Jesus Opens The Door

This morning I was praying, "God I want to experience you today.  I don't want to go through my day without seeing you, hearing you and feeling like your voice is leading me.  Please God, cause me to know you.  I need to have you today."

As I was praying phrases like these over and over, I felt like Holy Spirit said:

"The answer to your prayer is: 'YES.'  You can have me today.  And the reason you can have me today is not because of your many prayers.  All the zeal that you can muster up does not cause you to be able to have me.  You can have me today because JESUS HAS OPENED THE DOOR.  Jesus has made it possible for you to have me today."

Jesus has opened the door - he's made a way for us to be in direct relationship with God.

In more words, Holy Spirit was saying that I could not have direct relationship with God if it weren't for the effectiveness of Jesus' work on the cross.  On the cross, Jesus died and caused some significant things to happen for me:

1- Jesus was willing to take my sin upon himself.  My sin was taken off of me and placed upon him.  He suffered, died and bore the punishment for my sin.  Because of my sins (that were placed upon him) he was forsaken by his father.  I should've been the forsaken one.  But Jesus took my place.  I used to have sin weighing me down, but at the cross Jesus took it from me, carried it on himself and suffered the punishment for my sin.  Now I'm regarded as sinless.  In God's eyes, I don't carry blame.  There's no reason for me to feel shame and guilt.  The reason for my guilt and shame has been taken away.  Jesus took it away.

2- Jesus was willing to take his perfection and place it on me.  On Earth, Jesus lived a sinless life.  He did everything right.  And his father was very proud of him for it.  His father was pleased with him.  Out of his father's proud and delighted heart, he gave Jesus rights and privileges.  At the cross, Jesus was willing to take that 'good standing before Father' and give it to me.  Now I'm not only regarded as sinless but I'm regarded by Father exactly as he regards Jesus.  Jesus made a way for me to be God's son.

The implications of these two 'at the cross' realities are incredible.  And I experienced one of their implications in prayer today.  The Holy Spirit reminded me that I can be in direct relationship with God because Jesus opened up the door.  Previously the door had been shut.  Before, there was no way for me to have direct relationship with God.  But at the cross, Jesus opened the way.

#ExcitingGod