Jesus Defines Who I Am!

I was awakened this morning to the thought of a conversation that I had with my daughter before going to bed to where she was visiting a church today that her boyfriend was to sing.  Her question to me was what do I say if I am asked why I do not go to church regularly?  My first response was that church does not make the person and that because of Grace; Everyday is the “Lords” day.

I also have stated before that going to church makes you no more a Christian than a mouse eating cheese makes it cheese.  Now whether you like that analogy or not is just a simple way to look at what I am trying to say.  Now, do I believe in fellowship with other true believers? YES!, Do I believe in teaching and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ? YES! Does this have to be only one day a week? No! Does it have to be in a building made of stone? No!

I have used the following verse in Matthew more than once in my messages and I also use it as a curtain call when teaching the Grace message. It speaks volumes and more importantly Jesus speaks these words to you.

Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

It is Jesus that defines you not the church you go to or how often you meet.  You are the Temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells not the buildings made with human hands. In Corinthians it states it this way:

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (The Message)

You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.

I tell my daughter and I tell you now because of Jesus birth, life death/burial, resurrection and soon return you are a child of God not a servant and the Holy Spirit lives in you.  Rest in knowing that everyday you can spend time in God’s presence and that he is happy with you because of who Jesus is, not for what you do, especially going to church every time the church doors open to be a taught a mixture of the Law of Moses and the Grace of God!  It is because of Jesus you are righteous, not because you follow a ten step teaching of things you have to do to become righteous.   

In Romans you will find one of the most liberating passages ever and this is what it says;

Romans 8:1 (KJV)
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

What this is saying is if you are being judged by those who mean well about your relationship with God and how you should be living it then they are still eating from the same tree of Good and Evil that Adam partook of, feeding on Death the Law of Moses written on Stones instead of Eating from the Tree of Life, Life being guided by the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you.  God does not condemn you, he sees you as his Son and Daughter because you believe in the finished work of Jesus!  

You are a New Creation!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified)

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

Are you ingrafted in Christ?  Or are you trying to hold on to the ministration of death and life with a mixture of trying to please God instead of just letting God be pleased with you?

The message translation says it this way;

2 Corinthians 5:16-20 (The Message)

Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.

I end with this, Don’t let people define who you are, Jesus is the ultimate definition of you are.  God wants "Relationship" not religion.

God loves You! You are Blessed!