James 4:8a. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you…
So, after all the problems of the work week, we’ve finally gotten back to our beloved lazy day Saturday! Praise the Lord! Isn’t it wonderful to know that there’s one day you don’t have to listen for the shrill ringing of the alarm clock, or whatever device you use to awaken you. And even if it does come on, you can turn it off with a grateful sigh? Of course! And even if sleep eludes you, you can lie in your warm, comfortable bed and just enjoy the laziness and pleasure of a lazy day. (smile)
Some of us might even dare to roll out of bed and roll right on to the living room couch in front of the boob tube and watch the days happenings with bleary eyes. And when you see it’s just the same old, negative things that’s been reported as news, you shut down the annoying, intruding thing, then curl up on the couch under a warm blanket and drift off to some faraway place, where, in your dreams, you can see yourself frolicking on a golden brown, sandy beach, with calm blue seas stretching off into eternity, just inviting you to come and have a salacious dip.
Wow! Now that’s the thing that dreams are made of! And I guess why the Lord, our marvellous and imaginative Creator, gave us the power to dream, the power to use the amazing imagination with which He’s gifted each one of His wonderful creations. But yuh know what, the Lord also desired that we use that power to imagine and dream to come closer to Him, to let our biggest dream be to have an intimate relationship with Him. And why is an intimate relationship with God important eh?
Because, in the first place, that’s why He created us. He wanted to be in a covenant relationship with living beings who bore the same traits and attributes like Himself. That’s why God made us in His image and likeness, with thoughts, minds and ways, that are lower than His but nonetheless above all other living beings. Man is supposed to be His most masterful creation. And please don’t believe that our God was foolish when He created us and gave us free will to do as we choose. No, not all.
That’s why there’s a space in every man’s soul that’s specially set aside for the Lord, and until He comes and sets up shop in that space, man is never happy, satisfied or contented. God’s intention from the very beginning was that all of His creation should come to know and LOVE Him the way He knows and LOVES them. However, when our forefathers, Adam and Eve, fell from grace, and sin became our heritage, we automatically withdrew from that closeness with our Maker and our eyes were turned to the lustful, evil and ungodly works of the enemy, Satan.
But the Lord has never given up on us, He’s lays there ready to hear and help us if we come to Him. That’s why James tells us to ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:8,10) Yes friends, we need to draw near to God if we want to have the successful life He’s planned for us to have, but we can’t do that with all the sin and evil deeds and thoughts that saturate our souls, bodies and minds.
Oh, we do need to be humble, penitent and sincere, but the beauty of our God is that He will accept us anyway and anytime we come to Him. As Hebrews tells us: ‘Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.’ (Heb. 10:22) And I know some of us have questions on the whole subject of why draw close to God, and even more importantly, how do we do that? I guess I put the cart before the horse, jumping into what we need to do, rather than first explaining the why’s and wherefores. (smile)
So, let’s see if we can answer them to your satisfaction. As per why we need to draw close to God, why is it good to do so? One commentary gives us this answer. ‘Drawing near to God gives peace to our souls; peace from the burden of our sins and peace in the midst of the burdens that come to us through others’ sin as well. The nearness of God is our answer. His nearness is our need’ Remember I said that we each have an empty space set aside for God? Well, until He occupies that space, we will never have true peace or contentment.
And that’s not the peace that the world gives us, but the peace that comes from God, the peace that passes all understanding. In other words, the divine peace of God, who’s thoughts, mind and ways are so much higher than ours. And peace is something the whole world is desperately searching for right now. But real peace can only be attained when one draws close to God. And how do we do that? Here’s a list of the basic things we need to do.
The first and most important thing is to receive Jesus. Yes friends, receiving Jesus into your life is the first step to getting closer to the Lord. For as Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ (John 14:6) That sets the stage right there. If you don’t receive Jesus, then you’ll never get close to the Father. That’s all there is to it. Then we need to Study the Bible. Studying the Bible is essential if you want to grow closer to God, because that’s His word, His will for those who wish to follow Him.
Next, we must pray, because prayer is how we communicate with God. That brings up the subject of praise and worship. We need to do those things since He expects them of us. Praise and worship show that we LOVE and glorify the Lord. Then there’s the dire need to trust Him. Yes friends, that’s a must. For without true trust in the Lord, you will be lost, like a rudderless ship floundering in the raging sea. Which brings us to this other very important factor, faith.
Oh my people, without true faith in God, where will we be? Mired in the devil’s world of sin and darkness, sinking ever so slowly to hellfire and eternal damnation! But with trust and faith in Almighty God, our lives take on an entirely different colour, one of light, of salvation and eternal life. That’s why the Bible tells us: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6)
And once we’ve done all of that, we then need to get involved. That’s go to church, gather and worship with other believers, encourage each other, and help to spread the Word to all the world as Jesus desired in the Great Commission. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:19-20)
And that’s it in a nutshell friends! We draw near to God through Jesus Christ, for our good, not God’s. Please, let’s remember that everything God says or does, is essentially for our benefit, not His! Much LOVE!
…in this turbulent world…close to God is the place to be…
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