A Close Personal Relationship
I have read the Bible dozens of times and have never once seen the things that I am now seeing in it. That in itself is a testimony of the “living” word of God, but that isn’t why I mention it.
I mention it because it is also a testimony of a close personal relationship with the godhead; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The closer I get to God, the move alive the Word of God becomes.
The decision to read through the Bible began with a desire to “know” God. Sadly, that desire turned into a routine of annual, sometimes laborious, reading. That isn’t to say that the Holy Spirit would not reveal things to me as I read, but the “goal” to accomplish the task of reading it through became the driving force.
These days I still have the commitment of reading through the Bible, but the drive is very different. These days I find myself reading the same passage over and over, day after day, sometimes for weeks. I have seen something different each time I opened the Bible, it is fascinating.
I bring this up because of things that my eyes are being opened too about a close personal relationship with the godhead. These things have always been there; my heart was not at the place that allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal them to me.
Clearly, Jesus is the example that is to be followed. Everything about his life on planet Earth has a story to tell about a close personal relationship with the godhead. His teachings layout how to begin that relationship.
In the New Testament books of the Gospel, is a story about Jesus and what one version calls, “his climbing” companions. The story, commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount, refers to his disciples as his “climbing companions”.
It is important to gain an understanding of the surroundings. Jesus’ popularity was on the rise. Crowds of people had begun following him. In one place, Jesus mentions that the crowds are there for what they could get out it—a free meal—, which also has importance, but not meant as the focal point of gathering.
The disciples had made a decision to leave everything in order to follow Jesus. Their commitment to follow Jesus is what allowed them to be climbing companions. While the others were content to stay below, the disciples were determined to follow Jesus. This means they were close to him as he spoke. It means that they were able to see his face, notice the voice inflections he used, look into his eyes to realize the importance of what he was saying.
A close personal relationship means getting close enough to see, hear, and feel what someone is saying or doing. This is in contrast to the contented masses that were content to be afar and simply hear the words being said.
One evening after speaking at the church gathering, a gentleman approached me. I have never forgotten the first words out of his mouth. As I extended my hand to shake his, he said, “You look a lot younger 200-feet away.”
The point being that a close personal relationship is not developed 200-feet away.
2nd installment
In the New Testament book of Matthew, chapters five through seven tell of Jesus’ first public teaching. It is called The Sermon on the Mount. I saw something fresh as I read it this year. I saw a clear message on building a close personal relationship with the godhead.
The Message Bible unfolds it this way. “When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:”
What he says next, is called the Beatitudes; what I saw was (and is) a picture of someone on a journey—to a close personal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Jesus began by describing how to be blessed. Everyone wants to be blessed, so Jesus wastes no time in out-ling how you get there. He speaks of eight ways to know that you are blessed. I find it interesting that the number eight speaks of a new beginning. Using that premise, Jesus gave eight ways to find a new beginning by beginning an unexpected journey.
You are blessed when you:
find the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on
feel you have lost everything dear to you
are content with who you are
worked up a good appetite for God
care
get your inside world—mind, and heart—put right
show people how to cooperate commitment to God provokes persecution
Next Installment
The journey to a close personal relationship with the godhead means a journey of being blessed; it means a journey to a new beginning. The journey begins when you realize that you need to give up who “you” see yourself as being—or not being.
This journey begins with trust, how else can you tie a knot and hang on? This trust begins with an understanding that God the Father loves you so much that he paid a great price to allow you the opportunity to have a close personal relationship with him.
This trust continues with an understanding that God the Son loves you with unfailing love by paying such a huge price to ensure the pathway to this journey.
This trust moves on to God the Holy Spirit (the active agent of the godhead in the earth today) as you learn to know his presence, hear his voice, and obey his promptings.
It is important to understand that Jesus lost everything by spending a brief agonizing moment away from the Father in order to fulfill the plan of mankind’s (male/female) redemption. This is what feeling “like” you have lost everything dear to you means. Once those necessary moments of agony were over, Jesus resorted to the place he willingly gave up.
I find it paradoxical that the world is obsessed with food; whether it be those who are starving because of a lack of food, to those who fuss over the type of food they eat. Jesus calls a person blessed who has worked up a good appetite for God.
Think about it.
What do you think would happen if a starving person spent as much time looking for God as he or she did look for the next meal? What would happen if the person so picky about what type of food goes into his or her mouth, was that picky about building a close personal relationship with the godhead? How different do you think the world would be?
Caring defines the godhead. A person is blessed when he or she has learned how to care; not care as the world defines it. It isn’t caring when a person has the spotlight on themselves as they “show” how much they care for someone in need. “Care-centered” is not blessed—except in their own eyes, “Care-full” people are the ones who see the blessing of the Lord.
To get your inside world right is at the heart of a close personal relationship with the godhead. This unexpected journey exposes the darkness, the failures, the inconsistencies of your life. The beauty of such a revelation is the freedom it brings and the joy of seeing God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in so many things in your daily lives.
Think about this. What is the best way to show someone, anyone, how to get along? The best way to show someone anything is by living the example in front of him or her. It is “doing,” not “saying,” that speaks to the heart of people. It is easy to be impressed by hearing someone give a rousing speech. But, someone who quietly demonstrates the right way to do it, is someone who is blessed.
Your commitment to God that provokes persecution, that brings a blessing. A close personal relationship with the godhead is a journey that takes you to such a lifestyle. The difference isn’t that you live such a way so as to provoke others. The difference is that your commitment to the godhead provokes others because of your willingness to do what God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit ask of you.
This is the new beginning, the start of being blessed.
Next Installment
In the book Reese Howells: Intercessor, God the Holy Spirit came to Reese with a very important question. He asked the prayer warrior if he would be willing to give up everything to follow him. His honest answer was enough for a close personal relationship to grow. Reese Howells said, “I am willing to be made willing.”
It was not that Reese was one hundred percent in, no, Reese was one hundred percent willing to be one hundred percent in. This holds true today. The journey begins with the first (perhaps baby) step. That is followed by the next step and the next step.
The unexpected journey to a close personal relationship is about the willingness to take one step at a time. In other words, you are willing to be made willing—so you take the first step.
In The Message Bible, Jesus puts it so clearly, “Let me tell you why you are here. You are here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth.” You are here to bring out the God flavors of this earth.
The way you do that is by being salt-seasoning.
Salt is a seasoning used to enhance the flavor of the thing it is placed on. Have you wondered if the salt you sprinkle on your popcorn is going to make the popcorn taste better? I would imagine that the thought never crosses your mind; and why? It doesn’t cross your mind because salt brings out the flavor of the popcorn.
Why are you here? As a Christ-follower, you are here to allow your life to bring out God flavors. You do that by exhibiting the characteristics of someone who is blessed. For example, when you are “shaken”, instead of getting mad, you offer a smile. Instead of going along with the crowd, talking bad about someone, you say something positive about him or her. Instead of trying to see how little you can do, you find out what else can be done.
In doing this, you are being salt.
The focus is on building a close personal relationship with the godhead. Being salt is simply out-flow of such a relationship, that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. It is possible that someone has enough self-will to respond in a “salt-like” fashion once in a while. However, a close personal relationship builds a God-will within the heart of the Christ-follower, that allows him or her to be “shaken” without self-will.
The next analogy Jesus offers is to be a light. The difference between the two—salt and light—is that light illuminates; which means it is seen from farther away. In order to taste salt, it has to be close to your taste buds. The use of the light analogy means that your life isn’t just in a corner or remote place. It means it is out in the open for any and everyone near you to see.
I have a friend who was up for a promotion where he worked. He was wrongly overlooked and the position went to someone else. Everyone in the company knew it was wrong. They went to my friend asking what he was going to do. He told them he was going to get back to work. They were amazed, thinking he should march into the boss’s office and demand the promotion. He told them that God would take care of him. A few months later the person that was given the promotion left the company; guess who got the promotion that everyone thought he should demand to be given him—my friend!
His light shone brighter than his disappointment. He didn’t fuss and fume in front of his coworkers; he simply let God take care of the matter. That simple action spoke more to his coworkers than a hundred finger-pointing accusations of sinful living.
Everyone in the company knew he was a Christ-follower. He witnessed more to them by letting his light shine (his actions preached the sermon) than telling them they were sinners going to hell.
This is letting your light shine.
I like the fact that the light is represented by a candle, as opposed to a modern-day lamp. A lamp has the capability of being turned on and off, whereas once lit, a candle burns until it is put out.
This is huge. The candle simply shines, while the lamp can be turned on and off. Jesus indirectly addresses this in one of his encounters with the religious leaders. He says that they tell people to do this, or that (light on) while they do nothing of the kind (light off). He says they like making a public show of how holy they are (light on), while their heart cares nothing for it (light off).
Religion has the light analogy completely backward. Religion sees the light shining by doing their religious actions, or duties. God sees it as the light not shining.