Four Basic Activities to Closer Relationship

God’s deepest desire is closer relationship with His people.

Our sermon on Sunday was about intimacy with God. The point of the sermon was that God desires relationship with us above all else. That makes sense to me because I think deep in our hearts, we desire close relationship with each other. We are after all, made in the image of God. But, do we desire a closer relationship with God? If so, how do we go about achieving it?

He listed four basic activities that are required to grow closer to God.

The first is worship. If our answer is that we attend church service on Sundays, then we are missing many opportunities. Worship can be anywhere or anytime. Taking a walk and being thankful for creation can be worship. Praying can be worship. Creating can be worship. Watching a sunset can be worship. If we save worship for Sundays alone, then we are closing ourselves off to  the vastness of God and are kind of putting Him on a shelf. We should be engaged in worship daily.

The second is Bible study. His suggestion wasn’t trying to memorize verses or read large amounts of text. His suggestion was to read short passages and think about them. Ask ourselves what God might be trying to tell us or what this part of scripture tells us about the nature of God. There are a ton of resources available online for this type of Bible study and contemplation.

The third is prayer. Prayer is our direct link with God. It’s how we communicate with Him and how He communicates with us. The problem is we so often go to God with a long list of needs and desires.We rarely take the time to be still and quiet and listen to the answers and to learn what He wants us to do. Prayer, like any conversation with a close friend, should be a two-way street. We often act as we are leaving a message, not like we are having a conversation.

The fourth is service. When we serve others, we become a tool that God can use to build His kingdom. We are outwardly showing the world through action, the faith that we carry inside. Jesus served others. The term Christian means like-Christ. To be like Jesus, we should serve others in some capacity. We should remember all service counts. There are no little pieces in God’s plan. Every piece counts.

We are about to enter into the season of Lent. I will write more about that in tomorrow’s post. These four activities seem like a fabulous way to participate in Lent and so I thought I would share them. You probably do some really well and struggle with one or two. That’s okay and completely normal.

As we travel towards Easter, maybe we should consider what we do well and what we need to work on. That’s the beauty of being a Christian, Jesus will always help us along the way. How do you do with these four basic activities? What needs a little work? What do you think? Feel free to share.

Have an

awesome day!

Wendy 🙂