What does it mean for Jesus to come alive in my heart?

Can Jesus really be real to me?

Can I really know Jesus personally?

Too many people who call themselves Christians settle for less of Jesus, far less of Him, than He wants to give them and be to them. So rather than ignoring these questions, or covering them up with more church stuff, let’s keep asking them until we get some answers… until Jesus is born into each of our hearts!

One of the most moving modern songs about the birth of Jesus and what it can mean to each of us is Francesca Battistelli’s “Be Born in Me” — a song that reminds us that our heart can be a Bethlehem for Jesus to be born in us — see lyrics* to go with the YouTube video that follows.

There is something that grabs our hearts as we think of Mary taking on the wonder and the danger of carrying the Messiah, the Son of God, in her womb and then raising Him as her child. There is also something in our own hearts that can’t escape the yearning of these powerful words:

I’ll hold You in the beginning,
You will hold me in the end
Every moment in the middle, make my heart Your Bethlehem
Be born in me

With Christmas coming and the celebration of Jesus’ birth on so many hearts, many find themselves reminded about the importance of Jesus in their lives. This is especially true of those who once had a more vibrant relationship with the Lord, but now Jesus seems distant or absent. People frequently ask me one of the following questions, or something similar, about this feeling of the Lord’s absence in their lives:

• What can I do to find Jesus in my life again?
• Jesus doesn’t seem real to me right now, so how can I regain my relationship with Him?
• I’ve messed up my life so badly, can I ever find my way back to Jesus?
• While I’ve believed in Jesus, He has never seemed real in my life: can I really have a relationship with Him?

We want to cry out with the song, “Be born in me!”

But can He? Can Jesus really be alive in our hearts?

I am honored to remind disciples of Jesus of several important promises about experiencing Jesus’ presence. But before I share these principles, I want to beg you…

Don’t Give Up!

Don’t settle for less than a walk with the real Jesus in your life! Keep crying out to the Lord, “Be born in me!”

When we are in crisis or can’t seem to find Jesus in our lives, we want an immediate fix. Let’s remember it took awhile to get into the messes in which we find ourselves or it took time for our hearts to grow indifferent to Jesus’ presence. It may take a little time to reclaim that sense of the Lord’s intimate presence. However, the Lord will never forsake us or abandon us (Hebrews 13:5; Romans 8:32-39). Sometimes we can lose sight of His presence in our lives because we have not focused upon Him. However, we must not give in to despair. The Lord is near (Philippians 4:5). He longs to be a part of our lives (Revelation 3:20). So let’s seek after Him and find Him (Acts 17:27). He promises that if we seek Him, we will find Him and He will be real to us (Matthew 7:7-11).

There are two special and interrelated ways to seek after Jesus that I have found can help us, just as they helped many others who have come before us: spend time with Jesus each day in His story and experience Jesus as Immanuel in the ways He promised He would be present with us. This week I want to talk about the first one, then next week we will cover the second.

Spend Time with Jesus

Let’s commit to spend time in the four gospels that tell the story of Jesus’ life. I like to read them in this order: Mark, John, Luke, Matthew. Let’s do this all year, one chapter a day. Before we read the chapter, we can pray something like the following:

Father in heaven, I believe in you, but I need to know Jesus is there for me. So as I read today, have the Holy Spirit open my mind, my heart, and my will to know what Jesus wants me to know today, what He wants me to feel about what I read, and what He wants me to do based on what I have read. Thank you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Then we read one chapter — yes, just one chapter each day. Knowing Jesus is like growing any other relationship, it takes a little time to really know the other person well. So doing this daily is important. We shouldn’t rush our time with the Lord in scripture. As we read the appropriate chapter, we will listen for what the Lord Jesus wants us to know from the chapter. There may be several things that are new, but let’s try to hear the one primary thing for us for this day.

Then we go through the chapter a second time, this time focusing on what Jesus wants us to feel about what we have read — does it make me feel motivated, happy, sad, upset, concerned, committed, confused, challenged, angry, convicted, or some other emotion. We don’t have re-read it word for word, but let’s think through what we have read and discover with the Holy Spirit’s help what we believe Jesus wants us to feel about what we have read. Then we think through the message a third time and determine what we believe Jesus wants us to do — what we need to put into practice.

I’ve found that sometimes it’s helpful to ask for Jesus’ help out loud:

“Lord Jesus, what do you want me to know from this passage?” “Jesus, how should what I am reading make me feel about You and the life You have called me to live?” “Lord, what do you want me to do based upon what I read today?”

I’ve also found it helpful to write down what I have heard from the Lord about what He wants me to know, feel, and do. At different times, I have used a little notebook, used my digital calendar, or used the notes app in my phone to record each insight. In previous years, I wrote these insights in the margin of my Bible. For most of us, recording it is more helpful and sticks with us longer than just thinking it in our heads!

Finding time to approach Scripture in this way can be hard when we first begin, especially if the Lord seems distant. The devil will throw out a bunch of distractions and demands. But connecting with Jesus and having Him be real our lives is essential. Our adversary will do everything he can to stop us, discourage us, or make us feel distant from the Lord. However, if we begin to spend regular time with the Lord in His word, we will soon feel more comfortable doing the exercises and the Lord will be more real to us. On top of that, as we speak with Jesus and listen and wait for those things He is showing you then you will recognize that we are not alone as we listen for the Lord to speak to us through His story. He is there and helping us through the Holy Spirit.