Growing Closer to God

When you were introduced to Jesus through either a family member, friend, or someone God put into your life you learned about the Saving Grace of God and how His Word changes a person. You learned the answer to some questions you may have had that brought you into a relationship with other of like mind and are seeking to know Him more. You learned that your life is not your own and do your best to live a Christ like life. Congratulations you are almost home.
God wants us to return to Him. That is evident from the first few chapters in Genesis and throughout Scripture. He wants us to grow closer to Him but our human nature and the world seem to always get in the way and we cannot find the balance. Thing is, finding that balance means giving up certain things in the world and finding time to talk to God through prayer, reading His Word, and living In His Word while trying to function in the world.

​I will not sugar coat things and say it is easy because it is very hard to be a Believer of God in a very dark and demon infested world, but I can help find that balance through the Word and the Spirit. The first thing we have to do is to build a relationship with God. The first step in building that relationship is to be born again. Jesus tells us this:

... “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  John 3:3-6

Jesus is speaking of a renewed life through the Holy Spirit which comes from God and is actually within us once we accept Jesus. Some think that once they are baptized they are good and are home but they stay in the world. That is like living in a broken home still being that rebellious child and throwing tantrums when things just do not go your way. But the Spirit separates us from the world and the desire of the person should be to live in the Family of God.

Family
Children, what you should do in union with the Lord is obey your parents, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” — this is the first commandment that embodies a promise —  “so that it may go well with you, and you may live long in the Land.” Fathers, don’t irritate your children and make them resentful; instead, raise them with the Lord’s kind of discipline and guidance. Ephesians 6:1-4

Our family life should be a reflection of the relationship that God desires. God had a great relationship with Adam and Eve until that fateful day when the children rebelled through total disobedience. They broke the Godly family mold and it has not been the same since. The home God desires is one where He is ever present and the family lives in a way that is not hurtful towards one another or those who are in their lives. Yes there will be problems but they should be worked out in ways that keep the family together instead of tearing it apart.
Today’s family has been torn apart through the desires of society and worldly things. There are so many distractions and temptations in the world that make it hard to maintain a healthy home. We as Children of God have to fight the outside world and make God the priority.
A Christian family is not faultless, but one that counts on God for all thing through His Grace. We have all probably heard the saying, “ A family that prays together, stays together”, which is a true statement but there is more than prayer that keeps the family one with God. It is the companion/partnership of the husband and wife, the obedience of the children, trust, the ability to seek solutions to problems without anger or bitterness, but most of all the reflection of God’s Love in each of the hearts. When God’s Love is there, the relationship with Him can be built in the family and the light can be shown to others.
Seems like a fantasy but guess what, I know families that are close to perfecting this way of living. But no family in this world is perfect. My family is still working on this but I know that God is ever-present and is in our hearts to help us develop a deeper relationship with each other as we grow in our relationship with Him.         

We Are Adopted
Paul discusses the fact that we are adopted into the Family of God. Even though we are all created by Him there was only one group of people who were first in obedience. Though many worshiped to an unknown God. The Hebrews and Israelites were the ones that God chose to have a personal relationship with in order to spread the truth so anyone outside of their tribal bloodlines are adopted in to knowing and loving God as Father. But there is a difference.
We are adopted into the family through the spirit. One thing that people do not understand is why God chose to reveal Himself to a small group instead of the world even though He can be everywhere at once. I cannot answer that either. All I know is that when we choose to obey God’s Word and do our best to live it, we become part of the Body of Christ and through this begin to build that relationship with our creator that He so desires. By this we begin to become closer to God.

Worship
The path to a closer relationship with God is through worship. Worship is not just singing. It is prayer, giving of oneself, sharing, being baptized, sharing in the meal of communion, and may other aspects of Christian life. We do these things out of love, obedience, respect, and fear. Worship is our communication with God that allows us to praise Him, listen to Him, become one with Him in the Spirit.
Since we cannot see Him through our human eyes, we must work on seeing Him with our Spiritual eyes. We do this through worship and private reflection (also a form of worship but needs to be separate here). In our times of private reflection we examine our earthly lives repenting of our faults through confession in prayer since Jesus opened the direct link. Doing this we can see God more clearly through His creation and see the beauty of His handiwork in us. This opens the door to become closer to God.

I know this was a long one but here we are in conclusion    
Brothers and Sisters, let us work together to become closer to God in the Spirit and advance His Kingdom through us. We are the temple, not made of brick and stone but of flesh and Spirit. He built our corruptible bodies to carry the incorruptible Spirit. We are the solid that holds the fluent which desires to flow through all of us. What we do with this gift determines our eternal existence. Let us continue to grow closer to God and build healthy Godly relationships starting with our family. I pray that each of us can build upon one another and grow closer so that we can say that God IS our FATHER, Redeemer, friend.

Blessings and sharing God’s Love with All,
Rob, Servant Of God