Have you ever asked, isn’t there something more to the Christian life than I’ve experienced to this point?
Or maybe you’re someone who hasn’t ever made a profession of belief in Jesus and you’ve asked, Jesus seems to be cool but what is up with Christianity as a religion?
My journey with Jesus actually started in a very surprising way with Him appearing to me as a young child where He was standing on a ladder outside of my house. I was not brought up in a Christian household but I knew it was Him and, though I don’t remember Him saying anything, I do remember how He looked at me together with the incredible peace that I felt. This created a lifelong connection with Jesus and I learned years later what He had lovingly done by dying for me. This resulted in making a commitment to Him at that point.
That decision to accept Jesus’s payment for my wrongs was of course great. I subsequently got involved in reading the Bible and many spiritual books, enjoyed being in various kinds of ministry, and had many good experiences with churches and people in them. The problem is that I also had many negative experiences and worst of all, I wasn’t experiencing Jesus fully in all that I read was possible in this “Christian life”. Where was the Jesus that I’d met years before as a child? The standard teachings and “ought to’s” were not bringing me there.
I had hit a wall. I wanted more than Christian platitudes and good intentions from myself and the churches that were supposed to lead people into that something more. Internally I wanted to live a life and actions that reflected the reality of this Jesus. Externally I wanted that to happen for others too and to see this in action in real life situations. Status quo Christianity was no longer an option for me but what was the alternative?
Thankfully Jesus wanted an alternative for me as well. Very simply, I asked for and sought His presence in my life which joined with His desire as well. He has told us to seek, as in hot pursuit, the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these other things would fall into place. He’d also taught us to ask and, through a number of great influences and directly, He brought me to incredible discoveries of how to interact with Him in any and all circumstances daily. He was not only “the Door” into eternal living through His death but He now became the Good Shepherd who walked with me all the time leading me to experience what He said that He came to do (in John 10:9-11):
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”
What a profound difference! Eternal living was no longer about a destination after I died but it was now a present interaction with Him and His kingdom reality (John 17:3). He wasn’t just bringing me into heaven someday, He was bringing Heaven into me right now.
What would it be like for you to experience more of the essence of heaven, Jesus Himself active and reigning, in your life right now?
No more religion. No more non-abundant life. Now it’s on to helping others and groups of others in churches to truly “look to Jesus” and exalt Him in every way. He’s the only Way to experience the full life and He’s beckoning all- whether believer or unbeliever, churches and other groups, to come and see what He has always invited us to but were unaware of before.
Walking and co-creating with the risen Savior King has only gotten closer and better the further I go with Him which has led to various breakthroughs in growing in this area. These breakthroughs have resulted in a track to experience Jesus communicating with, and transforming, me and others in the real stuff of life. The inner peace this has brought, knowing that He is totally in charge and with me, and the increased effectiveness in every area of my life that I walk with Him in, is testimony to all of this.
That said, the track also includes what I have found helpful in combating the opposition to growing in this area- false and limiting beliefs that we and others have as well as an enemy of our souls who’s worst nightmare is people who take Jesus seriously (more on this reality in the next post).
So for now, what will you do today in your journey to walk with Jesus and see what He will do?