Friday, May 18, 2012

Draw Close To God

My Utmost For His Highest

Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me.” In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. CHAMBERS

Have you ever had someone tell you that you are trying too hard?  Maybe you were learning how to do something and you were so focused .. so tense and anxious that try as you might you could not do it?  As I was typing this I thought about Mr. Riley.  He was my primary flight instructor when I was learning to fly helicopters in the Army.  He was trying to teach me to hover the helicopter.  As you might imagine there are a lot of things going in in a helicopter … I was so tense … every muscle in my body was tense as I thought about the fact that I was about to leave terra firm in a machine that didn’t want to fly.  He saw that and said “Relax …” I said “I am relaxed” .. but in truth only my right wrist and hand were relaxed … everything else was tight as a guitar string. But I listened and learned to hover.  But I had to focus on the teacher and listen to what He told me.

In a similar way, our spiritual growth is dependent upon the strength of our relationship with the Father.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8)

Did you notice the second half of that verse?  James says that you should not draw near to God until your heart is right … your hands are clean … When you pray, do you think about that?  Or do you approach God with ‘unclean hands’?  We must not have a casual attitude toward God … like it doesn’t matter what is going on in my life … I can just give God a call anytime.  We have that attitude because we are not really focused on God but are focused on ourselves.

'THESE PEOPLE DRAW NEAR TO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOR ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. AND IN VAIN THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.' [sic] (Matthew 15:8-9)

“For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalms 51:16-17)

You see, it’s about the condition of our heart.  When the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, he had to offer sacrifices for sin .. the nations and his own .. We can approach God because of Jesus .. the veil was torn from top to bottom … Mark 15:38 … giving us entrance … but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to wash our feet before we enter.

The key to growing close to God and reflecting Jesus in our life is spending time with God … seems like a no-brainer … but it’s not …

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

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