Tera Elness of Windom, Minn
We are so blessed to introduce to you Tera Elness, of my hometown in Windom, Minn. For God’s Glory Alone, Tera’s post’s will appear here at FGGAM from time to time. She has a blog at www.onegirlsfaithjourney.blogspot.com
Tera is a lover of our Lord. and it comes out in her writings. It seems the Minnesota connection is growing here at FGGAM! Praise God for that!
Now here is Tera!
Hello my Name is ____________
It was last Friday on my way to work.
I heard the song “Hello my Name is” by Matthew West.
Sure I love the tune, but what grabbed me, what stopped me en route….. was the story that inspired the song.
It was the story of Jordan. A preacher’s kid. A preacher’s kid who wrote a letter to Mr. West that began with: Hello my name is Jordan…and I’m a drug addict. Eventually he landed in Teen Challenge, a Christian rehabilitation center in the business of restoring lives with the hope of Jesus Christ.
A preacher’s kid?
How could that be?
I mean, a preacher’s kid would know all about God right?
I mean, if a preacher’s kid who knows all about God struggles, what hope is there for the rest of us?
That my friends, is when the light bulb flickered, actually it shoneSO BRIGHT it caused me to pull over and listen……………… to Himspeaking to me.
“Tera sweetie (God always calls me sweetie), I don’t want my children to simply know all about Me…..I want my children to KNOW ME. You see sweetie, Saul knew “all about Me” and continued to persecute the Christians. The Woman at the Well knew “all about Me” but continued to feel alone and judged and condemned. The Pharisees knew “all about Me”, reciting every scripture, but continued to err on the side of the law…….instead of people, MY people.
Tera sweetie, it’s not enough to “know all about Me”…..I want my children to KNOW ME. THAT is why I sent Him to you. My Son.Grace & Truth in Human Form.”
And the results?………well, let’s take a look……
PAUL :
Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.
You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. (sweetie side note: wow – not only did Paul know “all about God” – he knew even more than his peers did!) But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased Him to REVEAL HIS SON TO ME so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. ~ Galatians 1:11-16 NLT, emphasis mine
WOMAN AT THE WELL: The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When HE comes, he will explain everything to us.
(sweetie side note: the woman knew “all about God” and yet still didn’t recognize the One right beside her)
Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”
Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see him. ~ John 4:25-30, emphasis mine
Paul had an encounter with Jesus and went on to preach the gospel and write nearly the entire New Testament.
The Woman at the Well had an encounter with Jesus and left her jug behind in order to run and tell others what she had experienced.
As a result….
Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but BECAUSE WE HAVE HEARD HIM FOR OURSELVES. NOW WE KNOW that he is indeed the Savior of the world.” ~John 4:39-42, emphasismine
Jesus.
JESUS.
JESUS IS THE LINK BETWEEN KNOWINGABOUT GOD………..AND KNOWING GOD.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except throughME. ~ John 14:6 NIV
Jordan discovered that truth. During his time in Teen Challenge he began to realize that God wasn’t done with him yet, and that all of those defeating titles like “addict,” didn’t have to be attached to his name the rest of his life. His story is far from over. So is mine…….and so is YOURS.
Hello my Name is CHILD OF THE ONE TRUE KING.
Drenched in Grace,
Tera