Cultivating Closeness with God

The past two evenings we have had about 15 people coming together at our house and have had some great "J-Time." The key component of what we have been talking about is this idea of cultivating closeness with God. This implies an individual and a community working hard and working together to draw closer to God. This process requires desire, direction, and determination. Most people would say they would want a deeper relationship with Jesus but the question we need to ask is if we are willing to do the work. If you really want to cultivate closeness with God in your life here are some things to think about.

1. Examine your circle of intimacy.

- Who are the 2-3 people that get closest to your heart and stay there? If you want to be close to God the people in your circle of intimacy must be close to God. You cannot effectively cultivate closeness with God by yourself. You need other people and you need to help each other.

2. Examine your busyness

- In the midst of your busyness where does God fit in? How does your busyness affect your time with God? Where does my time with God fit in my priorities? One of Satan's key tactics is to keep us so busy with meaningless things that we never make time to cultivate closeness with God. Just like any relationship it takes time to grow it and if you aren't making time for God you will never grow closer.

3. Write God's Word upon your heart

- How often do you think about God's truth throughout your day? We need to always be meditating on the truth of Scripture. Put it on your mirror, in your car, on your computer, or somewhere you will see it constantly. As human beings we forget really quickly, we need to constantly be reminded.

Cultivating closeness with God is a process, but it can start right now. What are you going to do today to begin this process? Are you going to be intentional about the people in your circle of intimacy? Are you going to examine your busyness? Will you write God's Word upon your heart today and carry it with you? I pray that you will and that the God of Creation would draw you closer to Himself and far away from sin.