Draw Near
Two full weeks of sanding, scraping and painting in solitude with God left me with a mighty sore body, but a huge appreciation for what can happen in God's presence.
We don't have to be kneeling at an altar or sitting in a pew to draw near to God. It's an act of our hearts that can happen anywhere. We can quiet our hearts in a hospital bed, stuck in traffic, rocking a sit child, stranded in an airport or even weeding the yard. The deepest and most life altering lessons I've learned have occurred in obscure places.
"J.I. Packer says that the Puritans differ from evangelicals today because, with them, communion with God was a great thing; to evangelicals today it is a comparatively small thing. The Puritans were concerned about communion with God in a way we are not. The measure of our unconcern is the little that we say about it. When Christians meet, they talk to each other about their Christian work and Christian interests, their Christian acquaintances, the state of the churches, and the problems of theology - but rarely of their daily experience of God." John Piper
"Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16
"He is abel to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Hebrews 7:25
"Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Hebrews 11:6
Often we think we can come near to God because we are a sinful mess. Our messiness is the reason for Christ's sacrifice. His sacrifice paved the way for us to be in the place God created us to be...fellowship with Him.
"My friends, the blood of Jesus gives us courage to enter the most holy place by a new way that leads to life! And this way takes us through the curtain that is Christ himself. We have a great high priest who is in charge of God's house. So let's come near God with pure hearts and a confidence that comes from having faith. Let's keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water." Hebrews 10:19-22
John Piper teaches..."The great aim of this writer (in Hebrews) is that we get near God, that we have fellowship with him, that we not settle for a Christian life at a distance from God, that God not be a distant thought, but a near and present reality, that we experience what the old Puritans called communion with God."
What a friend we have in Jesus! Let's spend time with that friend.
"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God." 1 Peter 3:18
"Through Christ, we....have our access in one Spirit to the Father." Ephesians 2:18
God can use the pressures of this life to drive us closer into communion with Him. Those times of crying out. But the times we come simply because we love Him and know we were created for fellowship with Him are precious. Some of the sweetest visits with friends are the ones that just occur. The ones were we just take time to stop and sit a spell with no agenda.
Hmm. Is that what heaven will be like? Let's practice!
