I remember when I saw my first 3-D movie. It was Sponge Bob Squarepants at the Carowinds Theme park. When they were chasing the pickle, my kids and I felt like we were actually in the movie. In fact, the pickle almost hit us and we all tried to move away from it. I was hooked. In most cases, I would now prefer to see a movie in 3-D. It is so much more enjoyable and fun to feel like you are a part of the movie rather than just watching a movie.
Before I understood what the Bible teaches about the New Covenant, my relationship with God was 2-D. The Bible seemed to be more about what I should be doing that I was not doing for a Jesus who could never be pleased. I always felt guilty, did not sense that God loved me and perceived myself as a Christian who rarely measured up in God's eyes. I was driven to perform for God's acceptance but it was like being in a 2-D movie. I really wanted to be like Jesus whom I read about in the Bible but He was not very accessible. No wonder over time my stomach started hurting when I read the Bible. I do not think that is Christianity.
My problem? I was reading the Bible through the glasses of the Old Covenant which says to be blessed you have to obey God very conscientiously. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 says "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God."
No wonder I was miserable! You can never do enough under the Old Covenant to get blessed by God but more importantly as Christians, we are now under the New Covenant. When you understand the New Covenant, it is like putting 3-D glasses on. You are not watching the story, you are in the story. You understand that Jesus is in you to love you unconditionally and to live His life through you in every area of your life. You see, the New Covenant focus is about living by faith, not performance. Galatians 2:20 says it this way, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
No wonder Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:16-21 that Christians would have a revelation of Jesus Christ in them! Only then can we experience a 3-D Jesus in our lives. The understanding of Jesus in us transforms forever our view of God, ourselves and others! We are never the same nor is our life.
Pray Ephesians 3:16-21 every day for yourself and those you care about until it is answered! God has no other plan by which we are to live our lives. He has always intended us to live in 3-D!
Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President and Founder GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding
Before I understood what the Bible teaches about the New Covenant, my relationship with God was 2-D. The Bible seemed to be more about what I should be doing that I was not doing for a Jesus who could never be pleased. I always felt guilty, did not sense that God loved me and perceived myself as a Christian who rarely measured up in God's eyes. I was driven to perform for God's acceptance but it was like being in a 2-D movie. I really wanted to be like Jesus whom I read about in the Bible but He was not very accessible. No wonder over time my stomach started hurting when I read the Bible. I do not think that is Christianity.
My problem? I was reading the Bible through the glasses of the Old Covenant which says to be blessed you have to obey God very conscientiously. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 says "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God."
No wonder I was miserable! You can never do enough under the Old Covenant to get blessed by God but more importantly as Christians, we are now under the New Covenant. When you understand the New Covenant, it is like putting 3-D glasses on. You are not watching the story, you are in the story. You understand that Jesus is in you to love you unconditionally and to live His life through you in every area of your life. You see, the New Covenant focus is about living by faith, not performance. Galatians 2:20 says it this way, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
No wonder Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:16-21 that Christians would have a revelation of Jesus Christ in them! Only then can we experience a 3-D Jesus in our lives. The understanding of Jesus in us transforms forever our view of God, ourselves and others! We are never the same nor is our life.
Pray Ephesians 3:16-21 every day for yourself and those you care about until it is answered! God has no other plan by which we are to live our lives. He has always intended us to live in 3-D!
Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President and Founder GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding
