Jesus is the real deal

If religion has left you frustrated or dismayed, it’s because you ran into religion and not Jesus. Religion has rules–mainly stuff you shouldn’t do. And if you get caught doing them, you’ll never be forgiven, by people at least.

It’s not that God doesn’t have rules. It’s just that He’s amazingly loving and forgiving. When He comes into your life, you get changed. You get a renewed mind, so old lifestyles have no more lure.  Jesus wants to set you free, not chain you down with stuff you shouldn’t do.

Jesus will lead you straight to the Father. And when you stand before His throne of grace, you understand what it’s all about. Confessing our sin is so we can come closer to God. We see Jesus as the amazing One who made a way for that happen.

The enemy will throw up all sorts of impostors to keep us from Jesus, but all of them will be weak and pathetic. Who wants a shadow of a thing when the real deal is so alive and full of grace? Be careful where you put your heart. If you haven’t met Jesus, then you haven’t found the real thing.

Another post on religion: Religion Stinks

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Jesus will always love you best.

The first time you get a revelation of Jesus, you’ll be wasted for life. We all want to be loved. It’s how we were designed. So, when we meet the One who loves us best, our love meter goes berserk. It’s literally more that you can handle.

But no matter how much we say we love the Lord and live according to His word, we still need to be drawn into His presence on the regular basis, or we forget. It’s stupid that we do, but it’s true.

And then when we come back to Him, it’s like falling in love again. Oh, how we remember His love. How we remember His goodness. All we want to do is sit at His feet and listen to Him talk or lean against Him and feel His heartbeat. We need His light to fill us. We need to soak in the Son lamp, to take in every bit of Him that we can.

He is our daily manna. He is all that we need, but we need to go back to Him all the time. You can never get enough of your lover. You always want more. If you’ve never experienced Jesus this way, ask Him. Tell Him that you want to know Him like you’ve never known Him before. And enjoy.

Finding Jesus Will Change Your Life

Jesus brings heaven to your heart.

I heard a story recently about a Muslim woman who came to Christ because she had a personal encounter with Jesus. Apparently she had an experience of going to heaven, because people kept asking her what heaven was like. Her answer was, heaven is Jesus.

How amazing is that? That Jesus is so magnificent, so awesome, that He describes that perfect place of communion with God. When you look into His eyes, all you see is Jesus, nothing else.

We have such a tarnished view of Jesus, like He’s some manby-pamby shepherd petting sheep all day, instead of the the Son of God who took the keys of death and hell for us. The love that He carried to the cross comes straight out of His eyes. How riveting that must be.

Heaven is Jesus. Heaven is where Jesus is. So what do you think happens when you ask Jesus into your heart? He brings heaven home to you. That is the presence of God living inside you. All the power that raised Christ from the dead, all the love that saves you and blesses you, lives right inside you. It’s more than we can truly grasp.

Think about this for bit and thank God for His awesomeness and love.

Who Is Jesus? Part 1

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Jesus is our heart’s desire.

The Psalmist had a heart hungry to know God: My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (Psa 84:2) When you begin to understand the immensity of God’s love, it changes you. You begin to see a world beyond your work and activities. You begin to see glimpses of heaven. Your heart will long to see Jesus.

Who is this God, this Man, who set aside His magnificent divinity to demonstrate His love for us? How could He do that? How amazing must He be? When you finally realize that God’s great plan for creation was to live in love and fellowship with you, from before the world was formed, you begin to see how big this love is.

If you don’t feel that hunger to know Him, it may be because there are wounds in your soul that need to be healed. A healthy heart will respond to the heart of God. Ask Him to heal you. Confess anything that you need to confess and allow Him to change your life. Your heart will soften and you’ll be drawn into a desire to see Him, to know Him. And He will come to you just as you need Him.

Another post on loving Jesus: In Pursuit Of Jesus

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Jesus is the only path to God.

Let’s be clear–knowledge of God will not save your soul or change your life. If your faith is not centered around Jesus, then you have nothing. It is Jesus who died on the cross to make a gateway into heaven for you. It is His blood that covers our sins and heals us. It was His life that we should follow as our example and model.

Focusing your faith on “God” will get you into deep water you may not be able to get out of. “God” can be described and revered by all kinds of false religions and beliefs. To place all your devotion to “God” is to nullify the great gift of salvation that Jesus died for.

Yes, our hearts should long for God our Father, but only through the blood of Christ. Any other path will lead to death. No other name but Jesus can save, heal, and deliver. If we do not honor the Son as Savior and Lord, then we do not have the salvation we think we have.

Jesus is the Son of God, Savior, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is our advocate before the Father and a loving Shepherd. Find Him and you will find your heart’s desire.

Another post on Jesus as King: Jesus Is The Perfect King

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Only Jesus can fill our heart’s great need.

We were created to love God. We were born with a God-shaped hole in our heart that only He can fill. That’s why there is religion in every culture. The need to know God is great and common to everyone. The self-sufficiency of our society that says that God is irrelevant is a lie from the enemy. The need for God is still there, it’s just being filled with experience and toys and power.

The God-shaped hole is a hunger for something more, something deeper than chasing after experiences can offer. Other religion can only offer ceremony, nothing that goes deep to the core of our need. Without Jesus, we will always feel lacking in something profound and necessary.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Mat 5:6) God has promised that if you look to fill that hunger with what is right and true of God, you will be satisfied. In fact, Jesus said, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. (Jhn 6:35) Jesus fills that void in our heart so completely that we will never feel at a loss again.

Run to Him. Embrace His salvation, and that heat-felt loss will be satisfied beyond your expectations.

Another post on needing God: You Were Born For Heaven

**************************************************************************The Key of David, by Diana Symons                                                                                             A story that’s been told for thousands of years…  The Bible’s Book 1 Samuel tells the story of David’s life – from an obscure family to an unlikely king, from shepherd to warrior, from champion to king-maker. What does it mean for a man to love God and be loved by Him? This book explores what it means to be human in the light of the Kingdom.

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