The moment I knew

I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light. — Acts 26:17-18

The lights dimmed on the platform as Tom Whittaker began to sing the words of “Mary, Did You Know?” The steady, quiet strumming of his guitar beautifully complemented his calm, deep voice. His wife, Gloria, says that when she first heard him sing that song, she realized she was in love with him.

Many people who know Jesus as Savior can point to a specific moment when they suddenly grasped the extent of God’s amazing love for them. At that instant, they got it. Ray Boltz describes it in song:

The moment it happened,

It was the moment I knew;

It was like walking in the darkness

When the light comes shining through.

Paul had such a moment on the Damascus Road. His first encounter with Jesus transformed him from a fierce persecutor of Christians to the first great missionary. Spurred on by this eye-opening experience, Paul’s newfound love for the Savior compelled him to share the gospel with everyone he met (Acts 26).

Perhaps you know about Christ but have never trusted Him for salvation. John wrote, “We know that we have passed from death to life” (1 John 3:14). But that statement applies only to those who look to Jesus for forgiveness.

Because of God’s love, you too can “receive forgiveness of sins” through Jesus Christ (Acts 26:18) and be “born again” (John 3:3).

The moment is now. — Cindy Hess Kasper

READ: Acts 26:8-18

It’s one thing to know there is a God; it’s quite another to know the God who is.

The  Bible in one year:

• Ezekiel 45-46

• 1 John 2