Jesus, was our great example of the importance of developing a deep, personal relationship with the Lord. Jesus, was a man of prayer and the Word and while He ministered here on this earth, His life was marked by the number one priority of fellowshipping with the Father. Jesus was connected to God through prayer and the Word, through spending time with Him, at every available opportunity.
Jesus was a very busy man and spent His time, here in this world, ministering to thousands upon thousands of people. He healed the sick, cast out demons and discipled the twelve apostles, but He always made sure, that even though He was always ministering to the needs of others, He would take the time to separate Himself, so that He could communicate and chill with His heavenly Father. Jesus wanted to be with the Father and the Father wanted to be with Him.
He would spend time studying the Word and finding out about Himself, through the reading of the scriptures. Jesus was a man of the word and would often teach the masses in synagogues and also in the open. Jesus breathed a very life of communion to the Lord.
Throughout the business of life, lets put our relationship with the Lord first place and set apart quality time, so that we can hang out with the Father. We all lead busy lives, but leading a busy life, is not an excuse to neglect our relationship with the Lord. Jesus led a busy life, so did the early Church, but they put God first and drew their strength from the presence and glory of God and manifested the life and love of God, to all those they came into contact with. Out of our relationship with the Lord, we're able to release the love and Glory of God to a lost and unsaved world.
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Sunday 10 April 2011
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Relationship with God Series : Part Five
In my last post, I shared about the importance of getting to know God's character and nature, through spending time with Him by studying and reading the word of God. One of the other primary ways of knowing God in an intimate way, is through prayer. The Word of God is important, but prayer is as equally important. We need both in our lives, if we're to begin to grow deeper and more in love with our amazing Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Prayer is a beautiful and awesome privilege. We, as believers, can freely come into the throne room, with boldness to communicate and chill out with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That's what prayer is, simply communicating and spending time with the Lord most High. We can have access to our heavenly father, because of Jesus. Jesus made a way for us to come into relationship with the Lord, through His death and resurrection. He removed the barrier of sin between man and God, He shed His blood and tore the veil and now we, as Christians, can experience His Glory and presence in a profound way.
Prayer is not a work of the law or flesh. We don't pray because we're trying to make God move in our lives and prayer doesn't change God's view of of us, make Him love us more or impress Him in any way whatsoever. We pray, because through prayer, we become changed from glory to glory and become more like Jesus. Our motive for prayer should be one in which we're so in love with the Lord, that we want and desire to be with Him, not out of duty, but because we're madly and wildly in love with Him. Our hearts desire should be one filled with a overwhelming longing to be with God, at every available opportunity that we get.
Ours hearts should should be ablaze with fire and love for our saviour and like an amazing man of God once said "we set ourselves on fire for God (in a spiritual sense) and the world comes and watches us burn for Jesus!!" Praise God!! Let's be a burning flame of love for Jesus!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Prayer is a beautiful and awesome privilege. We, as believers, can freely come into the throne room, with boldness to communicate and chill out with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That's what prayer is, simply communicating and spending time with the Lord most High. We can have access to our heavenly father, because of Jesus. Jesus made a way for us to come into relationship with the Lord, through His death and resurrection. He removed the barrier of sin between man and God, He shed His blood and tore the veil and now we, as Christians, can experience His Glory and presence in a profound way.
Prayer is not a work of the law or flesh. We don't pray because we're trying to make God move in our lives and prayer doesn't change God's view of of us, make Him love us more or impress Him in any way whatsoever. We pray, because through prayer, we become changed from glory to glory and become more like Jesus. Our motive for prayer should be one in which we're so in love with the Lord, that we want and desire to be with Him, not out of duty, but because we're madly and wildly in love with Him. Our hearts desire should be one filled with a overwhelming longing to be with God, at every available opportunity that we get.
Ours hearts should should be ablaze with fire and love for our saviour and like an amazing man of God once said "we set ourselves on fire for God (in a spiritual sense) and the world comes and watches us burn for Jesus!!" Praise God!! Let's be a burning flame of love for Jesus!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday 5 April 2011
Relationship with God Series : Part Four
There are two primary ways that we can develop and grow stronger in our relationship with the Lord. The first one is through spending time with Him in the word of God and the second way is through living a lifestyle of prayer.
Let's begin by focusing on the word of God. Through the word, we gain revelation and understanding, of who God is. As we study and dwell upon the scriptures, God's character, nature and ways are revealed to us so that we get a glimpse of who He is.
Psalm 106:1 "Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever."
Psalm (106:1) says that God's mercy endures for ever.
1 John 4:8 "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love"
1 John (4:88) says that God is love.
God is mercy, love and the bible also tells us that He is full of compassion and in the book of beginning's (the book of Genesis), moses ask to see God's face, so He passes before him and shows him all of His goodness. There are so many different characteristics of God's nature, that discovering them through God's word is an awesome experience, that enables us to know Him more intimately than we've ever known Him before.
God can speak to us through an audible voice, through our brother's and sister's in Christ, through the prophetic and even through life's circumstances, but God chooses most of the time to speak to us through His word. As we begin to study the Word of God, He speaks life, hope and faith into whatever situations we may find ourselves in. He speaks into our lives and gives us the answers that we need to life's questions. He reveals more and more of His Glory to us and reveals Himself in many ways. As we read the word, we see God as He was meant to be seen and not as the world and media portrays Him. We see Him as a God who cares and desires to become intimate with us in our lives. He's our father and very best friend.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Let's begin by focusing on the word of God. Through the word, we gain revelation and understanding, of who God is. As we study and dwell upon the scriptures, God's character, nature and ways are revealed to us so that we get a glimpse of who He is.
Psalm 106:1 "Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever."
Psalm (106:1) says that God's mercy endures for ever.
1 John 4:8 "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love"
1 John (4:88) says that God is love.
God is mercy, love and the bible also tells us that He is full of compassion and in the book of beginning's (the book of Genesis), moses ask to see God's face, so He passes before him and shows him all of His goodness. There are so many different characteristics of God's nature, that discovering them through God's word is an awesome experience, that enables us to know Him more intimately than we've ever known Him before.
God can speak to us through an audible voice, through our brother's and sister's in Christ, through the prophetic and even through life's circumstances, but God chooses most of the time to speak to us through His word. As we begin to study the Word of God, He speaks life, hope and faith into whatever situations we may find ourselves in. He speaks into our lives and gives us the answers that we need to life's questions. He reveals more and more of His Glory to us and reveals Himself in many ways. As we read the word, we see God as He was meant to be seen and not as the world and media portrays Him. We see Him as a God who cares and desires to become intimate with us in our lives. He's our father and very best friend.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday 4 April 2011
Relationship with God Series : Part Three
Nearly fouteen years ago I gave my life to Jesus while serving a prison sentence and one of the first things that God gave me a revelation of, was the importance of spending time with Him. It was a foundational understanding that helped me use the time that I had, to get to know Him in an personal, intimate way. I distinctly remember at various times, throughout my walk with God, even up until this day thanking, praising and worshiping Him and then being consumed by His presence, His glory, in a tangible way. I would experience waves of His love and peace, that totally wrecked me for Jesus in a positive way. Those times with the Lord gave me a burning desire within me to want to know Him more.
God is calling His Church, the body of Christ, to a place of intimate fellowship with Him, not out of a sense of duty or obligation, but because we're head over heels in love with Him and because we love to just be with Him. As we spend time with the Lord, like the apostles, the people around us will know that we've been with Jesus. His very character and nature will be reflected in us and manifested in our lives. Choose today to sit at the feet of Jesus. He wants to be with you, He wants you to experience His love and presence. Allow His presence to wreck you, so that you'll never be the same again. Glory to God!
God is calling His Church, the body of Christ, to a place of intimate fellowship with Him, not out of a sense of duty or obligation, but because we're head over heels in love with Him and because we love to just be with Him. As we spend time with the Lord, like the apostles, the people around us will know that we've been with Jesus. His very character and nature will be reflected in us and manifested in our lives. Choose today to sit at the feet of Jesus. He wants to be with you, He wants you to experience His love and presence. Allow His presence to wreck you, so that you'll never be the same again. Glory to God!
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