Just to be close to you

Hope you had a good Easter celebrating what Jesus did for us. Easter always reminds me of just how powerful and awesome our God is. To think Jesus stormed the pits of hell for you and me, grabbed the keys of death and hell from the devil and made prisoner all the things that try to hold us bound, that’s amazing to me. That is a strong, powerful and fearless God. That is our God!

Last few weeks we have been talking about intimacy with God. We cannot talk about intimacy with God without acknowledging the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Romans 8:1-3 says, “So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One.  For the “law” of the Spirit of life flowing through the anointing of Jesus has liberated us from the “law” of sin and death. For God achieved what the law was unable to accomplish, because the law was limited by the weakness of human nature. Yet God sent us his Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God’s Son gave his body to be the sin-offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin.”

Being mindful of what Jesus did for us, allows us to draw closer to God. We don’t have to carry the guilt and the shame of our past mistakes. There is nothing the enemy loves more than to remind you of what you have done right when you are trying to get close to God. When we take our eyes off Jesus and focus on self, we forget the precious price Jesus paid. We see ourselves as less than and not deserving of God’s love. We see ourselves as dirty and shameful. We see ourselves bound and captive to the things of the past.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news because it reminds us that we are no longer our old bound, broken filthy selves. We have been washed as white as snow by the precious blood of Jesus.

Colossians 2:14-15 says, “He cancelled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all—our sins, our stained soul—he deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation. Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were his!”

Galatians 2:20 says, “My old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me—we live in union as one!  My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, dispensing his life into mine!” When God looks at you, He doesn’t see you the way you see you. He sees you superimposed by Jesus. He sees the complete work of the cross and He sees you as pure and blameless.

That is why God invites you to come boldly to the throne room of grace. It’s because He genuinely loves you and wants to hear from you. It’s because when faced with a choice of losing you forever or giving up everything and dying on the cross, Jesus chose the latter. He took off His royalty and His rights as God and He stepped into humanity. He became flesh and died a criminal’s death by torture for you. All this so He wouldn’t have to live without you. He did everything within His power to make a way for you to live life with Him and when this life is over, for you to be in heaven with Him.  

As much as we long to be in heaven, Jesus longs for us too. He wants to be close to you and He will do whatever it takes to be close to you.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.