The misperceptions about a walk with Jesus & knowing God are rampant…
Below, the first item listed is before we know Him; the second item is the truth about a glorious relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of the Father & of Jesus Christ.

What we thought was… Is actually…

Religion… relationship
Religious… revelation
Dead… alive… the only life possible on earth and for eternity
Going to church or mass… walking with Jesus all the time & fellowship with believers
Acting spiritual & religious… experiencing the glorious presence of Jesus
Piety… natural and relaxed; no faking it
Unnatural, man-made religion… what man was created to do: walk with God through Jesus, forever . . . holiness and the glory of the Lord
Law, rules… grace
Impossible… possible
No power… the greatest power in the universe
Burdensome… light
Heaviness…lightness
Difficult… easy
Complicated… simple
Complex… basic
Depriving ourself… receiving
Giving things up… gaining all things
Empty… complete fullness
Unnatural… Supernatural
Ordinary… wonderful
Boring… exciting
Dull… captivating and fascinating
Confining and Restricting… liberating
Oppressing… freeing
Limiting… free and easy

Inhibiting… Uninhibiting
Work … rest
Struggle… Perfect peace
Do, do, do… done, done, done
Bondage… freedom
Giving up fun… joy unspeakable and full of glory
Giving up pleasure… pleasures forevermore

Blessed, favored, fortunate
Happiness…
Famine… feast
Unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ
Low self-esteem . . . Royalty, lord, king
Striving… resting
Denying our self… forgetting our self
Introspection… losing ourselves in Jesus Christ
What I can do for God… What Jesus does in & through us
Laborious study to try to understand the word of God… Word of God makes complete sense through the Holy Spirit
Knowledge…. Knowing him
Shallow… eternally and infinitely deep; unsearchable
Plain…. Beautiful, Glorious
Peculiar… normal…what we were created to do
Far away… within us, all around us, all the time
Sacrifice… the greatest privilege
Self-examination…
Our battle… The battle is the Lord’s
A battle… a celebration
Defeat… Victory
Prosperous
Hymns… worship in spirit and in truth
Self-focused… Jesus focused
Earth and world focused… Jesus and His glory focused
Down about getting older… Realizing we are eternal; earthly things do not matter
Down about past failures, mistakes & sins… Our past is erased
Stuck in old life… Free in the new divine life
Focused on money & material things… Focused on storing up treasures in heaven
Haste, hurry… stillness
Confusion… stability, order
Knowledge…. Knowing Him
A battle… A celebration
Defeat… Victory