'got Jesus'?  Well, the Bible is pretty clear on this.  And it just seems too simple.

John 6:35 - Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  

Believe.

I don't think I'm alone in questioning what is being told to me even from trusted friends and family members.  We are also told to do so in school, and for valid reasons in many situations.  If we question, then we can validate the proof of it.  However, with Jesus, how do we validate it?  How do we trust in something we don't see?  How do we learn trust in a situation when our immediate reaction is to alter the situation with our own power/influence?  How do we just believe?

Perhaps it is okay to question all these things.  But then you see the power that Jesus bestows upon those who have faith, power to move mountains.

Matthew 21:21 - Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.

I have spent a lot of my life trying to control the course of my life and my family.  I've realized that doing so is the same as casting doubt on my belief.  I'm creating the safety net or back-up plan if God doesn't deliver.  Does this mean I do nothing, absolutely not.  But it tells me to believe and trust in Him.  It's those times I know I've got Jesus - or more importantly, He's got me.

I'm in that situation right now.  My oldest son who is 16 has left home.  He has chosen to leave and live a life that is not of our choosing.  It has been very difficult for my wife and I to see him making the choices he is making.  And my immediate reaction is to alter the situation.  To control the outcome.  To force it back to my will/desire and bring him back home.  However, I have felt comforted to know that Jesus has this.  He's got my son's back and will take care of him.  And I'm learning to trust in Him with something that is very precious to me.

So have you 'got Jesus'?  Are you trusting in Him with something that you would like changed?  I would love to hear your stories.


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Thank you for taking the time to read one of the many 'Wandering Thoughts' that God has been putting on my heart.  If this has touched you in anyway, I would love to hear from you.  You can leave a comment below, share your own personal revelations or send me a personal message on Google+.

May you be blessed today.