No Pretending Needed: You Are Fully Known and Loved

Loved Without Performance

At Lakeview Christian Church of Portage Lakes, we want you to know a liberating truth: God doesn’t care if you’re successful, have a perfect marriage, or if your children are great students. He isn’t waiting for your faith to be on the mountaintop. As Pastor Jim so clearly states, “We don’t have to perform for God.” This truth from Psalm 139 changes everything about how we see ourselves and live out our faith.

The world constantly tells us we must achieve, impress, or pretend to be worthy of love. But God’s message is the opposite. Psalm 139 reminds us:

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! … Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.”
(Psalm 139:1, 4, ESV)

God knows us completely. We don’t have to pretend. We don’t have to impress. We get to be just us—and He loves us as we are.

Loved in Every Circumstance

God’s love doesn’t shrink back in the face of our fears, failures, disappointments, temptations, questions, loneliness, grief, or even our sin. Pastor Jim’s words echo the heart of the gospel: “He loves us as we are…in our fears, in our failures, in our disappointments, in our temptations, in our questions, in our loneliness, in our grief, and yes, even in our sin. God loves us, and He says, come.”

This is the wonder of it all. The God who created the universe invites us into His presence, not because we’ve gotten it all together, but because He wants to meet us exactly where we are.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8, ESV)

No Need to Pretend

At Lakeview Christian Church of Portage Lakes, we believe authenticity is the soil where real faith grows. God’s love dismantles the need for masks or posturing. You don’t have to hide your struggles or pretend to be someone you’re not.

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
(Psalm 139:13-14, ESV)

He knows every part of you—the good, the bad, the broken—and still calls you beloved. In Jesus, we see this love in action: He ate with outcasts, touched the sick, welcomed the overlooked, and forgave the broken.

The Invitation to Change

God loves us as we are—but He doesn’t leave us there. His love is transformative. When we come honestly before Him, He begins the work of renewal from the inside out. It’s not about striving to impress, but about surrendering to His grace.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
(Psalm 139:23-24, ESV)

Be the Change: The “Just 3” Way

Our mission at Lakeview Christian Church of Portage Lakes is to “Be the Change as Jesus Has Changed Us.” This happens as we embrace God’s love, live authentically, and invite others to do the same. We put this into practice through our “Just 3” approach:

Study: To Love and Know God

We study the Bible not to earn God’s approval, but to discover His heart for us. God’s Word reveals that we are already fully known and fully loved.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…”
(Colossians 3:16, ESV)

Share: To Know and Love Others

We share our lives, our struggles, and our stories. Authentic relationships grow when we are real with one another, reflecting the love and acceptance we’ve received from God.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
(James 5:16, ESV)

Serve: Love in Action

We serve not to gain God’s favor, but as an overflow of the love we’ve experienced. Serving others is the natural response when we know we’re loved unconditionally.

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
(John 13:35, ESV)

Rest, Belong, and Grow

If you’re weary from performing or pretending, we welcome you at Lakeview Christian Church of Portage Lakes. Here, you can rest in the truth that you are enough, just as you are, because God’s love is bigger than your past, your pain, or your shortcomings.

Let’s “Be the Change” together—a church family where nobody has to pretend, and everyone can experience the wonder of being fully known and fully loved.