Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Jesus speaking)
Pro 13:15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
Notice the contrast in these two verses compared to what we are taught or what has been implied about being a Christian. Notice that, the way of the transgressors is hard, not those who follow Jesus!
Just Imagine...
Coming to a place in your life where you're trust in God is never shaken and you never again rely on your performance to gain favor with God. You know Him as a kind and gracious Father who always takes care of you and all of your needs are met, all the time, regardless of your performance or your own goodness --- A place where you can rise above your circumstances and live free from all guilt, shame, stress, and religious pressure. Where your life is no longer governed by a set of rules, but by a close and intimate relationship with God.
And even when you are afraid and your flesh is looking for a way out and you are blaming yourself or looking for someone else to blame, deep down in the innermost part of your soul, you are truly and fearlessly trusting God! Even if you fail and your sin seems to overtake your mind, your inner trust in His provision of righteousness sustains you and you never fear the outcome!
How would you feel if suddenly you realized that you were no longer responsible for your destiny, your future, your provision (or prosperity), or your failures or successes or those of the people that you care about... What if I told you that your responsibility ends, where your trust in God begins, and there is where the wisdom of God is found to take your next step....
Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We have been taught to carry the load that Jesus has already carried with Him (for us) --- to the cross. Pro 13:15 says, "Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard." Did you get that? --- The yoke of Jesus is EASY, --- the way of the trangressor is HARD! ---
Live the Free Life Promised By Jesus...
What I have been describing is a life of freedom, that's exactly how Christians are supposed to live according to the Bible! The Gospel (Good News!) has gotten lost somewhere in our religious activity and our rules, which by the way are different for every church, every pastor, and every Christian! "Freedom in Christ" has become such a clich among Christians, but is not experienced by very many people I have known in church!
This is not just another Bible study, it is the simple truth of the good news of the New Testament. When you strip away religious predjudice and study the Bible the way it is written, the myths become exposed and you see that Jesus did all of the work on the cross, there is nothing left to do but accept His acceptance of you. This is RADICAL, and yet it is the SIMPLE gospel of Jesus...
Victims of Religious Spirits....
If you have struggled and you think it's hard to be a Christian, you have been the victim of mean, religious spirits that want you to have a hard life and blame God for it. I want to attack the idea that most Christians have that the Christian life is hard and that to be a Christian you have to keep rules and make yourself do things that you don't want to do in order to please God.
Whether it's paying tithes, being nice to people, going to church, praying hard, reading your bible, and the list goes on , I want to submit to you that Jesus did the hard stuff so you would "have it made" in this life and then have everlasting joy with Him throughout eternity!
If it's Not Difficult, I Must Be Doing Something Wrong...
Most of us have been sold on the idea if it's not difficult then we are not doing something right. We think that we are not pleasing God if things are going easy. We all feel sometimes that what we are going through is because we don't measure up or we have failed God and that is why our lives are so difficult. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! Listen to the words of Jesus in John 10:10:
"I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly."
Jesus paid a great price to give you liberty, freedom, and joy! He didn't go through all that He went through so that we would be under pressure to perform and have a hard life.
The enemy has a plan to keep you from knowing this about God; Jesus paid the full price for your past, present, and future. That price has been paid in full, there is nothing left for you to do except believe that He did it all!
My Personal Struggle...
Now let's bring this down to where we live. You may have been told sometime in your life to be a "good" person and things would go well with you, God would be pleased with you, or God would bless you. Well, I was told that too, and it seemed the harder I tried to be a "good" person, the worse things got for me. What's up with that?
I thought that if we tried hard, then God would help us become better Christians! It didn't work for me. Yet I watched others in church that seemed to have their act together which left me feeling like there was something wrong with me.
I wondered if maybe I was just not as "good" as they were. Well I found out later in life that those people (for the most part) were better than me at something, and that was they were better at hiding their true identities behind religious attitudes!
Now I am not saying that all people who go to church are hypocrites, but I am saying that knowingly or not, people learn to put on airs around other religious people and never really reveal who they really are.
Knowing this then, how do we live a life of freedom and joy? If the religion of the day can't set us free, then there is something bad wrong with our religious system. "Jesus came to set us free" has become a clich in church today that we use without understanding true freedom. Here are a few traits you will have as you discover real freedom in Christ:
- You won't worry about anything
- You won't care what anybody thinks of you
- You will be truly generous and loving towards people
- You won't let people control your life (Not even religious leaders)
- You will trust God in all things
- You will be who you are without religious pretense
- You will not be tied down to a set of rules
- You will serve God without reservation, but without the restrictions religion brings
- You will experience REAL JOY
- You will not be moved by bad events and trouble in your life
If I sound a little rebellious, you're right about me. Jesus stood strong in the face of religious demons and people who wanted Him dead in order to get this freedom to you. Someone has worked hard to steal what Jesus has provided for you already! If I could give you one key today to living life completely free from everything that wants to bind you up and keep you living small in life, would you be interested?
Okay, here it is:
2Co 5:21 says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." You are the righteousness of God in Jesus!
Jesus became sin for you so that you would be acceptable to God in whatever condition you are in right now!
You are NEVER acceptable to God by trying to be "good", working harder, praying more, reading your bible more, stopping a bad habit or lifestyle. Your acceptance by God is based only on the finished work of Jesus!
When we are righteous, then we are acceptable to God, but we can never be righteous on our own. Righteousness is a FREE GIFT from Jesus to us and the ONLY requirement on our part is to receive it:
Rom 5:17 "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)" That's the Gospel (good news) of the New Testament!
You are completely and unconditionally loved and accepted by your Father right now, right where you are, just how you are! By faith you can receive this gift of righteousness (or right standing with God) and have fellowship with God and know that everything is okay no matter what is going on in your life. And furthermore, God will heal you, bless you, talk with you, and provide everything you need in life without you doing one thing but accepting this incredible FREE gift of righteousness.
You may be thinking right now, "this guy is crazy, God can't bless me, I have too many problems, I'm doing bad things right now." I am telling you that God not only will bless you, He wants to more than you can imagine.
Jesus did all of the work, carried the cross, took our sin upon Himself so that you could be declared righteous before God. Your enemy wants you to carry a distorted view of God for the rest of your life so you will never get to God to receive this gift that makes you acceptable to God by faith alone.
Are you getting it? Righteousness = Jesus plus NOTHING! You can't help yourself become more or less righteous by your own efforts. Nothing you do can change your standing with God except for having faith in what He has already done for you! God Himself can change you and prepare you to have success in life but you MUST trust Him and maintain fellowship with Him according to His righteousness, not your good works!
Forget trying to please God, you only please Him by faith, and the first place you need to exercise your faith is in the finished work of righteousness that Jesus has provided for you.
If you get this, YOU WILL BE ON YOUR WAY TO TRUE FREEDOM.
I know how all of this may sound to you, but it is the truth according to Jesus who is the TRUTH!
Blessings Until Next Time
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