Most of us look forward to celebrating our birthdays. But not as many of us think to celebrate our spiritual birthdays.
But that’s not the case for award-winning actress Kimberly Elise, who recently celebrated her 54th birthday in both natural and spiritual realms.
In her Instagram post shared with her 557,000 followers, Elise spoke of the “beautiful and powerful” experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit when she was baptized at age 16. But it is the surrender exhibited in baptism later in life that Elise says is “extraordinarily profound.”
Despite the challenges of her youth, Elise knows, “the Holy Spirit never left me.”
“Though I didn’t always make the best choices over all these years, the Holy Spirit kept a hedge of protection around me to keep me from falling too, too far astray,” she continues. “And God continuously blessed me greatly in spite of my errors (He will achieve His purpose no matter what!).”
But not until 2019 did the Lord grip Elise’s heart and, with conviction of the Holy Spirit, turn it back to Him. That’s when, she says, “Jesus rescued me.”
After rededicating her life to Jesus then, the Holy Spirit has “done a fast and deep work” on Elise’s life. This prompted her to celebrate her birthday with baptism once again—to create a signpost in her life as a testimony of what God has done for her since 2019.
“God is faithful and true,” Elise says. “Though we may stray, He is longsuffering and gives us many chances to come home. I am so grateful I took His offer and I’m so grateful to have such a loving, forgiving Savior as Yahshua Hamashiach.”
She then issues a call for those who don’t know the power and saving grace of a relationship with Jesus to consider returning home to His loving arms:
“If you don’t know Jesus, seek Him before it’s too late and there are no more chances, believe, repent and surrender to Him. If you knew Him once but lost your way, repent, call out to Him—He wants you to come home too.”
Elise celebrates her spiritual rebirth with thanks to her family and friends for “showing me what God’s love in this world truly looks like.”
The For Colored Girls and Almost Christmas actress is a four-time NAACP Image Awards winner and appeared in Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story in 2009. {eoa}
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