I was raised in a Christian home and made a profession of faith at a very young age.

When I was 21 years old, it occurred to me that I believed in Jesus Christ and that he died for me, just like I believed the earth was round.  It was knowledge that I accepted as fact and never questioned.  This revelation was very distressing to me.  I started researching the scriptures and praying that God would show me the way and what I was missing.

I came across the scripture in James about demons believing in Jesus Christ: 

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?  Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace;  keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by deeds.  You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that – and shudder.

– James 2:14-19 (NIV Study Bible)

How are the demons any different from me believing in Jesus Christ.  They are not saved, they are not going to heaven, and they are never going to be.  At that point I knew that something was missing from my perspective.  What I had was not enough.

I continued to study the scripture and pray that I would understand what I was reading.

How could I have grown up and known all about Jesus Christ and not know him any more than a demon?

It came to me that head knowledge is a lot different that heart knowledge.  Intellectually, I knew Jesus Christ, but I did not have the heart and commitment knowledge that it takes to be saved.

On Easter Sunday, April 1980, I asked Jesus to come into my heart, forgive my sins, and save me.  I wanted a personal relationship with him, not just head knowledge.  It was an amazing experience!  I felt and heard what sounded like a flock of birds taking flight, and I was immediately filled with such joy and wonder that I knew I was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.  The Lord had answered my prayer!

How many people grow up in a church and have head knowledge about Jesus and do not realize what they are missing?