I think the reason is often that they didn’t really want God. They didn’t want the changed life that comes from walking daily with Him. Maybe they just wanted to avoid hell. Maybe they only wanted His blessings. Do they really think they can fool God?

Or, maybe they don’t know how to foster the relationship. After all, we are talking about a relationship with the invisible, unfathomable, all-powerful God. That is a little hard to wrap your mind around.

So let me share what works for me.

As in any relationship, it’s about spending time together and wanting to know all about each other. For me, that means spending focused time with Him each day. I call it my quiet time and I do it at the start the day, before my mind is cluttered with the busyness of life.

What do I do during that time? I read His Word, the Bible, and through it He teaches me about what He’s like, what He’s done for me, and what pleases Him. I get a glimpse of His magnificence and grow to understand it more each day.

I talk to Him about everything. What I’m thinking, planning, worrying about. What I’m grateful for. What I hope for…for myself and those I love. What gives me joy. Things I need to confess and ask forgiveness for. And prayer doesn’t end with my quiet time. I talk to Him all day long. That’s one of the perks of the relationship. He’s always there. Ready to guide, comfort, listen.

Speaking of listening, I listen to Him, too. This requires silence, solitude and focus, something hard to come by in our multi-sensory, hurry-up world. But when I need to hear from Him, it is absolutely essential. With the noise gone, He guides my thoughts, sometimes by reminding me of a scripture and sometimes by placing clear direction in my head.

I also listen to worship music during my quiet time. It helps me reflect on His glory and majesty. It expresses my heart. It paints a picture Him. And through it my heart falls in love.

Bottom line…my quiet time is the highest priority of my day. It’s how I feed my relationship with God. Without it, the relationship starves.

Other things that help me keep the relationship fresh…the adventure alive…
• Group Bible studies. We use study materials written by people who know a whole lot more than I do. They expand my understanding, and I get jazzed about sharing the experience with others who want to know more about God.
• Service. It’s another form of worship and can be done in so many ways. I lead bible studies. Others feed the homeless, teach Sunday School, serve meals to shut ins, visit a lonely friend. It doesn’t matter what the service is, as long as it’s done out of love for God and His children.
• Attending a Bible-teaching church. I know churches have flaws, even the good ones, but God still loves His church and He can be found there…in the teaching, the sacraments, the giving, the songs.

I could go on. But describing how to build a relationship is a little like trying to hold jello. It resists definition and responds differently to each touch. My hope is that you can pull from the things that work for me to find what works for you.

With that, I end this blog. If anyone wants to delve into other topics or explore something further, just add a comment and I’ll be delighted to reply.

Relishing Him and hoping you do, too!
Janice

So how do you do that?

It’s so simple it might not feel like enough.  But it is.  All you have to do is tell Him.  Say it out loud.  Say it in your head.  It doesn’t matter, because He hears your thoughts.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I (Jesus) stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with Me.” 

If you sincerely open the door to Him, He will place His Holy Spirit within you.  And so begins your relationship with Him.  But it is only that…the very beginning.  My next post will talk about the lifelong journey together.

I’ll have to admit, I was also afraid of going to hell. 

But here’s the best part, having chosen Him for intellectual reasons…and out of fear…I have now come to know and love Him as my best Friend forever.  Urban slang unintended. 

There is nothing better on this earth.  All the stuff of this life is just that, stuff.  But being in the presence of the living God each day, walking and talking with Him, doing life His way, is the grandest adventure anyone can ever have. 

And to be known and loved completely…no selfish expectations, no shame, no misunderstandings?  That is contentment and pure joy. 

It is what we long for…but never find…even in the best of our human relationships.  And it’s what I long for, for all of you.  Won’t you choose Him? He’s already chosen you.

The young man was quiet for awhile and then asked, in response, “What is cold?”  The professor described how cold felt and how it could be measured, but in the end he couldn’t give a real definition.  So the young man explained.  “Cold is not anything, in and of itself.  It is, rather, the absence of heat.” 

He went on to ask, “What is darkness?”  Again the professor was able to describe its characteristics, but not define it.  The young man answered, “Darkness is not anything, in and of itself.  It is, rather, the absence of light.”

“Now let me ask”, said the young man, “What is evil?”  By now the answer was obvious and he simply gave it voice, “Evil is not a thing that was created.  It is, rather, the absence of goodness. God is good – wholly and purely good.  Evil is simply where His goodness is absent.” 

In the same way, hell is where God is not. 

Many people question whether hell exists, and why a good God would send people there.  He doesn’t.   They choose it, when they choose to live without God. 

We were all created to live eternally.  To be in a forever relationship with God.  When we choose our way over His, we still have an eternal “life.”  But it’s in a place without God.  Just as we chose.  It’s a place without any goodness.  A place full of evil.  Why?  Because God is absent.  That, my friends, is hell.  Don’t make the mistake of choosing it.

So what is sin? 

The obvious answer is that it’s doing anything that breaks God’s laws, and we immediately think of the Ten Commandments.  We think we’re pretty good when it comes to those…at least the biggies…like “don’t murder” and “don’t steal.” But what about loving God with all your heart and having no other gods before Him?  What about not lying or committing adultery?  What about honoring your father and mother?  And consider that Jesus taught hateful thoughts are the same as killing; and lusting amounts to adultery. 

Jesus made it simpler when he said all the Law could be summed up in two commands – love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.  If it wasn’t clear before, it should be crystal clear now that no one measures up to that all the time. 

Simpler still, sin is choosing self over God.  Choosing my way over His way.  It’s living life short of the perfection He intended.  And it needlessly separates us from Him. 

Sin entered our world the day Adam and Eve chose to please themselves, instead of God.  Since then, we’ve all been born with the propensity to do it.  It doesn’t have to be taught.  Just ask any parent.   And no sin is worse than any other.  Remember, wrong thoughts are just as bad as doing the deed.

So let’s stop denying our sin or making light of it.  And let’s stop glamorizing sin, as if it’s more fun than following God.  In the end, it only leads to discontent and emptiness, because we were not intended to live without God. 

It’s time to acknowledge that we are all sinners all the time.  The sooner we get over that and confess it, the sooner we can be forgiven and restored to the kind of relationship we were created to have.

On the one hand, we treat it like it’s no big deal.  We laugh about it.  Don’t apologize for it.  Try to hide it and justify it with thoughts like, “…no one will know;”  “It’s not hurting anyone, really;” and “…at least I’m not like so-and-so.”

In doing so, we make a molehill out of a mountain.

On the other hand, we make sin an insurmountable obstacle.  We allow it to separate us from God and others, because we’re too uncomfortable with that guilty feeling.  Too ashamed to confess it.  Or too proud to admit it. 

In so doing, we make a mountain out of a molehill.

Don’t get me wrong.  Sin is a big deal.  It grieves God’s heart.  It separates us from Him.  It leads to pain, suffering and every form of evil.  It makes imperfect what God created to be perfect, including you and me.  When we minimize it, we slap God in the face.

Still, as big as it is, it is not insurmountable.  It can be erased.  Wiped out!  As if we had never sinned.  And our relationship with God can be restored.  But, that can’t happen if we deny it.  It doesn’t happen if we try to make up for it by doing good.  For no amount of good can make us perfect again.  Only God can blot out sin.  And He does it by forgiving us.  All we have to do is sincerely ask. 

There’s the rub.  Asking for forgiveness requires humility and we are in short supply of that on this earth.  Sin is what separates us from God.  Pride is what keeps us separated.  Is it really worth it?     

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  (I John 1:9)

Who would choose bondage over freedom?  Yet, that’s exactly what you do when you choose your way over God’s.

I know, it’s counter-intuitive.   We think if we choose God’s way, we’re giving up freedom.  But consider this.  The dog park has a fence, and because of the fence, the dogs can run free.    It’s when they leave the “confines” of the park for the wide open world that they exchange freedom for the leash.

You were created by God to live within the boundaries of His love and plan.  When you choose to do life His way, you enter a world where you are free to run and be who you are meant to be.  But when you choose to live outside His plan, you exchange a life of freedom for a world controlled not by you, but by the enemy of your soul.  “…Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  (I Peter 5:8); “…the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (I John 5:19)

When you reject Jesus, you are not free, you are bound to the evil one. 

I’d rather be bound to the One who turns around, unhooks my leash and sets me free.

“I [Jesus] am…the Truth…” (John 14:6) “…and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

He didn’t come to our planet to create a new religion (to paraphrase William Paul Young, author of The Shack.)  He came to abolish religion.

Ever notice that He was at constant odds with the religious leaders of His day?  Ever wonder why?  It’s because He wasn’t (and still isn’t) interested in our rituals, rules, and self-righteousness.  Neither is He interested in today’s “spirituality,” which is all about self-fulfillment.  Both are man-made.  Both are self-absorbed. 

God created us to be God-absorbed.  To be His family.  He desires relationship, not religion. 

Don’t want to be religious?  That’s no reason to reject Jesus.  He’s not asking you to jump through hoops to earn His love.  He’s inviting you to get to know Him and do life with the One who knows and loves you better than your closest friend.

We all know that no matter how hard we try to be good parents, at times our kids will act selfishly, be disrespectful, obnoxious, even mean.  Some more than others, but they all do it from time to time. 

So why is it that we judge Jesus by His children?  

Why do we say, “I won’t have anything to do with Jesus, because I know these Christians who… (Fill in the blank)…”?   …who gossip.   …who get drunk.  …who lie and cheat. …who talk about love, while displaying hate. 

Your decision to accept or reject Jesus should not be based on the actions of His imperfect children, but rather on who He is, what He has done, and what He says.  If He is who He says He is, you owe Him your life and allegiance. 

No more excuses.  No blame game.  Isn’t it time you examined Him on His own merits?

I think one of the reasons people stumble over Jesus is that they’re looking for Him in all the wrong places. 

The people of Jesus’ day stumbled over Him because they were told their Messiah would be a King.  They were looking for Him in the political arena, hoping for a king who would rid their world of Rome’s brutal dominance.  Wrong place to look.  He didn’t choose to be that kind of King.

We stumble over Him today, because we’re looking for Him to be an earthly king.  We expect Him to heal what ails our world.  To end poverty, disease and pain.  When life isn’t fair, by our standards, we assume He’s impotent…or no king at all.  Wrong again.

Jesus didn’t come to set up a political or earthly kingdom.  He came to do something greater.  To establish His Kingdom on earth.  A Kingdom that exists in our hearts in a relationship with Him, and goes on for eternity in a place without the brokenness of this world. 

When Jesus physically walked the earth, He would say, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”  You don’t find it in any earthly person, place, set of rules, or things.  You find it in Him.

As we celebrate His miraculous death and resurrection over the next few days, wouldn’t you like to enter His Kingdom and get to know the King of Kings? 

“…while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  II Corinthians 4:18