Do You Know My Jesus?

by Cassie Downs, Christian Blogger

Have you met someone the world might consider famous? I’ve met a few over the years. Mostly Christian music artists, authors, and speakers. During my time on the board of Light The Way Ministry, I got to meet a few famous musicians. I’ve even worked with a famous author on the craft of writing and a book idea I’ve had swirling in my mind.

I’ve got to know about these people, most of which I look up to.

A few years back, I attended a leadership conference where Kyle Idleman was going to be speaking. This was an intimate event, so I was certain I’d get to meet one of my faith heroes. Kyle Idleman is a pastor and author of many books. Two of the books he’s written were game changers for my family. One book, Not a Fan, changed the course of my relationship with Jesus. And his book, gods at war, gave Dustin, my husband, the courage to lead our family in a new direction. I’m a BIG fan (no pun intended) of Kyle and his ministry.

So here I am at this conference. Kyle spoke, the conference ended, and then I had the chance to meet Kyle. I knew a lot about Kyle, his family, his church, had read all his books, and was convinced my knowledge of him destined us to be friends! And we probably would have been, but when I finally reached this hero in the faith of mine, I couldn’t say much. My husband did MOST of the talking and I stood stunned. True story!

I’m not a super outgoing person, when meeting new people. It takes me a bit to warm up and let loose a little. I’m way more fun with people I know on a personal level. But as much as I knew about Kyle, I didn’t really know him and I froze.

Friend, there is a big difference between knowing about someone, or for the sake of this devotion, knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus on an intimate level.

My great grandpa Bowman used to sing an old hymn called Do You Know My Jesus. This song still echoes in my heart from time to time, and I can still hear it sung in his ninety-plus-year-old, scratchy voice, and tears of authenticity roll down his cheeks, concerned for his lost loved ones. The song is beautiful and even more so because it was my grandpa’s heart cry. He wanted everyone to know HIS Jesus. And so do I. I want you to know Him.

A lot of us can quote scripture with the best of them, tell you facts and history surrounding Jesus, give you a list of all the things you should do differently, and tell you what God’s against. But can I remind you that the very scripture we quote tells of religious people who rejected Jesus. The very Messiah who came to rescue them. Shoot, Satan himself knows who Jesus is. The Pharisees and the Sadducees know who He is, but they failed to know Him in a real and personal way.

I know a lot about Kyle Idleman, but he doesn’t know me at all. And friend, if we aren’t careful in our faith walk, we can end up knowing about the man Jesus who knows us not.

We must be careful not to confuse our knowledge of Jesus and a relationship with Him.

But how? How can we know and others see?

I believe it’s in our fruit. Scripture tells us that a good tree can’t produce rotten fruit, and a rotten tree can’t produce good fruit. John 15:4 (CSB) says, “Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.”

Jesus is saying, “Hey! When you’re with me, when you’re in a relationship with me, you’ll produce the same fruit I (Jesus) produce, in your life”. This fruit comes from the spirit living in you (Gal 5:22-23). Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I’m curious, is this the fruit you’re giving the world to eat? The fruit that comes from really knowing the Jesus my grandpa loved to sing about. And not that we won’t have bad days or react poorly in situations. I understand we are human, but that shouldn’t be our lifestyle. When Jesus lives IN us we will begin to respond with the new man (2 Corn 5:17).

Disclaimer: I feel the need to take this a step further.

Being a good person and having noble character isn’t enough, being in ministry or in leadership, isn’t enough. You must know and believe in Him. You must repent, (Matt 3:8, 1 John 1:19, Luke 15:7) because without repentance there is no salvation. There is no relationship.

My question for you today is this; do you know my Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Him? Are you sharing His fruit with the world?

With Easter right around the corner, take a moment to remember the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross of Calvary, remember the blood that was so graciously shed for you, and how He did this so happily for you, so you can have a relationship with Him and spend an eternity with Him. If you don’t know Him, I invite you to know Him today!

TODAY is the day of salvation (2 Corn 6:2).

Cassie Downs is a speaker and author of “Chasing Jesus,” a 60 day devotional, and founder of Everyday Jesus Ministry. Connect with Cassie on Facebook, Instagram, or online at cassiedowns.com. Her book is available online where most books are sold.