Actress Kimberly Elise surprised fans a few years ago when a baptism photo went viral.
Elise, 58, said her journey to Hollywood was a realization of her childhood dream. She also shared her faith trajectory, and she first came to Jesus early in her life, but left in her teenage years.
“We didn’t go to church. We didn’t study the Bible,” Elise told CBN News. “We were raised on Christian principles. But I knew when I was younger: ‘I have something to do with me.'”
And the missing pieces began to come together at the age of 16, obtaining a driver’s license and surrendering himself to the church.
“I went to church when I was 16 and was baptized. Unfortunately, I had no benefit from a real understanding of disciples, development, what truly means to be a follower of Jesus,” Elise said. “So I quickly returned to the world like a teenager, graduated from college and met my husband… then I got married and it was immersed in Hollywood and moved to California.”
While working in Hollywood, despite not being keen on her faith, Elise said she knew that God blessed her gifts and that they needed to use those gifts “in a certain way.”
“I didn’t know Jesus, I didn’t know the Holy Spirit, but I knew that God blessed me and gave me certain gifts,” she said. “And so when I went to Hollywood, I knew there were certain things I couldn’t and couldn’t do because of the gifts God gave me.”
Growing up in the outskirts of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Elise recalls her deep passion for entertainment early in her life.
Eventually she took part in theatre and eventually headed to Hollywood, where she studied at the American Film Institute, graduated and moved to feature films. The rest is history.
Elise enjoyed a successful career, but in 2019 she said she realized something was wrong in her life.
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“As many things have come to an end, I realized I wasn’t making the choices I should make,” she said. “I haven’t made a good choice.”
Elise continued. “I was so engrossed… in a whole new era, and again, I was like, “the universe and the crystal.” ”
The actress was “very deep” to these practices and raised her alarm about the dangers of leaving it to such elements.
“The New Age thing is that it’s a constant search, and it’s never the end,” she said. “You’re always looking for this other answer, so it’s… so broad and evil… it’s a bottomless hole, and there’s no truth, but I think it’s because it’s so close that it somehow resonates, but it’s all a lie.”
Despite her best attempts to correct her life using Elise’s crystals and other elements, she knew something was wrong and she still “has no truth.” One day, her pain and suffering came to mind.
“I literally kneeled in the kitchen and cried out to God, “Are you there? Do you see me? Do you love me? Do you know me?”
Two weeks later, Elise said something incredible had happened. She met with her friend’s mother. She said she was waiting to meet her. This woman prayed with her and delivered an incredible message.
“The first thing she said was… “God loves you, God wants you to know that you love you.
It was the very answer to the prayer Elise had been seeking in her kitchen a few days ago.
“It was the answer to that cry,” she said. “After that, she’ll call me regularly and pray for me.”
Soon, Elise realized she wanted to learn more about Jesus and felt compelled to read the Bible.
“One morning I woke up to this strong calling to get the Bible,” she said. There was no Bible. “I went and got the Bible, and I sat down and didn’t know where to start. I said, ‘Where do you start reading the Bible?’
Eventually she ended with the Gospels and began with Matthew. As Elise was reading the genealogy, something clicked.
“It was as clear as the day. ‘This is true,’ she said. “And I couldn’t put it on. I couldn’t stop reading, and the Lord just began to fill me… and my understanding, and I could understand what I was reading.”
Elise began to see her sin, “pride and ignorance” – and it definitely changed everything.
“God showed me my sins. I knelt again and begged him for forgiveness,” she said.
For more information about her work and ministry, please share her journey and visit her website. Also, subscribe to her “Kimberly Elise Grace Truth and Love” YouTube channel.
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