Who's your favorite person to be around? Is it a friend? Your sibling? Parents? The family dog? Hopefully it's not the dog, but the point is that we all enjoy fellowship. Being with people is a great way to get closer to them, to learn more about them, and to build stronger relationships with them. Spending time with people is more than just an opportunity to spend $5 at a Starbucks or giggle with someone over the sheer ugliness of a clothing item displayed at the local mall. It's an investment of time, love, and energy into another person. Human nature tends to crave relationship, and that's interesting because not all of creation is wired this way. You don't see jellyfish seeking each others' company or Tasmanian devils throwing parties. Why is it that people crave companions? Fundamentally, it's because we're made in God's image, as Genesis 1:26-27 says, and God wants relationships. That's why He opens the door for us to spend time with Him. This can happen at Church or at home or anywhere you want to pray or read God's Word or otherwise "do something" with Him.
Of course, the idea of spending time with God is not altogether new. However, while it may be a familiar concept to Christians, years ago it was a lot harder (and rarer) to enter God's presence. Generally the privilege was reserved to one man each year. That's right. One man. Why? Well, during the times of the Old Testament (before the arrival of Jesus) God had worked out a covenant with the people of Israel. He was their God, they were His people. They had a responsibility to follow His commands. However, knowing how people are far from perfect, God wasn't counting on them getting it right every time. So He established protocols that would allow them to interact with Him and have their sins covered (I say covered, not eliminated). Yet, because of the gap, only a few people could really spend time with God one-on-one, and it was almost exclusively in the temple that it could happen. As Hebrews 9 says:
"Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation."(Hebrews 9:1-10 ESV)
The writer talks of the Old Covenant. You can see the limitations of relationship from the description of the rules surrounding it. The covenant allowed Israel to know God so that he was among them, but not so that He was in them. This was permanently changed with the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross:
"And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." (Mark 15:33-38 ESV)
The tearing of the curtain was a sign that the barrier between God and man had been abolished once for all. No longer did the priest only get to be in God's presence, for the final payment for the debt of sin had been made. From that time on, anyone could be in God's presence, were they to simply believe in Jesus with their hearts and confess Him as Lord with their mouths. God took away the sin that kept us out of relationship with Him. That's why spending time with God is so unique. He's up close and personal, and wants us to have a relationship with Him. He gave Himself to us because we could not stand before Him on our own. As Romans 5:1 so nicely puts it: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (ESV)
God craves relationship...with you. Do I know why He loves us that much? To be honest, it's beyond me. I do know that He loved us enough to send His Son to die on the cross for every person's sin so that every person could have a relationship with Him here and now, and eternal life with Him later on. Maybe you don't have that relationship yet, but you'd like to. Good news! The sacrifice of Jesus His Son is just as powerful now as it was over two milennia ago. Easily one of the greatest gifts of God is His promise in Romans 10:9, "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (ESV) Your God is calling you by name. Do you want to accept His offer? He will be your Friend, Father, King, Savior, Protector, and Helper, all at once. If you want His gift of eternal life, to be washed from your sin, and to have relationship with Him, you could pray something like this:
Dear God, I'm a sinner. I've fallen short of Your perfect standards and I don't deserve You because of it. God, I believe You sent Your Son Jesus Christ as fully man and fully God to die on a wooden cross for my sin so that I could have eternal life and a relationship with You. I believe You raised Him from the dead after three days, and that He's now sitting at Your right hand. I confess You, Jesus, as Lord, Savior, and Ruler over my life. I pray You'd forgive me of my sin and come into my heart. Thank You, God. In Jesus Name, Amen.
If you really meant that with your heart, congratulations! You've just received what you've asked for. The next thing to do is to find a good church and start reading God's Word. Make it a daily habit and trust me, you won't regret it.
Maybe you already have a relationship with God. That's great. Here's a question for you: are you living in relationship or in religion? There is a difference. Religion is a set of protocols to be followed. Relationship is getting to know and be known by someone. God wants you to know Him better and better. He knows you inside and out, but He's a gentleman. He won't barge into your life. You have to decide to let Him in the door and be more than just the God you serve. He also wants to be the God you love, trust, and spend time with. He's made it possible. Now you just have to accept the invitation. That's part of having Childlike Faith in an Adult's World.
(ESV Means English Standard Version)
Image from http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/84/8a/51/848a515411cdf66ed0ae6f5e0dee7e3a.jpg, a page not owned or operated by I-BulldogStudios
Of course, the idea of spending time with God is not altogether new. However, while it may be a familiar concept to Christians, years ago it was a lot harder (and rarer) to enter God's presence. Generally the privilege was reserved to one man each year. That's right. One man. Why? Well, during the times of the Old Testament (before the arrival of Jesus) God had worked out a covenant with the people of Israel. He was their God, they were His people. They had a responsibility to follow His commands. However, knowing how people are far from perfect, God wasn't counting on them getting it right every time. So He established protocols that would allow them to interact with Him and have their sins covered (I say covered, not eliminated). Yet, because of the gap, only a few people could really spend time with God one-on-one, and it was almost exclusively in the temple that it could happen. As Hebrews 9 says:
"Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation."(Hebrews 9:1-10 ESV)
The writer talks of the Old Covenant. You can see the limitations of relationship from the description of the rules surrounding it. The covenant allowed Israel to know God so that he was among them, but not so that He was in them. This was permanently changed with the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross:
"And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." (Mark 15:33-38 ESV)
The tearing of the curtain was a sign that the barrier between God and man had been abolished once for all. No longer did the priest only get to be in God's presence, for the final payment for the debt of sin had been made. From that time on, anyone could be in God's presence, were they to simply believe in Jesus with their hearts and confess Him as Lord with their mouths. God took away the sin that kept us out of relationship with Him. That's why spending time with God is so unique. He's up close and personal, and wants us to have a relationship with Him. He gave Himself to us because we could not stand before Him on our own. As Romans 5:1 so nicely puts it: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (ESV)
God craves relationship...with you. Do I know why He loves us that much? To be honest, it's beyond me. I do know that He loved us enough to send His Son to die on the cross for every person's sin so that every person could have a relationship with Him here and now, and eternal life with Him later on. Maybe you don't have that relationship yet, but you'd like to. Good news! The sacrifice of Jesus His Son is just as powerful now as it was over two milennia ago. Easily one of the greatest gifts of God is His promise in Romans 10:9, "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (ESV) Your God is calling you by name. Do you want to accept His offer? He will be your Friend, Father, King, Savior, Protector, and Helper, all at once. If you want His gift of eternal life, to be washed from your sin, and to have relationship with Him, you could pray something like this:
Dear God, I'm a sinner. I've fallen short of Your perfect standards and I don't deserve You because of it. God, I believe You sent Your Son Jesus Christ as fully man and fully God to die on a wooden cross for my sin so that I could have eternal life and a relationship with You. I believe You raised Him from the dead after three days, and that He's now sitting at Your right hand. I confess You, Jesus, as Lord, Savior, and Ruler over my life. I pray You'd forgive me of my sin and come into my heart. Thank You, God. In Jesus Name, Amen.
If you really meant that with your heart, congratulations! You've just received what you've asked for. The next thing to do is to find a good church and start reading God's Word. Make it a daily habit and trust me, you won't regret it.
Maybe you already have a relationship with God. That's great. Here's a question for you: are you living in relationship or in religion? There is a difference. Religion is a set of protocols to be followed. Relationship is getting to know and be known by someone. God wants you to know Him better and better. He knows you inside and out, but He's a gentleman. He won't barge into your life. You have to decide to let Him in the door and be more than just the God you serve. He also wants to be the God you love, trust, and spend time with. He's made it possible. Now you just have to accept the invitation. That's part of having Childlike Faith in an Adult's World.
(ESV Means English Standard Version)
Image from http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/84/8a/51/848a515411cdf66ed0ae6f5e0dee7e3a.jpg, a page not owned or operated by I-BulldogStudios
