Forward With Jesus

Because in the beginning we were designed not only for the glory of God, but also for a deep abiding fellowship with Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 6:16). And in the beginning, God created you in His image. (Genesis 1:27) “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” We all are made in the image of God. But way back in the beginning, the first humans on the earth, Adam and Eve, sinned. You will hear church people say things like, ‘sin entered the world through Adam and Eve.’

That is a way of saying, they were the first to sin, and that sin had enormous consequences for all of us. They did not do as God instructed and ate from what is called the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil.’ Before they ate from the tree, they did not know right and wrong. There was no wrong in their knowledge of the world until they ate from that particular tree. A perfect world so to speak. So consequently, at that time, they sinned, and sin entered the world. One of the worst parts of that sin is that it affected all of us (we all were, from then on born in sin) and most tragically, that sin (and all sin) separated us from God. God is holy and righteous. (1 Peter 1:15-16; Psalm 11:7) so, he could no longer fellowship with sinful man, at least not until it was made right. Now many may think that the curse that came upon man and earth was the worst part of that sin. The thorns and thistles that would now be in the ground. Toiling the earth for food, and pain in childbirth – all of it certainly not what we would wish for if there was a better way. And in the garden of Eden there was a better way. But the real loss was the separation from God. There is a need and a real call in all of us to eliminate that separation. It’s an emptiness that we all have felt. The answer to eliminating that separation, that emptiness – is Jesus. Jesus offers new life – for everyone. To establish a relationship with Jesus, you must:

1. Seek Jesus. Accept him as your Savior.
2. Repent of your sins and turn away from them.
3. Work to develop a relationship with him by accepting his love and his commandments.
4. Work to learn his plan, by reading the Bible and growing in the knowledge of his word. Accept it as your instruction book for life and strive to live it every day.
5. Make sure your relationship with him includes prayer. Talking to him, listening to him, spending time with him every day is essential.
6. Find a Bible teaching church.

The first step is simple, and I like to think he designed it that way. Pray to Jesus and ask him to help you with all the steps. Trust me, he has been waiting for this since your creation. And once you start living in these aspects of him, your relationship with him will grow steadily. Then you will completely understand that the separation from God, by far, is the worst consequence of sin.

To be clear, while the first step may be simple, pursuing a life of Christianity is not. To truly commit your life to Christ, is a lifelong endeavor. It is an ongoing pressing into the things of God. Of change from the old to the new. The six steps listed above take daily commitment and not just an hour or two at church each week. It is a change in all aspects of life. A life of self-entitlement replaced instead with a life of self-denial.  Of living for Jesus and for our neighbor and each other.  (Ephesians 4)  A life of love, each and every day.

Maybe you feel this isn’t for you. You aren’t a bad person that needs Jesus. You’re not a sinner. You don’t murder people. You don’t steal. You treat people decent (except maybe for that guy that cut you off in the parking lot). You help puppies and senior citizens. You obey traffic laws (well most of them anyway). You’re basically good. Right?

Wrong. Cold hard truth? None of us are good.

It is impossible to live your life righteously, without Jesus. Being ‘pretty good’ is not good enough. For any of us. Romans 3:10 says ‘None is righteous. No not one.’ And Romans 3:23 says ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’

Today, we all tend to be overly sensitive to being told we are sinners or that we do wrong. Even the word ‘sin’ can get us worked up. Often, we get defensive and ponder the lie that ‘I’m more good than bad so I don’t need to change. I don’t need God.’ Or worse, we completely shut down to any critique because someone dares question us in any way, let alone in morality. And I get it. We all fight it.

That instant defensiveness that creeps in when some fault dares to be exposed. We focus on the one who is exposing it as opposed to focusing on the fault. The sin. It’s a defense mechanism and it is not from God. It is straight-up pride. But know that if you react that way, you’re not alone. Yet deep down most of us know there may be truth in the exposition of our faults. It’s a matter of do we have the wisdom to honestly confront our sin? To seek the Savior that is the answer. Or do we continue to feel we are good enough to go to heaven even though the bible clearly tells us that we are not. None of us are.

In today’s world that can seem an ‘aggressive’ thing to say, especially in America. Again, our pride or arrogance sometimes can keep us from admitting our faults. Our sin. The Bible has a lot to say about pride and arrogance, and none of it is good. (Proverbs 11:2) When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. The question is, are we humble enough to understand that we need redemption?

Redemption defined is:

1. The action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. “God’s plans for the redemption of his world.”
2. The clearing of a debt.

And the fact that you are reading this is a good indication that you are seeking and perhaps open to the truth. The truth about Jesus and the truth about all of us as well as the redemption that comes with accepting Jesus as your Savior. We all need Him. 

He is our Savior who died for us to not only save us, but to restore the relationship between God and humanity. Why did he do that? Atonement. Someone had to pay the price for our sin. His love for us drove God to sacrifice his Son. His only Son. The history of atonement goes back a long way.

Atonement defined is to make amends for a wrong that has been done.

Who did that wrong? I did. And you did too. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were trying to make atonement to God to overcome the separation from God. They wanted a relationship with God and even more remarkable, God wanted a relationship with them. However, the sacrifices made by the Israelites were short-term. The sin was too great to be atoned for long-term by them. It would take a permanent sacrifice. But such is God’s desire to have fellowship with us, that he put into motion a permanent plan that would take thousands of years to be completed.

It wasn’t an easy plan. But it was a perfect plan.

Even though the Israelites continued to sin and turn from God (just as we sometimes do), He continued to work for them. To work the plan. That plan was Jesus. Jesus was the permanent sacrifice for you and me. He was the final payment. The perfect atonement for our sin. The way to end the separation of man and God. To bring us victory in a world ruled by sin.

God sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for you. For all of us. Jesus, who never sinned, paid the ultimate price for our sin. And because of his sacrifice, you can today, right now, begin a relationship with him.

Why should you want to have that relationship? Well, there are a host of reasons.

The first of which was mentioned above, is that a relationship with our God and our Savior (Jesus) will fill an emptiness in you that I’m sure you have felt. That wondering if there is more to life than just ‘this?’ The answer is a most definite YES. There is more. And he died on a cross to make a way for you to find that ‘more to life.’ A way to lead you to him.

You may have tried to fill that emptiness with all kinds of stopgaps. Most people do. With careers, sports, television, gaming, partying, politics, or shopping. And while many of those things are enjoyable, none is as important as a relationship with God. With his son Jesus. With his Holy Spirit.

Those stop-gaps cannot permanently fill that longing that lies deep inside each of us. A longing for the ‘more.’ Well, the very best news is that Jesus IS the more. While all those things I listed might drown out the emptiness or the longing for a short time, it is only that. A short time. It will return. But once you build a true relationship with Jesus, the only longing you will not be able to overcome is wanting to know him more.

A true relationship with him changes the intent of our lives. To a life of ‘I’ve been for me. Now let me be for you, Lord.’ A life that calls for us to not only live for God, but to live for others. To put others before ourselves. The first commandment says in Mark 12:30-31, ‘And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’

Tough to be self-centered when your living Mark 12:30-31. I once saw a post that pointed out the following…..

Things Jesus never said:

• listen to your heart
• be true to yourself
• trust your gut and go with what feels right
• feel good about who you are
• just be a good person

Things Jesus actually said:

• If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Vastly different statements. But how often do you see a post or article expressing the first 5 items of advice? Too often.

Another reason to want a relationship with Jesus concerns our salvation for eternity. Forever.

Many believe that in the end everyone goes to heaven, but that is not the case. God is a just God and he will adhere to his word, written in the Bible. He wants us to follow his word, but as a just God, he too lives by his word. If we follow the direction we’ve been given, he will abide by his promises and our eternity is secure with him. The truth is, that God always wants us to choose him. His word. But he forces no one. It is completely up to us. We have a choice, and he calls to us so that we will choose him. But there is no force. We alone make that decision. A decision that has the ultimate impact on our eternity.

It’s a choice that you can make right now. You might have heard the verse John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Today you choose.

My hope is that you seek him out today and every day. Jesus awaits your decision and prayer. Start with the 6 steps listed, and you are on the path for a new life. Spend time in his word and get to know him. You will not regret your decision.

Finally, know this, in step 6 you will need to find a church to become involved in. Meeting others who live in his love and word and then involving yourself is so important to help you on your walk, as well as for you to help others on their journey. A church that believes in the Bible and teaches to live by its words. I recommend staying away from churches that don’t teach from the bible every single sermon. You want a church that gives you a bible chapter and verse to back up what they are saying.

It’s important. We don’t believe something because someone says it’s so or even because it sounds right. Look it up. Verify it in the bible.

Everything I write here, look it up. Prove me right or prove me wrong, but most importantly, for yourself you need to validate that it is what God says. Unfortunately, there are churches (entire denominations) that do not encourage reading the bible daily, and don’t even encourage bringing your bible to church. Avoid those churches. You are not looking for rhetoric, you’re looking for the truth. Not ‘your truth’ and not ‘my truth’, but God’s truth. That alone is what real truth is. His truth.

Remember, a church is a community meant to support. A critically important community to build a relationship with. But it does not replace your personal relationship with Jesus. HE is your foundation. Church is important. Critical for all of us, in fact. It is your one-on-one relationship with Jesus in conjunction with the body of Christ (the church) that makes it all move in the right direction. It’s these two facets of your walk that will keep you grounded and keep you fulfilled. Your church community will help you build that relationship with Jesus as well as with other believers. All of it brings life and vitality to our daily walk in the word.

It all comes down to making your home in him. In Jesus.

You know, maybe we did get it correct here in Kansas. There is no place like home – in Jesus.