Does God have your heart?
I’m convinced that there have never been as many distractions in the life of a person as we have now. So how can we give God more of our hearts in the daily grind while so many things are competing for our attention? If we are to reach new heights in our relationship with Christ, we have to intentionally pursue Him. He desires to bring us to a deeper knowledge of Him and He longs to take His Church to new heights. Whilst God draws us in, there is an element of human responsibility on our part to pursue Him and give him more of our hearts. Here are a few ways we can do that....
Reading the Word of God
Matthew 4:1-11, tells the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. One alarming detail stood out: how well versed satan is in scripture. Satan is known to take scripture and twist it to meet his own needs. This is called eisegesis. And he still uses it as a tactic today. My concern for today’s church is that we don’t make knowing the word of God and how to apply it in our lives enough of a priority. If we don’t know it, how can we use it? The only way Jesus was able to resist the temptation of the devil was through proclaiming scripture to his misuse and misinterpretation of God’s word. Fellow sisters in Christ, if we are to grow in our relationship with our father, it is imperative that we use His word as a lamp to guide our feet.
Praying consistently
It’s hard to keep our eyes off a world as hectic as ours is right now, but we must train our hearts and minds to stay steadfast on Christ. When we look to Him, we are given the power and resources needed to overcome the darkness that surrounds us. I recently heard a pastor say that Christians have to stop trying to anticipate Satan's next move and keep our eyes on God! I’m so guilty of trying to detect the next awful thing that’s going to happen. Yet, God can reveal far more than we can “find out”, so our wisest course of action is to seek the council of the Holy Spirit and follow His lead. Through prayer, we can help our minds remain fixed on Christ, no matter what the circumstances are. Prayer also allows us to deepen our trust and reliance on Christ and form a deeper bond with our Savior.
Strip away anything that doesn’t point us back to Christ
Television shows, movies, books, who we follow on social media, what we read, who we
surround ourselves with, the thoughts we entertain, how we spend our free time, and the likes. I know sin can’t be tackled all at once, but we have to get serious about honoring God in every area of our lives. If our goal is to take our relationship with Christ to new levels, we have to let go of the things that hinder that progress. Sin is so deeply embedded into our culture that there are times we hardly notice that we are entertaining it. Take a moment to inquire of the Holy Spirit what activities you may be engaging in that have created a wedge in your relationship with Christ. Repent and ask God for Grace to help you overcome a desire for anything that doesn't point you back to truth.
Blog by Celestial.
For me, writing has been God’s continual invitation for me to seek Him in the midst of my mess: a constant reminder that He does not require perfect, but willing vessels.