Yesterday, Barbara and I took all of our grandkids to the Dickerson Park Zoo. Better known as the Springfield Zoo. We enjoy this trip. Trying to make it an annual thing. It was the first zoo experience for our youngest, Liam. The others are zoo veterans now. What\u2019s cool about the zoo is how the kiddos react to seeing the animals. All four of them showed pure joy. It was \u201creal\u201d joy. But, seeing Liam\u2019s face was awesome. Watching him giggle and laugh at all of it. Not many things better in this world than the laughter of a 3 year old grandkid. Especially when it\u2019s a reaction to a first time experience. Actually, not many things better than the laughter of all of our grandkids. Those of you who are grandparents can relate to this I\u2019m sure.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, let\u2019s think about the joy we experienced when we first came to know Jesus. I bet some of us were moved to tears. Or maybe you laughed in excitement. Think about how your lives changed. I remember sitting in my high school coach\u2019s living room. Sitting there talking about that night in 1990. How that one moment changed my life forever. I\u2019ll never forget it. Coach was always black and white with me. He wasn\u2019t concerned about hurting my feelings. Especially, when the topic at hand was of great importance. My salvation being one of those topics. He straight out asked me if I thought I would have gone to heaven if I died that November night. I told him I wasn\u2019t sure. His response: \u201cWell, if you don\u2019t know, then you probably wouldn\u2019t have.\u201d No more important words have ever been said to me. EVER!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I asked Jesus into my life that night. January 4, 1992. I immediately felt it. I knew he was there. His presence was there. Not sure if I can explain the feeling. Joy. Happiness. Relief maybe. Maybe all the above. Honestly, all the above and more is more like it. It was my first time experiencing his grace. His hope. His love. It was then that I knew heaven awaited me. And heaven awaits me now. I have had other experiences where I felt those emotions. When I felt the Holy Spirit really working on me. Working in me. And here\u2019s what is even more cool. Everyone of us can have this. Everyone of us can feel these. EVERYONE OF US. That includes you. So if you don\u2019t already, make today the day to come to know him. Welcome him into your heart. If you do know him, maybe you need to try to rekindle the fire. Or maybe try to let the Holy Spirit consume you. Wherever you are in your faith, maybe make today the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yesterday, Barbara and I took all of our grandkids to the Dickerson Park Zoo. Better known as the Springfield Zoo. We enjoy this trip. Trying to make it an annual thing. It was the first zoo experience for our youngest, Liam. The others are zoo veterans now. What\u2019s cool about the zoo is how the … <\/p>\n