~Going Deeper~

Have you ever felt a tug on your heart to cultivate a more intimate relationship with God and to deepen your walk with Him? Maybe you have just come to know the Lord or perhaps you have recently been inspired by the way someone else, whether in person or through a faith inspiring biography, in how close they seem to be with the Lord and how their relationship with Him seems to be such a personal and ignited one. "How I would love for my relationship with God to be like that! " you may say.

Whatever the reason may be, that longing is GOOD and God desires to have a close relationship with each one of us as well! A relationship with Him is not necessarily forced upon us however...God is a gentleman. He extends a hand toward us and expects us to take hold. In His word he tells us...

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..."

~James 4:8~

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

~Matthew 6:33~

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you..."

~Matthew 7:7~

"Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

~Jeremiah 3:33~

"Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

~Hebrews 7:25~

"...let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

~Hebrews 10:22~

To me, these seem like "action verses". God desires to have a close relationship with us and we need to do our part to cultivate it. One way we can do this is by reading God's Word, the Bible.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

~John 1:1~

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness..."

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

~Romans 10:17~

If you want to get to know someone well, it requires spending quality time with them, listening, talking, learning what they like/dislike etc. In the same way, we can become closer Jesus by spending time at the feet, reading His Word. By doing this we can become "in tune" with Him and His will for our lives.

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me..."

~John 10:27~

"Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

~Luke 10:38-42~

As with Martha, it is easy to get so busy with everyday life that we wind up missing out on what is really important. 2 Timothy 2:4 tells us...

"No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer."

In order to make Bible reading a priority in our lives this may require saying "No." to some activities...even if they are not necessarily a bad thing, in order to free up time getting to know God more! God always gives us enough time in the day to accomplish what He would have for us to be doing. If one's not finding enough time in their day...it may be time to reevaluate some priorities. There's a saying...

"Good, better, best

never let it rest,

until your good is better

and your better is best"

Let's strive for excellence!

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

~Philippians 4:13~

"Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart."

~Psalms 37:4~

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."

~Joshua 1:8~

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers."

~Psalms 1:1-3~

Though prayer, we can talk with God to share our hearts and concerns, our joys and accomplishments...our all.

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

~1 Peter 5:7~

When one sets aside time to memorize and meditate on God's Word, He is so good to bring specific verses back to mind that can be extremely timely in providing strength, courage, peace, direction...whatever the need may happen to be at that particular moment. ("And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:19~)

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

~Psalm 119:11~

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

~Jude 1:24~

The book "Before You Meet Prince Charming" offers some good suggestions in deepening your relationship with Christ. Here are a few highlights.

~Spend time alone with Him

~Learn to get to know Him

~Treasure His love letter to you

~Understand what He has done for you

~Frequently tell Him of your love

~Demonstrate your love by your actions

~Tell others about His greatness

~Worship Him

~ Be attentive to the gifts He gives you

~Keep journals of your times together

~Run into His arms whenever you need comfort

May we all strive to seek Christ in all we think say and do. To make Him our all and to continually grow deeper in our walks with the Lord, so that our lives are full and overflowing with the goodness of Him! May God bless you all!

~Chloe~ :)