It’s good news.
It’s not bad news.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news.
Salvation, healing, restoration, blessings, abundance, peace, fulfillment, joy, and success are all good news.
Jesus conquered sin and death once and for all, granting every person the guaranteed opportunity of eternal life with Him.
And, what’s more, Jesus said He wasn’t expecting you to earn it, deserve it, or prove you were worth it in order to participate and receive everything that He has in store for you.
God is good to you because that is the desire of God’s heart.
Loving you and being good to you is the passionate and dedicated purpose of God through out all of creation — providing from His infinite store of resources, insight, and relationship — holding nothing back.
It’s good news.
So, why do so many churches make it sound like bad news? Why do so many Christians spend so much time talking about sin, error, mistakes, imperfections, flaws, and baggage instead of the power of God to overcome and deliver? Isn’t that just giving air time to the enemy?
Here’s the truth of it — with God nothing is impossible.
And that means that nothing is out of bounds, out of reach, or out of context. Everything is fair game with God.
Have a sex addiction? God can help you with that.
Watch too much porn? God can heal you.
Have a secret shame that you haven’t shared with anyone? God already knows about it and is ready to bless you.
Plagued with a disease or condition that is keeping you from your best? God is going to bring you through it stronger than you were before.
Worried and anxious that you aren’t good enough and never will be? God says to let go of your worry, because He already knows you aren’t good enough to deserve it but He wants to give you the kingdom anyway.
Do you have baggage? God is the ultimate bellhop. He’ll take that baggage and make light work of it.
Don’t think your concerns are worth God’s time? God already knows about them and is working to bless you in every area of your life. No exceptions.
Think your theology, tradition, culture, politics, or worldview is more important than a relationship with the living God? Now, that’s gonna get you in trouble!
It’s good news.
Jesus is all about good news.
It’s time to let go of the condemnation, confusion, despair, defeat, and self-involvement that comes from focusing on the presence of the enemy, and instead refocus your attention on the presence of God in your life.
Your sins have been forgiven.
Right here. Right now.
You are whole. You are beautiful. You are loved. You are valued. You are appreciated. You are empowered. You are commissioned. You are well able.
You may be sitting on the sidelines of your life because of something that someone once told you, or an experience that scarred you, or a decision that you made that you wish now you had made differently. There may be countless reasons why you should be in retreat, but there are infinite reasons why you should press forward toward the victory.
There is nothing about you, nothing that has happened to you, nothing that you have thought or spoken or done that God isn’t ready to convert from defeat to victory.
You were created on purpose, for a purpose. You are not a mistake or a screw up, you are a child of God.
You were designed with intention, empowered with care, and invested with the ability to recognize and relate to God.
It’s good news.
It’s not that you should deny, forget, or avoid the reality of your sins or the damage that others have done to you by their sins. Quite to the contrary.
Stepping from harm to healing, from damage to delight, and from sin to salvation is accomplished by opening the door to let the light of God’s judgment shine with full vigor into the darkest corners – the shame, the guilt, the failure, the defeat, the wounds, the addictions, the imperfections, the damaged, the diseased, the broken, the flawed, the wicked, the spiteful — all of it. Let God in. Start talking to God about it right now and don’t stop until you have gotten it all out on the table.
God is not afraid of what you are going to find. God is excited to show you the truth that none of it has power over you, none of it defines who you are, none of it can control your destiny.
God is bigger, stronger, smarter, and more capable than all of it put together and all of it taken separately.
It’s good news.
So, let go of the pretentiousness of supposed perfection, the illusion of supposed righteousness, the facade of supposed holiness, and the isolation of living in fear of the enemy all the while grasping for a connection that could actually save you.
Jesus doesn’t need you to hide anything, pretend anything, or put on a show to get ahead with Him.
Jesus knows you, loves you, and wants you as part of His team.
So, when the enemy tries to hold you back, push you down, or otherwise stand in your way, it’s time for you to say, “I am not afraid anymore. I don’t need your approval. I don’t need to justify myself to you. I don’t need to explain or prove anything about who I am. I am a child of God. I am a person of destiny. I was created for life, love, peace, joy, fulfillment, blessing, and accomplishment. I don’t deserve it because I earned it or somehow established myself as worth God’s goodness. I am worthy to receive goodness and love, eternal life and abundant favor, deep and lasting purpose, rich and meaningful blessings and more, all because God declared it, promised it, and established it as free and available out of His infinite supply to everyone who is willing to receive it, and I am!”
The point is, God is good and you are the beneficiary of God’s goodness. God is powerful and you are the receiver of God’s power. God is eternal life and you are the inheritor of God’s eternal life.
The list goes on. So, stop sharing the enemy’s doubts and fears. Stop embracing the enemy’s guilt and shame. Stop accepting the enemy’s judgment and condemnation.
It is not too late. The victory has already been won.
” I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory! The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. Today is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118
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