Jesus Didn't Die for You...

 If you've ever heard people say it's not a religion, it's a relationship. This is why. It's so much more than rules and restrictions. We have overcomplicated Christianity. No wonder people are turned off by it no wonder it's viewed as bondage. We've turned it into something it was never meant to be.

So let me start by this sharing this shocking truth:

Jesus died for ALL people but he didn't die for ALL things.

Jesus didn't die for you to have to live your life in defeat. Why are you constantly feeling broken and beating yourself up for every bad decision you have made or will ever make? When EVERY single thing you do or don't do past, present, or future is already wiped clean by the King. In him you will never be a failure.In him you are a victor not a victim. You are more than a conqueror. He takes the failure so you can have the freedom.
"So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through." John 8:36

Jesus didn't die for you to judge or let yourself be judged by other people. Your position doesn't make you better. Your choices don't make you holier. Your way of living doesn't make you know it all. And no one is better than you because of any of those things. Christians have got to stop with the better than attitude. Everything we are, everything we have is by God's grace alone. Don't ever let anyone, I don't care who they are, make you feel inferior or that you're not enough.
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:17


Jesus didn't die for you to have to feel trapped or in bondage. Stop letting yourself or others hold you back from a life of  fulfillment in God. Stop settling for what you think you deserve.Or what others made you feel like you deserve.You were made for so much more than all of this.
"My purpose is to give life in all its fullness." John 10:10b

Jesus didn't die for you to have to live in fear.You know those trials you face? Those things that come at you? They try to knock you off your feet, knock the wind out of you. You don't know how to escape them, how you are going to get through them.Get up. Don't be afraid. Jesus already took care of them for you! He already has the answer. He already has the escape.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”John 16:33

Jesus didn't die for you to have to need others to validate you or decide your worth. You're worth is in Him. We are all flawed. Seeking our approval from others will always leave us disappointed. People will come and go in your life that think they know you, think they have a right to decide your value.They don't. You are free from that. God knows your heart. HE is the one you will stand before at the end of your life. At the end of the day HIS is the only approval that really matters. And through Jesus you already have it. 
"People look at the outside, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Jesus didn't die for you to have to be perfect. We put so much pressure on ourselves sometimes to be perfect in every area of our lives. Either for other people or for ourselves because we think if we don't we're failing or letting someone down. Stop it. You will never be perfect. Jesus knew that, it's why he made the sacrifice he did. You don't have to measure up. You hear me? Jesus already did, he already does. We do our best. We seek him and learn and grow. But while we're growing we need to let go of the idea that we're disappointing everyone and remember we are HUMAN. Jesus is and always will be the only perfect person.
God is working on you. Making you new. Rest in knowing He is and will use ALL things for your good and His Glory.
"So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace." 2 Corinthians 4:16


Jesus didn't die for you never to make mistakes. Can I tell you something that is very hard to grasp, what many Christians struggle with and make other people feel like it's not true but it is, ready? IT IS OKAY TO MESS UP. It's okay to be weak.It's okay to struggle and make wrong choices. It's not an excuse to do it, it's freedom to know God still loves you the same when you do. His grace still covers you. He will still use you. Stop beating yourself up. Stop it. Jesus knew the decisions you'd make, the screw ups and flaws you'd have. He had them on his mind when he died on that cross. Not so you would spend the rest of your life feeling guilty but because he knew he would be enough. God's grace is enough.
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Jesus didn't die for you to hide your failures and live in shame. It doesn't depend on US, it depends on HIM. You ARE free to be you. Free to be REAL. The jacked up, this is me, flaws and all YOU. You need freedom in that. The world needs to see that. As ashamed as we are to show that sometimes. People need to see it's okay not to be okay. Christianity is not about putting on a cleaned up charade for people, it's about being ourselves and pointing to Jesus through it all. Saying I MESS UP but Jesus has me covered. Come as you are. It's what Jesus told us, it's what we need to portray to others.People need to see God's grace at work not just have it preached at them.
 "Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." Philippians 4:13


Jesus didn't die so you would have to DO to earn grace or mercy. If you do this and then this...then presto...God is happy. He'll give you Grace. No! Jesus has already DONE and grace is already yours. His last words on the cross were IT IS FINISHED. And He meant it. 
"Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!" Ephesians 2:8


Blood dripping down his body, sweat on his brow, pain coursing through his veins while people laughed at him. As he hung on the cross, rusty nails pierced through him, the son of God, all the power to come down, to stop the pain, to end the torture. But he didn't, why? Because he had YOU on his mind. YOU specifically. Not a broad spectrum of people... YOU. Before you were even on this earth.He loved YOU. He knew YOU. Knew what you'd look like, your personality, knew the mistakes you'd make, the imperfections you'd have. He knew because the sin of the world that you'd be separated from God. That you couldn't be perfect. So he Chose to make a sacrifice....himself....so that you could be connected with God for all of eternity.A free gift that all we have to do is believe in. It's freedom. It's redemption. It's forgiveness. It's excitement and joy despite hardships. It's peace that doesn't make sense. It's true,everlasting LOVE.

It's not about Guilt. Jesus took the overwhelming guilt, so we could have the endless grace. If you have Jesus, when God looks at you he says "I love you unconditionally and the verdict is, NOT GUILTY."