DAY 14: DOES THIS LOOK LIKE JESUS?

“He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” John 14:9 NKJV

“When you are not sure whether the picture in your heart is from God, look at Jesus. If it does not look like Him, something is wrong with the picture.” — Dr. Daniel LeBlanc

DOES THIS LOOK LIKE JESUS?

We have spent this week talking about discernment. We have talked about thoughts, fear, pain, the voices competing for our attention, and even things that may have been passed down through our families. But I want to end this week by giving you a simple question that has helped me: Does this look like Jesus?

Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” John 14:9 NKJV. That means if I want to know what God is like, I do not have to guess. I can look at Jesus.

Sometimes our picture of God has been shaped more by religion than by Jesus. We may picture God as angry, distant, disappointed, or waiting for us to mess up. Then we look at Jesus and see Him touching lepers, receiving sinners, healing the broken, confronting darkness, forgiving people, and setting captives free.

But do not misunderstand His love. Jesus loved people deeply, but He never called darkness light. He could protect the woman caught in adultery from condemnation and then tell her, “Go and sin no more.” John 8:11 NKJV. That is Jesus.

John said Jesus was “full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 NKJV. I love that description because we need both. Truth without grace can crush people, while grace without truth can leave people in bondage. Jesus brought truth that could set people free and grace that gave them the opportunity to walk in that freedom.

So when a picture begins forming in your mind, ask yourself, “Does this look like Jesus?” When you hear a voice telling you that you are hopeless, rejected, finished, or beyond restoration, stop and ask whether that sounds like Jesus.

The enemy loves to take something you did and turn it into who you are. He says, “You failed, so you are a failure.” Jesus may confront what you did, but He does not leave you lying there. He calls you to get up, follow Him, and become who He created you to be.

That is the difference between condemnation and conviction. Condemnation pushes you away from God and tells you there is no hope. The Holy Spirit reveals what is wrong and then draws you toward Jesus so you can change.

Maybe we have made discernment more complicated than it needs to be. When you are unsure about a thought, attitude, desire, or picture, bring it into the presence of Jesus. Ask, “Does this agree with His Word? Does this reflect His character? Is this leading me toward Him or away from Him?”

If what you are beholding is producing bitterness, lust, hatred, fear, condemnation, pride, revenge, or compromise, something is wrong with the picture. Do not keep staring at something that is slowly forming you into someone you were never created to become.

Hebrews tells us to be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2 NKJV. Maybe the answer to many of the wrong pictures in our lives is not trying harder to stop seeing them. Maybe we need to start looking at Jesus again.

This is where the whole message of God Imagination becomes so important. God Imagination is not ultimately about seeing yourself with a bigger house, a larger bank account, a successful business, a growing ministry, or even a healed body. I believe God cares about every area of our lives, but there is something much greater than all of those things.

The greatest picture is Jesus.

Paul said God has predestined us “to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Romans 8:29 NKJV. God is doing something much deeper than changing our circumstances. He is changing us.

I want to love like Jesus. I want to forgive like Jesus. I want to look at hurting people like Jesus looked at them. I want to resist temptation like Jesus, speak truth like Jesus, walk in authority like Jesus, and live completely surrendered to the Father like Jesus.

That is the picture I want forming within me.

We do not need to spend our lives studying everything the devil is doing. We need to know Jesus so well that when something does not sound like Him, look like Him, or agree with His Word, we recognize it quickly. The better you know the genuine, the easier it becomes to recognize the counterfeit.

So before we leave this week on discernment, remember these questions. Does this agree with the Word? Which kingdom does this represent? Whose voice am I hearing? And finally, does this look like Jesus?

The clearer Jesus becomes within your heart, the easier it becomes to recognize every picture that does not belong there. Keep looking at Him because the picture you continually behold is the picture you will increasingly become.

Prayer

Father, I want to see Jesus more clearly. Holy Spirit, show me every picture within me that does not look like Him. Expose every lie, fear, attitude, desire, and imagination that contradicts Your Word. I do not want religion, culture, my past, my feelings, or the enemy defining what You are like. I choose to look at Jesus. As I behold Him, change me until His love, righteousness, courage, compassion, purity, and obedience can be seen in my life. Amen.

Today’s God Imagination

Jesus is the picture I choose to behold. If a thought, voice, or imagination does not agree with His Word and character, I refuse to give it my agreement. I am fixing my eyes upon Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to form His life within me. The more clearly I see Him, the more I am becoming like Him.