Ready To Jump (The Jesus Dare series) 

“Stating it as plainly as possible, God chooses to touch the hearts and minds of individuals at exactly the right time for each person. You may be surprised to hear that when the time is right, you won’t insist upon having the complete answer to every question. Oh, you’ll still approach life with logic and sound reasoning. You’ll continue to develop a practical and prosperous vision for your future. However, instead of looking outward, you’ll finally take a chance and look upward, realizing there’s more to life than the here and now. You’ll finally see that taking the Jesus dare is not intimidating, but rather it’s accepting the open hand of a loving Brother. And you’ll say, ‘Oh, I get it. God is calling me.’” (The Jesus Dare pg 68)

These past few weeks diving into The Jesus Dare have been a real joy and encouragement to my heart.  Hearing how so many of you have resonated with the book and with the song has spoken to me and I can only say “thank you.”  I’m very grateful to Jay Payleitner for the opportunity to partner with him in his vision of reaching many souls for Christ with this book.  If you haven’t already, you can purchase The Jesus Dare here and also check out the website www.thejesusdare.com for some great content.   The book just released this week on May 6th.  It is well worth your time and money to pick up a copy. 
Again, I want to share the song that we wrote and recorded titled The Jesus Dare (Dare To Believe).  This song was written by Jay Payleitner, Cooper Bascom, Jay Speight, and myself.  Credit goes to those guys for taking a great idea and fleshing it out into song.  The song was produced by Jay Speight (BottleRockit Productions) and the lyric video/artwork were all done by Brandon Wood (Indie Bling Studio).  Check these guys out, they are the best! 

Today I’m just wanting to wrap up with a charge to those who may be considering all of this and are close to saying “I must do something with this information.”  Ideally, the book itself is a great way to dive in further and continue the conversation.  But I feel like I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t take time to present what I believe is the main action step this all culminates into:  being ready to jump and take the Jesus dare

I want to echo so much of what Jay states in his book and just put some points together for the individual who is at this point.  Here are some main points I believe you must act on as you contemplate all of “who He says He is.” 

Come To Jesus As You Are 

“Eventually each of us needs to come to God as we are: imperfect and eager to be made new.” (pg 69) 

I appreciate that fact that The Jesus Dare does not make us out to be any better than we might think we are.  It acknowledges sin and the messed up state we are in.  It recognizes that Jesus paid for that sin.  It leaves no room for any other option or solution to be proposed.  Really, it’s Jesus or it’s nothing.  And the decision to follow Him or not to is a conscious decision we make either way. 
But as you come to that place, you might be thinking “I can’t accept this now.  I’m not good enough.  I’ve to clean up my act first and then I can actually follow Him.”  There’s nothing further from the truth and what you’re doing is actually only further avoiding God’s offer of salvation.  He doesn’t wait until we’re somehow good enough because that moment will never happen.  Even after Christ, we still mess up and can still fall short.  But we acknowledge and receive His grace and move towards Him without having to do anything on our part first. 

Admit Your Sin 

“As we get closer to God, we become more aware of our sins. As we get closer to God, we become more aware of our sinful condition.” (pg 41) 

The Holy Spirit’s tug on your heart, that gentle nudge, that quiet whisper…we often experience one or all of these forms of an awareness of our sin.  But at the same time, it’s an awareness that Jesus is able to redeem and restore.  Admitting your sin is humbling.  It takes surrender.  It’s not Facebook post-worthy or anything that aligns with a superficial and plastic society.  But it’s necessary and the process itself is redemptive.  Jesus humbled Himself and was obedient to go the cross on our behalf.  He made Himself low yet was without sin.  We must model His example and admit that we are sinful beings in need of a Savior. 

Take The Dare 

At this point, if you’ve come as you are and have been made aware of your sin, there’s only one more logical response.  The leap you must take may seem scary.  The dare to follow Christ and set aside your own self may shake you to the core.  But I can tell you:  the tug on your heart, the gentle nudge and whisper will not go away.  The Holy Spirit is real and when you surrender to Him, you invite Him to come and live inside of you. 
There’s a beautiful prayer within The Jesus Dare book which is basically a “Sinner’s Prayer” and is a great model to follow if you want to read something prepared and typed out.  But the dare is the dare, regardless of saying an exact prayer or not.  It’s everything we’ve talked about so far.  It’s the aspects of “I’m a sinner, apart from Christ I’m dead in my sin and separated from Him.  I believe that Jesus went to the cross and paid the penalty for my sin.  That is a free gift I accept and I ask Jesus to come in and be Lord of my life.”  If you pray that prayer or something like it (or the one from the book), you have taken the dare!  If you have, I’d love to hear from you and encourage you. 


Again, I am so grateful for the opportunity to share these blogs and to set the stage for a book that I believe is revolutionary.  In a day and age in which truth seems relative and the culture has no real standards, The Jesus Dare cuts through the noise and proclaims a counter message.  What if He is Who He says He is? is a question that should still rock us and cause us to consider the message of Jesus Christ.  If He is Savior, if He is Lord, if He did die for my sins, and rose again, I must respond.  I must take the dare.  From there, I must tell others as well.  It’s too good to keep it to myself. 

Guys I love you and can’t wait to hear about what God is doing in your life!

Email:  info@derekcharlesjohnson.com 

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Other blogs in this series: 

Asking Big Questions
Sharing The Dare

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