All human beings were created with a fundamental need to be loved and accepted. We look for this in a variety of places, but only one Being can fulfill this fundamental need, and that is God. God is our Creator and He created human beings to be in a close, intimate relationship with Him.

As a Christian, I've always known and believed that. At the same time, however, I held on to a lie: God would turn away from me if I did something wrong – whether deliberately or unintentionally.

Do you believe this deep down in your heart?

I have exceedingly good news: you don't have to believe this anymore!

If you believe that Jesus, the Son of God, is the perfect atonement for all your past, present, and even future wrong doings, and that He came and took all our sin upon Himself so that we could stand before God clean, then here's the greatest news: God sees you the same way He sees his own Son: pure, perfect, and holy!

This gives us access to commune with God anytime and anywhere, without any fear, guilt, or shame.

This is God's most beautiful gift to humanity. When we have this assurance that we are loved and accepted by God, our hearts are finally at rest. This is the true love and acceptance we have spent our lives searching for.

You might be wondering, "What if I believe this message but later on, I do something really bad? Will God still accept me?"

I also wondered the same thing. In the past, I suffered from certain unhealthy addictions. There would be a nagging voice that would tell me, "You're unclean again. God is not going to accept you or help you anymore."

One day, I heard my pastor share a Bible verse I had never known before:

"God made [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."
- 2 Corinthians 5:21

This means that God is not holding my sins against me. Jesus already made the full payment for my sin on the Cross. Therefore, God remembers my sin no more.

In the past when I made mistakes, I would distance myself from God because I feared His anger and disappointment. I thought I needed to work on becoming a "better person" first before I could come back to God.

If you feel this way, here has been the key to my freedom: Whenever I feel great guilt and condemnation, I repeat these 8 words out loud to remind myself of the truth -

"I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!"

Sometimes it feels silly and even hypocritical to say this out loud, especially when I feel anything BUT righteous. However, this truth stands no matter how I feel.

Rest in what Jesus has done. You will begin hearing God's voice and experiencing the breakthroughs you've been praying for!