I love Jesus. More than anything ever.

Will I ever be ashamed of that?

HECKS to the NO.

Why should I? Why should anyone have to apologize about something they are so deeply passionate about, that it’s all they ever want to think about or talk of. As young Christ followers, one of the biggest challenges we face is being openly accepted into a society that has rejected the public declaration of accepting Jesus Christ as our savior.

Well if that’s the case, I don’t want to fit in.

How can we seek approval by a society that is always changing and never pleased? We’re stuck in a constant cycle of trying so hard to catch up, only to realize were still ten-feet behind.

Paul the Apostle, preaching the Good News that God is the only way in Galatians 1:10 NLT states:

“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”

Why is it okay to blast Kanye’s ((trash)) new album in our cars with the windows down, but so strange for me to jam to my worship playlist on full volume? And why have we cultivated this mind-set that were “too far gone” into our sin that not even God can save us; when all we have to do is look up and see Him reaching out to us, with an open embrace and a desire to free us from our bondage.

We are encouraged to “follow our dreams” and “not let society tell us what to do”, but under who’s conditions? You can love, but not too deeply. You can dream, but not too wistfully. You can stand up for what you believe in, but not too loudly.

Jesus isn’t our script; He is our conversation, and there is no way to sugar-coat God. He IS real, He IS alive, He IS eternal, He IS powerful, and He IS the way. We cannot water-down an overflowing God who is constantly showing us His love and marvelous works in our lives. He deserves to be passionately praised and vocally boasted about for eternity without limit or boundary.

WE MUST BREAK THE SILENCE!!!

Jesus was not silent about the love of God even though the world was against Him. He took the pain, the anger, the hatred; all with good courage and an assurance that the people would be saved and would understand the power of Christ, as Jesus paid the penalty for us all.

So before you complain about how “beat down” you feel because you only got seven hours of sleep instead of a full ten, remember the severe suffering Jesus took on for YOU; instead give Him a joyful shout-out of thankfulness.

Hebrews 12:1 NLT gives us encouraging words about bold faith in God:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

I don’t know about you but this literally makes me want to join the Olympics representing “Team God” and break every record spiritually possible.

Picture yourself right now on a track. You’ve been anticipating this moment for so long, training day and night; building up the physical endurance you need to power past your opponents. All eyes are on you. Half the audience is placing bets on your success, while the others are waging on your ultimate defeat.

When we boldly believe in God andopenly exemplify His insurmountable love, we gain an audience. We become surrounded by curious witnesses who want to know more about God, but are too fearful of taking the risk of faith on their own. I like to think of it as people needing a “test dummy” to prove just how fulfilling life can be if they accept Jesus into their hearts.

BE THE TEST DUMMY!!!

Show these quenching spirit’s that they CAN wholesomely believe in the Lord no matter what trials they may face, because FAITH = ASSURANCE. God WILL have a “super-bowl worthy” game-plan for you when you let Him be the quarterback.

We can’t pick and choose what we want to abide by and accept under God’s command, just like we can’t pick out the type of chocolates that we want from a variety bag of candy. We must love the Father, the Son, AND the Holy Spirit; having an intimate relationship with all three of them.

It’s all or nothing.

Jesus gave us His all; He didn’t take half the pain, or apprehensively choose what burdens of ours He wanted to bear. He wore our shame, our pain, and our sin; the least we can do in return is joyfully give Him all the love we possibly can by rejoicing and sharing His love to everyone on this planet.

The Lord didn’t send His son to die for us so that we can SURVIVE; He made the sacrifice so we can THRIVE in His unconditional, ever-lasting love.

God loves me. I once had a lukewarm relationship with Him; always wanting more, but constantly giving less. I let my flesh’s desires outweigh my spirit’s longings and in turn, felt empty for such a long time. But the Holy Spirit kept pulling on my heartstrings; no matter how distant I strayed, He kept reeling me back in, never giving up. He captured me in my weakness, and revealed to me his glorious, astonishing love; freeing me from being a slave to sin, and becoming a slave to righteousness. I cannot describe to you the life and devotion the Holy Spirit has breathed into my soul, restoring me in my relationship with Him. Jesus has ignited a fervent passion for God in my heart once again, that I guarantee will NEVER burn out, as I aim to live like Him every single day of my life.

As I am armored in the body of Christ, I walk UNASHAMED in the love my Savior has for me. I am led by His spirit through every area of my life. He IS my best-friend, He died for us ALL, He has NO favorites, and I WILL proudly lift Him up every minute of every day, boldly and courageously.

Thank you, Jesus; for your freedom and unconditional love. I will praise your name and love you for eternity.

Romans 8:38-39 NLT

“And I am convinced thatnothingcan ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the power of hellcan separate us from God’s love. Nopower in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”