Close to God

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But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. --2 Corinthians 12:9 There was a man who came home one day and told his wife about a million-dollar idea he had. He assured her it would work, and they would only need to invest $5,000 to make it happen. The wife was hesitant, but she went along and hoped for the best. Six weeks later, the man came home again and said, “Honey, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that my idea didn’t work out and we lost the money we invested. But the good news is that my new million-dollar idea is different from the last one!” Perhaps you’ve noticed that we usually learn far more from our defeats than we do from our victories. In fact, defeats are completely meaningless unless we actually learn something from them and change the way we make decisions. When you look at defeats that way, they really are invaluable. As much as we love to win, we shouldn’t be discouraged by defeat. It’s in those times that we learn the greatest lessons in life. And the greatest lesson is this: we are dependent on God for the result of every victory and loss. Learn from your defeats, look ahead, and lean on Him! WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER DEFEAT, LEARN, LOOK AHEAD, AND LEAN ON GOD.

Close to God

Thursday, October 17, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.”

Psalm 24:3–6

It is not unusual to hear people talk about being close to God, but sometimes it is just in a vague and general sense. To David, who spent so much of his depending on God just for survival, being close to God was an urgent necessity. When that relationship was not right, it had a profoud impact on him.  It was David who wrote the words Jesus quoted on the cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” (Psalm 22:1).

And it was David that the Holy Spirit inspired to pen a description of the path to a close and intimate relationship with God. David highlights the importance of both inward and outward cleansing. He knew what it was like to need, and to receive, both of those. When Nathan confronted him regarding his sin with Bathsheba, David begged God for forgiveness, not just to have his sin forgiven, but to have his relationship restored. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).

Sin always drives a wedge into our relationship with God. It does not change our standing in His family, but it does impact our willingness to go to Him, and His willingness to be close to us. Our salvation through Jesus Christ guarantees our hope of Heaven, but it is our daily cleansing through His blood that keeps us close to Him.

Today's Growth Principle: 

The process of deepening our relationship with God must begin with dealing with our sins.