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Draw Near To Him
by Donald Mehl Our Almighty God created everything that exists and has a perfect plan for all that ever was, all that is, and all that forever will be. He holds the seven seas in the palm of His hand and is in complete control of all His creation. He controls all things even our next breath and heartbeat. It is only with God's permission that we are able to live from minute to minute of every day. All throughout our lives we will experience hills and valleys. Sometime we might find ourselves in a very low valley and then must face a hill that seems like an insurmountable mountain to climb. However, our awesome God on the mountain is also our God in the valley. If we truly seek His face, He will take us by the hand in that darkest valley and will safely lead us out. He will put His strong arms around us and then carry us over the tough places in our pathway. He wants us to lean on Him all the way from that deep valley to the highest mountain peak. He desires to have a personal relationship with us, and is waiting patiently for us to put our complete faith and trust in Him. After we do that, He will lead us out of those dark valleys and into the bright sunshine at the top of the mountains. When we have a relationship with Him, our prayers will be prayed with humbleness, sincerity, submission, and with a repentant heart as He commands. If He lives within us, if we truly belong to Him and if we pray as He has told us to pray, then God will hear us. When He hears us, the heavens will begin to shake and the demons will tremble and flee. Whatever we ask in His Name according to His will, He will do it (John 14:14). God will move mountains for us if we just ask and believe (Mark 11:22,23). He has promised that the floodgates of Heaven will be opened up with blessings so abundant we won't be able to contain them (Mal. 3:10). He'll give us vineyards we didn't plant, houses we didn't build and wells we didn't dig (Deut. 6:11). We will be like a tree planted beside the River of Living Water (Jer. 17:7,8; Rev. 22:1,2). However, if you pray and don't truly know the One you are praying to, then God will not hear those prayers (Is. 1:15). Your prayers will not even leave the room. The only prayer from the spiritually lost that God will hear is when they ask Him to 'be merciful to me a sinner, I repent of my sins, forgive all my sins and come into my heart as my Savior and the Lord of my life'. A personal relationship with Him simply cannot exist without that spiritual re-birth and born again renewal of the heart. Our awesome God has a love for us that knows no bounds. As recorded in John 3:16, He sent His Son Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for all who would choose to accept Him that they might have everlasting life. His love for us is so great that even if you or I had been the only person on earth, Jesus would have come here willingly to die just for us. In John 14:6 (NKJV) Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." His blood was shed on the cross at Calvary for all my sins and yours. After three days He rose from the dead victorious over death and the grave. He ascended into Heaven and is preparing a place for us. Jesus, the Name above all names, is soon to return and will rule and reign forever and ever. He will be King of Kings, Lord of Lords and of His Kingdom there will be no end. He paid the full price and endured the punishment on that cross in our place. That's why His grace is so amazing. He paid our sin debt for us! We need to truly understand who He is and what He did for us. After realizing that we are eternally lost sinners and need the Savior in our life, we then must humbly confess our sins before Him and invite Him into our heart and life as our Savior, Master and Lord over all. Where we spend eternity is clearly a choice we must all make in this life and it's our choice alone. To simply not choose is our choice to reject His free gift of salvation. If you don't truly know Jesus, then one minute after you die, you will suddenly realize too late that you would have given up everything for only one more minute of life and breath just to have asked Jesus into your heart. Have you been on your knees before Him to humbly confess and repent of your sins? Have you consciously and deliberately invited Him into your heart and life as your Savior? Jesus gave His life for us. What will you choose to do with Him? Your eternal future depends on how you answer those questions. After we reach out by faith alone to accept His free gift of salvation and place Him first in our life each day with our complete dependence and trust, then we will have a personal relationship with Him that is unlike any other. We will learn to pray and find comfort through His written Word. He will be our friend, our guide, our Savior, our Lord and Master, and our Blessed Hope for all eternity. Only with that relationship can we truly say, 'I am His and He is mine'. James 4:8a (NKJV) "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Praise Him for His amazing grace! During retirement, my prayer is that I might serve the Lord by sharing the Gospel through my writing. As the Lord leads, my work will inform, challenge and encourage. I also enjoy Biblical theme woodcarving, Bible studies and Christian music. Watch, pray and keep looking up! Donald Mehl Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |