Word Count: 807

Contact Jerry Ousley

Claiming Our Mountain - Part 1 - Encounter With God

by Jerry Ousley  
10/05/2012 / Christian Living

Did I ever tell you that a girl brought me to God? It's true. I had been raised in a Christian home and had been encouraged to live for God. As a child I had made my way down to the altar many times. I cried out to God and wept nearly every time.

But when I reached my teen years I went through a rebellious period. I still went to church because that's where most of my friends were. But inside I wasn't the person I was supposed to be.

As I turned sixteen I began dating a girl. This was not just any girl, she felt very special to me. She was a Christian. Although I had repented many times, I didn't feel like a Christian. Folks, I'm not going to enter into the theological debate as to whether one can slip away from God or not. I have my beliefs but this isn't the time or place to go into that. Let me just say that, if I was a Christian, I wasn't a very good one at the time. I went to church with my girl. I wanted to be just what she needed me to be. But inside I knew it was all an act.

But then something very strange happened. I began to feel guilty inside. I felt as if I was deceiving this girl. A tug began to pull at my heart and I genuinely repented and pledged to God that I was going to serve Him with all my heart. I thought I was doing it for my girl but I had an experience with God that has lasted right through today.

A few weeks later she decided that she didn't want to date me anymore. It broke my heart. But the encounter I had experienced with God would not let me turn back to the way I was before. I had received something new from the Lord. Despite the fact that we never got back together, I had fallen in love with Jesus Christ and from that day forward I poured my heart and soul into my relationship with God. Yes, God can even use puppy love to bring people into His kingdom! I'm living proof!

Having an encounter with God is absolutely imperative if we are to be included in His Kingdom. Some say it has to happen one way while others insist a genuine salvation experience has to happen another way. But God comes to us in His way. There are no set rules except that we repent and ask forgiveness of Him. It may come with an emotional experience filled with tears or it may come in a way that seems to reflect no emotion whatsoever. I have heard people testify that they met God in the woods, or in a busy shopping mall. The important thing is that our encounter comes in the way that God intends. He knows where we are, physically and spiritually. He will come to us where it means the most, despite our human reasoning and preconceived ideas.

Before his name was changed to "Abraham" Abram had an encounter with God. He was following his heart. God was leading him but Abram had no idea where this blind journey would take him. He wound up in a deserted place according to Genesis 12:6-8. It is normal that God appears to us in such a place. Our deserted place could be anywhere. To some it could be in the midst of a hustling and bustling crowd of people. But still, inside us, we have come to a deserted place. It was there that God appeared to him and gave him a promise a promise that would not come true for many years but still it was what Abram had longed for in his heart. It did come to pass just as God had said. But it took time because Abram had many lessons to learn during his journey.

After his experience with God Abram built an altar that was not so much meant for sacrifice as it was to mark the spot where he had encountered God. We too need to erect an altar-marker after our encounter with God. It isn't a shrine that can be seen by men but a marker in our hearts reminding us of that place where we found God. It's a good place to return to when things aren't going so well. When trials and troubles come and they will we can return to that spiritual place and be reminded of our encounter with God. It is a safe place. We may not remember the exact day and time of that encounter; but rest assured, we'll never forget what happened there. That's because it is the place where we really began to discover who God is.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Jerry Ousley

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer