Christianity Oasis Forum

[Jedidiah]

For the Forum.
Today I picked an ‘Avatar’ for my profile. (And I felt rather pleased with myself that I managed it! (Although I would actually prefer to call it a Logo.) (Thank you for providing such a lovely choice).It says, ‘Grow with God,’ and a pretty blue flower opens up.
That’s one thing I want, as I interact on this site. To Grow in the Knowledge and Love of God.
I have started on day 1 of the Spirit of Truth again and am reluctant to move on too quickly. So I may take more than one day on each step.
My prayer - Ps 6:3,4 My soul is also sore vexed: but Thou, O LORD, how long? Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for Thy mercies’ sake.
And He reminded me of this Promise. Ps 23:3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
I find I lapse so easily into complacency. The tendency is to think we are all right. And before we know it, we are stumbling along wondering what happened.
I asked The Lord why it is that we are so constantly in need of ‘reminding’, ‘cleansing’ and ‘repair’, and He gave a rather special response.
‘Every day you clean your house. Every day you bath and put fresh clothes on. Through the day, you often wash your hands and face. – Well it is the same with the Spiritual.’
Another precious point that I found meaningful as I read through the step, was the reminder to ‘Be aware of His Presence as I tell Him everything.’
I remember as a young Christian struggling to understand the meaning of James 4:8. “Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you.”
I had grasped with both hands and full heart the Word that said, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the World.” and, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” But this Word seemed to put the responsibility squarely on my shoulders. I wondered if I had the formula right, to draw near. How could I reconcile the two views?
Then one day I realized He was saying. “Get intimate with me and I will get intimate with you.” He is always near but I need to open up and share the depths of my heart, and then He will open up His great store and share with me the depths of His Heart.
(Ps 25:14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.)
As the full implication of this dawned on my understanding, I got down on my knees, and began the most intimate of relationships I have ever known.
I discovered the secret of opening my heart fully to Him who understood and cared about my simplest feelings.
I realised He knows all things. I don’t have to hide anything from Him or try to impress Him.
But troubles sometimes overwhelm and I take my eyes off Him, I lose sight of His promises and His presence and so I need to be reminded from time to time because I forget so easily.
Blessings,
Jedidiah.

[jimf]

Jedidiah. This is a truly awesome word. It's this relationship that you have so beautifully described, this is what He truly desires. This is a far cry from the "religion" we practice. Holy Spirit help us. Jimf