Monday, March 6, 2017

 
Devotional for Monday, March 6, 2017
“Walking Close With the Lord”
 
 
you are as close to god
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
One day while driving by a church I noticed they had this quote on the sign in their front yard.     I love when words such as these stir my heart causing me to look deep into my soul and examine where I am at.  Let us meditate upon these words today…
 
“You are as close to
God as you choose to be”
 
This quote is what I refer to as  a “heart checkup” quote.   These words caused me to pause and think about where I was at in my walk with the Lord.   We live in a time where there are precautionary tests  to maintain optimal health because we want to live long and healthy lives. This is a good thing but we need to be as diligent to keep checks and balances over our spiritual health as well!   May we permit words such as these that come across our path to stop us and lead us into examining our  our hearts.   
 
 
We need to keep our hearts challenged and listening to the loving voice of our Lord for He may choose to speak to us even through the simplest of things in the course of our day.      We can be assured that it is God’s desire that we follow Him so closely and  we never take our eyes off of Him.  He desires that we seek Him with all of our heart for He wants us to know His thoughts. When He speaks to us through His Word or in prayer it is a precious thing for this is how we will experience a wonderful intimacy with Him.   The closer we walk with Him, the stronger our faith will be, and our joy will overflow.   Praise Him for He is our forever Friend!
 
 Now let me share a little analogy with you to express the truth of walking closely and respectfully in your Lord’s presence.    If you were to invite a special guest into your home you may want to go to every extreme to make your home look nice and welcoming. You may also desire to cook their favorite meal for you want your friend to be so blessed as they visit you. I am sure you  would also make every effort to treat this guest with kindness and courtesy. Your speech would be thought out before you spoke a word because you would not want to be offensive in any way. You would want them to feel welcomed, loved and received.  How much more mindful we should be of the presence of our Lord as He has promised to never leave nor forsake us.
  
 
May we always treat  the Lord Jesus  as a very special Guest of great honor in our homes. When we are in our homes we need to remember that He is always present and in our midst.  May we ever be mindful that He should be honored and respected in all of our words and in our deeds.   Remember, we are the temple that He dwells within. As we live and move and have our being,we should be moving closer to Him but the choice is ours.  Remember…you are as close to God as you choose to be.
 
 
 
 
 
Psalm 73:28
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord
God, that I may declare all thy works.
 
 
James 4:8 The Voice
Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you.