Do You Know Jesus? ~ by Amy Vest

Do you ever wonder why you were created? God created you to have a personal relationship with Him, to glorify Him, and to live forever with Him in Heaven when you die. Apart from this relationship with God, you cannot find the joy, fulfillment, and peace that you were meant to have.

We all have a problem. There is darkness in our hearts. We have all sinned and disobeyed God. We have thought, said, and done wrong things. We have lied, cheated, been selfish, etc. God sees everything. Because God is holy and just, He cannot allow sin in His presence. Our sin separates us from God, and causes us to deserve His punishment, including being separated from Him eternally in Hell when we die. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Trying to do good things (“…and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” Is. 64:6), going to church, not sinning “really badly”, etc. will not save you, or earn you a place in Heaven. God is loving and merciful, but He is also holy and just. Even one little sin cannot be allowed before God. Otherwise, God would not be holy and just.

Because God is also loving and merciful, He made a way for us to be forgiven for our sins and be right with Him. God sent His son, Jesus Christ to earth. He lived a perfect life, died on the cross to take the punishment that we deserved for our sins, and rose again to live forever. In doing this, God made a way for us to be right with Him.

Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Receiving salvation from your sins through believing in and accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior will wash you from your sins, bring you into a right relationship with God, and make it possible for you to go to Heaven when you die. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” It is a choice that you must personally make to receive as you would a gift. No one can make it for you. But, it is critical that you make it! (No one is promised tomorrow.)

Responding to God’s grace and believing in Christ is not something that takes place only in our mind – It is something that must take place in our heart and come out in our actions. Just like I can say that I believe that a chair will hold me up, I am not truly believing and placing my faith in the chair until I sit on it! It is the same way with believing in Jesus to save us. It is when we fully lean on Him to save us, that we truly are believing.

It is the most important decision that you will ever make, and it determines your standing with God and your eternal destiny in Heaven or Hell. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

If you choose to confess your sins to God, ask His forgiveness for them, turn from your sins, believe in Jesus to save you from your sins, and accept Him into your life as your Savior and Lord (which means the one who is in charge), you will be saved and become a child of God. John 1:12 says, “…As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Christ will come into your life, wash away your sins, and enable you to live for Him. Then when God looks at you, He no longer sees your sin, but Jesus. Because of this, you can be in a right relationship with God, live for His glory, and spend eternity in Heaven with Him when you die. This is the most important thing in life, is what you were created for, is where you will find true peace, and determines your eternal destiny.

To be right with God, it is essential to:

1. Admit your sin and your need for forgiveness.
2. Confess your sin to God, ask for His forgiveness, and turn from your sins to follow Him.
3. Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and trust Him to save you.
4. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ and invite Him to come in and control your life as your Lord and Savior.

You can pray something like the following prayer:

“Dear Lord, I know that I have sinned and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and I trust You to save me. Please forgive me for my sins, come into my life as my Lord and Savior, and help me to live for You. I choose to turn from my sins, trust You as my Lord and Savior, surrender my life to You, and to follow You from now on. Thank you for dying in my place so that I can be right with You and spend eternity with You in Heaven when I die. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Romans 10:9-11 tells us,

“…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (ESV)

Once you have accepted salvation through Jesus Christ, your new life in Him has just begun! John 5:24 says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

To grow in your relationship with the Lord you should:

1. Read the Bible, which is God’s word to you, each day (the book of John is a good place to start).
2. Spend time daily talking to God in prayer.
3. Worship the Lord, fellowship, and serve with other Christians in a church where God’s Word is preached.
4. Live for Christ and tell others about Him.

The Lord will never leave you. He will make Himself more real to you as you seek Him and will satisfy the longings of your heart. The Lord will help you to live for Him! As His child, you have the joy of walking with Him in this life and the joy of knowing that you will spend eternity with Him in Heaven!

Jesus - No One Compares ~ by Amy Vest

Jesus.  The most precious Name in the world.  The One to Whom no one compares.  The only source of all we need.  Jesus.

Oh, friend!  He has been showing His goodness, grace, holiness, nearness, and reality so much lately.  My heart has been falling more deeply in love with the One I need so desperately.

He is matchless.

I could talk about Him for hours, but there are 4 precious realities that I want to share about Him that have been bringing so much joy to my heart.

Jesus:
1. Is real -
He is so real.   He wants to be real to you.  The things He says in His Word about Who He is are not just words on a page, they are reality.  He wants to make Himself so real to you and is working in your life for this purpose.  We can watch each day for Him to reveal to us the reality of Who He is as we walk with Him through the day.  This is a prayer He delights to answer. 

How is He real to you?

2. Only satisfies -
Jesus alone is the satisfaction of the vacuum in our heart.  He will not allow you to be satisfied in anything else.  He is always wooing you to Himself.  He alone can satisfy the longing He created.  We can respond through running to Him for our joy - through prayer, time in His Word, walking with Him each moment, and making Him the object of our love and pursuit.  As we do, we always find the reality of this verse, "He satisfies the longing soul..." Psalm 107:9

Where are you looking for satisfaction?
3. Wants your heart -
Oh, how He wants your heart!  He made you for Him and He will never stop pursuing your heart.  This is such faithful love.  He wants your heart more than your words or your hands.  “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."' Matthew 15:8 "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6  He will not let you settle for outward actions - He wants your heart.  And you can be so glad - when He has your heart, you are satisfied and He is glorified.  When your heart is His, all that flows out is worship.

Is your heart with Him?

4. Calls you to an endless journey and romance with Him - He invites you to enjoy and embrace this personal relationship of love with Him that touches every area of your life. Every day of this life until we step into eternity is an opportunity to walk moment by moment with Him - learning His heart, understanding His Word, being knit more closely to Him.  All you face serves to make Him more precious - the trials, victories, and everything in between.  Life is so full of purpose, anticipation, and joy as you open your eyes each morning to a new day of walking with and knowing Jesus more!

Will you walk with Him today?

These are precious realities that have been filling me with so much joy.  I pray they will do the same for you.

Friend, as you receive His grace to embrace Jesus as your reality, satisfaction, heart's treasure, and purpose in living, your heart will love Him more and we can declare together:

"There is none like you, O Lord, and there is no God besides you..." 1 Chronicles 17:20

Jesus.  No one compares.

Question - We love hearing from you!

What are distractions for you from living for Jesus?

Please share in the comments section below!

Join us for Videocast 6 - Don't Waste Your Youth!

Loving the Lord Videocast #6 - Don't Waste Your Youth from Loving the Lord Ministries on Vimeo.

Join us for this special video message with Amy Vest from 2010 - a timeless message about such an important season of your life!

Fullness of Joy - The Presence of Jesus ~ by Amy Vest

The presence of Jesus.

There is nothing like it in all the world.

"In your presence is fullness of joy." Psalm 16:11

The presence - the nearness - of the One Who is our Savior, our Friend, our everything.

When you know Jesus is with you, you know that you have all that you need.  For those who belong to Him, He has promised to be with you - forever.

"I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) - and then to usher is into His presence in Heaven forever!

This, my friend, is the only way we find true, lasting, and full joy - in the presence of the One we were created to know and Who "satisfies the longing soul" (Psalm 107:9) - Jesus.

Jesus is with you right now.

Stop and let that sink in.

Jesus is right there with you.  Wherever you are.  
I know some of you are probably reading this in a hospital room, at home, on the road, or in different countries.  Some of you are happy, some of you are tired, some of you are crying.

Jesus is there.

Stop and ask:

How does the reality that Jesus with with me change my life?The reality that Jesus is right here with you will change everything, if you embrace it.

All that He Is, is right here.  This inspires awe, worship, security, fulfillment, and obedience.

 I love to whisper "You are here." in the midst of my days.
Some moments it is soaking in His presence under a starry sky or in my time of devotions, other times it is treasuring His nearness in times of deep pain or while babysitting a household of lively kiddos, and much of the time, it is embracing the everyday moments with the One Who is my life.

Life is beautiful when it is lived in the presence of the Beautiful One.  Painless?  No.  But, deeply beautiful, because the reality of Jesus colors everything I encounter.

The One Who Is:
The Bread of Life - meets me in my soul's hunger
The King of Heaven - is in control
The All-Sufficient Savior - is all I need
The Shepherd - is there to guide and nurture me
... and everything else He tells us He is in His Word - is with you.

Jesus wants you to share life with Him.

Friend, you have the opportunity to live every moment with Jesus.

To walk with Jesus every moment.
To turn your thoughts into a conversation with Jesus.
To soak of the reality that He is in you and with you.
To allow His presence to impact all you do and touch others that are desperate for Him.

Feel it?
I want to make a little note for those of you who are more "feelers" like me.  The presence of Jesus is a reality whether you can feel and sense it or not.  There are times when His presence feels so near and other times when we cannot feel it and must stand on the truth of His Word where He promises, "I will never leave you or forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)  His presence is always just as real and unchanging, regardless of our feelings, ideas, or the circumstances of the world.

Miss it?
While His presence is just as real and unchanging, we can become distracted with less important things coming first in our hearts or minds, or believing those things will give the joy only His presence can give - or even seeking to hide from His presence (we can't - Psalm 139) because of the guilt of sin in our lives.  Listen to this beautiful truth, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God..." (1 Peter 3:18)  Jesus died for our sins to take the punishment we deserve, make us right with God, and restore the relationship with Him that was broken by sin.  Our response must be to turn from our sin to follow Jesus, receive His forgiveness, and live in the joy of His presence!

Welcome it!
I love praying, "Jesus, thank You that You are here.  We welcome Your presence, Lord.  Please have Your way."  Think of how you welcome your best friend to your house. Is it with passive agreement? No. It is with shouts of joy, open arms, and a heart of love, right? Oh, friends! Welcome the presence of Jesus - with arms and heart wide open as far as possible to the One Who is your life.  When Jesus comes, there is always joy - fullness of joy!

Friend, Jesus is right there with you now.  He is present.  He is real.  He is ready to meet you.

Welcome Him with an open heart, soak in His presence, and share your life with Him each moment.

He invites us to a life lived in His presence - when we respond, we find joy, because we receive Jesus.