“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭4:10-12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Salvation is not an idea. Salvation is not a concept. Salvation is a person! His name is Jesus.

We are born into this world, born with the nature of the devil. When Adam sinned, he didn’t just die spiritually, he lost the image of God. (Genesis 1:26) even worse, he gained the image of God’s enemy. However, God didn’t lose His plan for us. He still planned for us to walk and talk like Him. He still planned for us to be in fellowship with Him.

The curse removed our dependence on God, and made us independent, self-reliant, self-justifying, self-sufficient. The key word is this, we were no longer filled with God, we were filled with SELF. Without God’s loving hand, we ate away at ourselves. You can see it happen to varying degrees in everyone’s lives. Without God, we destroy ourselves. We’ve become toxic to ourselves and other people, consuming and destroying, hoping to find some relief from the pain that eats away at our souls and even our bodies. “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” ‭‭Titus‬ ‭3:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

So here’s the big question, what do we need to be saved from, and what do we need to be saved to? If we were created for the image of God, and we lost that, then how do we return to what we were created for? How do we escape the destruction of the nature of the devil? Sin isn’t just “missing the mark”. Sin is the darkness that rebelled against God, and when we obeyed the serpent’s voice instead of God’s voice, we took on the nature of God’s enemy. God provided an answer. The problem was our sin made us look like the enemy, and God made us to look like Him, so He provided someone who looked like Him to rescue us. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Jesus, being the Son of God, was fully God and fully man. However, setting His divinity aside, He took no shortcuts. He came through the womb of a woman. When He was baptized in the river Jordan, He received the Holy Spirit, and the Father declared “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased.” The only one to ever fully obey the law, who had no sin, 100% God and 100% man. Jesus came with humility, but also confidence, because He knew who He was. There was no mistaking His assignment. Jesus came to announce the Kingdom of God, and remind us that we were made in the image of God. When we look at Jesus, we get a good picture of God, but we also get a good picture of us. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

So when Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons, He not only showed He was the Messiah, but He also was declaring, “this is what you were made to do as well.”“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” ‭‭John‬ ‭20:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

So when Jesus died on the cross, He took our identity so that we could have His. He paid for sin, so that we didn’t have to. He bore the stripes so that we could be healed. He lost His appearance so that we could get ours back. He died, so we could live. AND if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION! Let me tell you, ONLY JESUS SAVES. You won’t find who you are in activities. (definitely not religious ones.) You won’t find who you are in relationships, marriage or otherwise. You won’t find who you are in drugs, alcohol, parties, or family. The only way to find who you are is in the Son. Jesus is the only answer. Salvation is a person! Jesus is Lord. He is jealous for you, and He will have second to no one.

You say, “but I’m saved, I prayed the sinner’s prayer!” Is Jesus your everything? Is He the air you breathe? Trust me, without Jesus you don’t have life. Without Jesus, you don’t have peace, you don’t have joy. Heaven and Hell are real, but Jesus wants to remove Hell from the inside of you and put Heaven on the inside of you. So when people look in your eyes, they see the love of God. The image of God. God is so jealous for you. He wants everything. Hold nothing back, give it all.

Jesus doesn’t want much, He just wants everything.

I pray that God would arrest your heart to chase after Jesus with all of your might! Be blessed, I love you in Jesus’ name!