Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who
for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down
at the right hand of the throne of God. --Hebrews 12:2, NIV.
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Christ Jesus is the Author of
faith—of life—of all that is…
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Do you want to
get closer to Jesus…?
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 How well do you know Jesus?
How real is Christ to you?
Would you like to know Him
better? |
- Many people know about Jesus, many people worship Him, many people believe He
is the Son of God; but how many people really know Him?
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1 John 5:20
NIV
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We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding,
so
that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son
Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
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You can have a
deeper relationship with God… |
- Our God is the God of relationships.
- Our relationship with God is broken by sin.
- But God sent His Son in order that our relationship to Him might be restored.
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| Christian… |
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What do you
think? |
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What do you know? |
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Your relationship to God is meant to go deeper than religious observances. Going
to church, reading the Bible, praying, and worshipping Him, are all things that
are meant to draw us closer to God. If we do not find God in them, they are
simply empty acts.
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“But how can I touch God…hear God…see God…???” |
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Perhaps one of our greatest struggles is to learn to walk in the spirit
by
faith—not relying on our physical senses to define for us what is eternal—and
what is not.
- As we learn to “walk by faith, no longer by sight,” we come to know the
reality of God more fully.
- His eternal reality overshadows the temporary world we live in and this life
fades in comparison.
- With spiritual eyes, we begin to see His provision where once we worried about
jobs, insurance, and housing.
- We see the evidence of His hand of protection, and
the evidence of His making preparations for our future.
- With spiritual ears, we begin to hear His voice, leading us, guiding us,
providing wisdom for us in every situation.
- Our thinking is transformed--shaped to the likeness of His thinking,
so we can learn to respond to life as He would--not as we did before we
belonged to Him.
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Do you want to have a relationship with God
that is as real to you as any other?
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Do you know what that's like…? |
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Christian… These words are for you...
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Knowing Jesus is not a one time event, it is a
daily experience... |
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You may have made a decision to be a Christian, and perhaps you began living
differently, going to church, etc.; but maybe something is still missing.
If you do not know what it is like to walk with Jesus daily, to talk with Him as
you would a close friend throughout each day, to truly feel loved by Him, then
yes—something is still missing.
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God wants you to be blessed…
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As mentioned earlier, Our God is the God of relationships. He wants you to be
blessed in your relationship to Him, to others and to yourself.
Most of the reason we have difficulty in relating to God, others and self, is
found in our messed up thinking. How we see things is distorted by selfishness,
pride, hurt feelings, pain, regret, anger, false expectations, sorrow, and most
certainly sin.
Because of this, our relationships are broken. But Christ came to reconcile. He
came to reconcile us to God, to each other, and to ourselves. He wants for us to
see God, others, and even ourselves in truth through His eyes. And He enables us
to do so as we get closer to Him.
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Do you want to get closer to Jesus…?
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First things first... |
If you have never accepted Jesus’ invitation to have a close personal
relationship with Him, do so now. It’s not hard. Just ask Him.
You might say something like:
“Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God.
I believe that we have all sinned and because of that, we were headed
for judgment and hell. But because God loves us and does not wish that
any one of us should die in our sin not knowing You; I believe that God
sent You to us so that our relationship with God could be restored. I
believe You died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins—taking our
judgment upon yourself—and now, through your willful giving up or Your
life, we have the promise of eternal life in the presence of God. And
now, I simply confess to you that I believe You are exactly who you say
You are, and that God has raised You from the dead. I take You at Your
word, knowing that You, as my creator, know what is best for me. And
therefore, I give you my life. I no longer want to be lord of my own
life, but I want You to be my Lord. I want to follow You—to love, honor,
and obey You. So, I ask You to take my hand and lead me through this
life, so that I can live eternally with You in the next. Please, let it
be so.”
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If you have already accepted Jesus’ invitation... |
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If you have already accepted Jesus’ invitation to have a close personal
relationship with Him, consider this:
What do you do in other
relationships to get closer to someone?
- You usually spend time with that person. Jesus is with you
everywhere you go—treat Him like it. Talk to Him throughout your day.
Spend alone time with Him in prayer, Bible study, and worship, and just
talking to Him about your day, your concerns, and the needs of others.
Ask Him what He wants to accomplish in your life, the lives of others,
the world around you. Ask Him what He likes and doesn’t like.
- You try to get to know the person better. Of course, this is part of
spending time with Jesus. But also, if you want to know a person better,
you try to dig a little deeper in than the surface. God has given us the
Bible, a holy love letter from Him to us, to help us to know Him better.
If you really want to get to know Jesus better, you have got to set
aside the time read (not skim), his letter to you.
- You reserve time for that person. So many things in life will fill
your schedule and steal time from what’s really important. If you want
Jesus to be real to you, you have to treat Him like He is. Set aside
time for Him that is His. Not sure how to squeeze in anything else into
an already packed schedule? Ask Him for wisdom, and guidance, and then
make it happen. Each one of us makes sure we take time to eat everyday,
you have to view time with God as even more important than physical
sustenance.
- You go deeper. You cannot experience the riches of a relationship
with Jesus by keeping Him at arm’s-length as a casual acquaintance. It’s
true, He already knows your inmost thoughts, your deepest desires, your
fears, struggles, likes, dislikes, and deepest secrets—but share them
with Him anyways. Tell Him everything. Through doing so, you will begin
to hear what He has to say to you about what you share. Through doing
so, He will reveal more and more of Himself to you. Allow yourself to
touch His heart, and He will most certainly touch yours.
- You share your thoughts about that person, with that person. Tell
God how you feel and think about Him—about how He makes you feel, and
think. Tell Him what you like about Him. Reminisce with Him about the
times in your life you felt His presence. Thank Him for what He has done
and is doing in your life, other’s lives, and in the world.
- You ask the person to do things with you. The desire we have to
spend time with God should be demonstrated by asking God to go along
with you wherever you go. You can ask God to go to work with you, or the
store, or maybe to a basketball game. Does that sound strange? Don’t let
it. You ask others to do things with you, why not God? God wants you to
include Him in every part of your life. And if there is a part of your
life you feel uneasy about including Him in, you might want to evaluate
if its something you shouldn’t do. There should be no part of your life
that you wouldn’t feel comfortable with God being there right beside
you.
- You do things for that person, and are comfortable asking them to do
things for you. In any close relationship, it is only natural to desire
to do things for the other that will please that person. We are glad to
do things for them. We also are happy that they are glad to do things
for us. God will not always do what we ask. However, He will always do
what is best. He has your best interest at heart and will give to you
what is good. If you ask for Him to do things that are according to His
will, He will give—and often in ways you would not have imagined.
- You seek forgiveness when you have hurt, offended, or wronged that
person. We all make mistakes, and we all will at one time or another
cause friction in our relationships. But God is the God of endless
forgiveness. Regardless of what we do, if we come to Him and are
genuinely sorry for what we do wrong, He will forgive, and forgive, and
forgive. It has been said that you cannot out-give God. You also cannot
out-Forgive God. Don’t let anyone (including yourself) convince you that
what you’ve done is unforgivable. That’s not what God says.
- You enjoy each other. Is it a stretch to believe that you can enjoy
God? Well God enjoys you. He takes pleasure in you and desires you to
take pleasure in Him. How? There are countless ways. Perhaps when you
look at His creation and you say, “Wow… You do good work.” Perhaps you
are walking along, thinking about something, and suddenly God plants a
thought in your mind that causes you to see something completely
different; and you stop and stand in awe because He never ceases to
amaze you. Perhaps He catches you off guard and speaks to you through
the most peculiar means, and it makes you laugh while at the same time
you are warmed by the sentiment. The list is truly endless.
- You work with that person. There is a great deal of joy to be found
in accomplishing something with someone that you could not have
accomplished alone. As we closely walk with God, He will give us
opportunity to accomplish great things with Him. Him in you, and you in
Him—you will be astonished at what you can do together that you cannot
do alone.
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Thirdly… |
You simply have to trust Him, and truly take Him at His Word. The Bible is full
of His truth. It is not a book a warm sentiment and fascinating stories. When
Jesus says “do not worry about…” then you can take that as truth.
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Finally… |
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Seek after God as you would the most precious treasure on earth. Seek
Him with all your heart and you shall find Him. Draw near to Him and He
will draw near to you. Make making Him your life’s quest, your top
priority. Christ died for you. He took your place of judgment. Live your
life for Him. Do this, and you will discover the reality of God.
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If you have questions, or comments,
or
you would like to talk further on this matter;
please contact me at
seekingJesus@daybyday.org
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