Living your life together with Jesus

The Bible consists of two parts, the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT). In the OT it is mainly about the Jewish people and the law that was given to them. In the NT it is about all peoples and about Jesus who saves by grace when you turn to Him and put your faith in Him and then how you continue to live your life together with Jesus.

In the OT, the law is emphasized and you can read over and over how the Jewish people failed to live up to the law’s requirements, which led to problems. In the NT, grace is emphasized and you receive it by believing in Jesus and God’s promises found in the Bible. It is wonderful to be able to turn to Jesus and turn away from both sin and self-righteousness. It is only by grace that we can be reconciled to God and that happens when we place our heart’s trust completely in Jesus. Then the miracle happens, we are reconciled to God and Jesus moves into our heart. The experience of this miracle varies. For some it is very emotional and for some it may not feel anything special at the moment. But the fact is that as we believe, things will happen. Positive changes in our character will be noticed and what perhaps fascinated us so much before, doesn’t feel nearly as exciting anymore. Life with Jesus has begun.

Then walking on with Jesus can sometimes be like falling in love, with a lot of emotions and that everyone else notices. The other side is that you may have started strong, but then other things come in and the faith becomes a little weak and it almost feels like you lose contact with Jesus. The way forward is to read and practice the Bible. We read the entire Bible, both OT and NT, but it is important to understand that we are now living in the NT, so you don’t mix up the OT and NT.

The Christian life begins and continues by grace and faith. The law in the OT only tells what to do and what not to do, but the law does not provide the ability to live up to the law. The danger is that one applies that principle in the NT. Then you will lose the joy in the Christian life and it will become dry and edgy.

Jesus points clearly and distinctly out the direction in the NT, but the whole point is that He also wants to help us live like that. We cannot live the Christian life on our own, but together with Jesus it is easy. It’s about trusting and believing in Jesus in your daily life and talking to Him about everything. Just as you put your faith in Jesus to be saved, it is about putting your faith in Jesus daily for your daily life.

What the Bible teaches us, Jesus wants to help us live out. The Christian life is about living your life together with Jesus.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28‭-‬30

“Jesus answered him, “If a man loves Me, he will keep My word…” John 14:23

Read and practice the Bible and Jesus will walk with you. A life together with Jesus is an exciting life.

God bless you.