Rick Manis Ministries Podcast

The feeling of rejection was a common thread in my life. What if I was just a little bit better? This led to a journey of trying to be liked, measure up, and please others. It was exhausting. It wasn't until I understood the fullness of God's love AND like for me that my perspective changed and I experienced true freedom.

God's heart is for reconciliation.

"For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,  and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross." - Colossians 1:19-20

“Law Law Land” describes a system where sin is at the center: trying to manage it, trying to avoid it, trying to be sure everything is fairly judged, trying to please or punish others, depending on their behavior. Here we are focused on keeping laws so that God can hopefully bless us. His approval is based on our abilities to do what is right. 

In Jesus we escape into Graceland, a place where Grace flows freely and people are moved by love: the love the Father has for them as well as the love they genuinely feel and want for other people. Here we don’t operate under a contractual agreement, but rather through communion, which is based on unlimited reliability. Graceland is where we trust God, who is love, and commune with Him, relying on His goodness to carry us through the challenges of life.

In Law Law Land, we operate under a contractual relationship with God.  We get caught up in obedience, trying to avoid God’s displeasure by trying to manage sin. Our world becomes consumed with a God who is not very warm or inviting.

In Jesus we escape into Graceland, a place where Grace flows freely and people are moved by love: the love the Father has for them as well as the love they genuinely feel and want for other people. We have been taken by His love and it has given us a true peace and a sense of joy. It is a fulfilling place to dwell in.

Jesus truly is your "ALL IN ONE" gift, and there is so much receive and celebrate in Him.

We are carriers of HIS light! As we get to know who Jesus is, we realize who we are, and our light begins to brightly shine into a dark, broken world.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:16

Growing in grace begins with knowing you are fully and unconditionally loved by your Heavenly Father.

Jesus was the perfect, divine expression of the Father in both word and deed.

When we aren't aware of our eternal identity, we take on small identities. They may not necessarily be wrong, but they are small, temporary, and and unfulfilling. Our big identity is that of a child of God. The separation mindset allows us to exist oblivious to the truth, and we end up forgetting who we are! BUT God.... He kindly reminds us that we are sons and daughters and that we belong to His family. He welcomes us HOME!

What is Jesus talking about when He talks about life more abundantly? It's eternal life in HIM that is better and more beautiful than we could ever imagine. It's rest instead of striving. It's fullness. We lack nothing!

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." -John 10:10

Because of Jesus and His sacrifice, we have the power of resurrection life living in us. We are not just trying to survive life on this side of heaven. Life is stronger than death, and we have access to HIS life NOW!

When we see God as He is, our fear to approach a HOLY God goes away. His love and goodness towards us is far greater than we could imagine, and His heart is for us to be connected and in union with Him. We are are holy as He is holy, and there is a beautiful relationship available to us through Jesus.

We love grace and our lives have been transformed by it, but we all want to do better, right? As followers of Jesus, we all still make mistakes. Religion tells us to STOP SINNING and gives is systems to combat the sin in our lives. The Gospel, however, shows us that sin is not our issue. It is ALL ABOUT JESUS and His fruit of the Spirit in us! Allow Jesus to love you in your imperfection, and rest in His finished work!

In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." It is a promise to us that transformation happens when we believe in Him. Reject the religious mindset of the cycle of hungering and thirsting for more. In Jesus, the work is finished, we are filled, we lack nothing, and we have been made as righteous as He is!

Jesus, our intercessor, changes our hearts by revealing the heart of the Father to us. Allow Him to lavish you with love and open your spiritual eyes to the reality of His goodness.

"There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus." -1 Timothy 2:5

Jesus isn't groveling at The Father's feet on your behalf to change His mind about you. Jesus is showing us who The Father really is, and He is so much more beautiful than we thought. We have been reconciled by the blood of Jesus and are righteous and blameless before the Father.

"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." - Hebrews 7:25

When we experience THE Truth, God is revealed to us in His fullness, our lives are transformed, and we are free indeed.  As we become aware of Kingdom reality, the worldly, religious, and subjective lenses fall away from our thinking. THE Truth goes beyond our temporal situations, and everything changes when we see it. Truth is a place where love abounds, where all is well, and where we find rest in Him.

Merry Christmas week, friends! In the gift of Jesus, there are many gifts, a few being sinlessness, a new identity, and complete transformation. Wake up to who you are as a Child of God and all that God has given you through His Son.

So often as believers, we try and strive and achieve and be someone we are not to please God. Unmask the imposter and rest in your identity as a child of God. Your heavenly Father loves who you are and how He created you to be. 

“Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.” - Brennan Manning

"All those I dearly love I unmask and train.  So repent and be eager to pursue what is right. Behold, I’m standing at the door, knocking.  If your heart is open to hear my voice and you open the door within, I will come in to you and feast with you, and you will feast with me." - Revelation 3:19-20