Intimacy with God (Part 2): An Invitation

I wanted to know why Peter, James, and John were in Jesus' inner circle of friendship, or why John was his closest friend.

So I read Peter's letter and John's letter, where they spoke of their direct experiences of Christ.  I hoped to find clues to their close connection to Jesus, but found none.  Then I read the epistle of James, not realizing that it wasn't the same James that was in Jesus' inner circle.  But God used my ignorance to answer my deep question.

As I read James, I found this verse:

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."

That's when the Spirit said these words to me:

"You can be as close to me as you want to be."

My question was answered!

Why were Peter, James, John, Martha, Mary, Lazarus, and all who were close to Jesus, as close as they were to Him?

They wanted to be!

They were as close to Jesus as they wanted to be!

The same is true for you and me!

We can be as close to God as we want to be!

So how close are you to God right now?
As close as you want to be.

"The LORD is with you while you are with Him.  If you seek Him, He will allow you to find Him, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you."

"From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us."

Intimacy with God (Part 1): An Invitation

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”  When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”  And Moses said, “Here I am.”  Exodus 3:1-4

Notice and respond to God's daily invitations to intimacy.

While Moses carried out his daily duties, he noticed something unusual:  a bush burning, but not burning up!  In deserts, bushes catch on fire--and they burn up.  Shepherds were used to this.  Moses was used to this.  But a bush that burned without burning up?  

This was a divine invitation.

One that had to be accepted or rejected.

God didn't speak to Moses until Moses decided to go over and look at the bush.

God invites you and me to intimacy daily.  But He won't speak unless we respond to His invitations.

So how do we notice invitations from God?

How do you invite people to connect with you?

How do people invite you to connect with them?

Directly and indirectly.

An example of a direct invitation is a friend request on Facebook.  But the invitation has to be accepted or confirmed.  Then, you have a new Facebook friend!  Or someone may suggest a friend for you to invite.

In the same way, God directly invites us by speaking to our hearts and consciences.  He comes to us by appealing to our deepest desires for meaning and significance.  Our desires to be noticed and missed.  We feel a pulling to be noticed.  This pull comes from the One who always notices you.

An indirect invitation to connection is like making eye contact with someone and smiling, or leaving a token of affection, like a rose.  With both of these, the key is attention given to one who has your affection.  He notices you.  Or she wants you to know that she notices you.  Being noticed is an invitation.  

One day at work I looked out of a window and saw a beautiful black bird with red designs on it's wings.  The red was striking, but couldn't be noticed until the bird opened it's wings.  I felt like God was inviting me to notice this bird, and thus notice Him as it's Creator.  Why did I feel this?  Because I was in a position where only I would have seen that bird at that moment.  

As I write, I am totally alone.  Listening to soft rain drops.  Surrounded by the stillness and silence of God's presence.  This is an invitation we all receive, but that most of us resist.  The times when we are alone, in silent stillness, but instead we turn on the TV or radio.  But sometimes, like late at night, when we simply cannot sleep, and there is nothing pressing to do, but we are too tired to get out of bed and turn on a TV or some distraction, we have yet another invitation.  An invitation to share our thoughts and feelings with God, the only one awake in the house!

God is subtle and gentle and humble.  He skillfully gets and keeps our attention, but will not share Himself unless you accept His invitations.

Will you accept God's invitations to intimacy today?  

Will you accept His invitation right now?

The Key to Every RELATIONSHIP

Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?  Amos 3:3

The key to every relationship is commitment.  Mutual agreement.  Agreeing to at least be in the same place at the same time for the same reason.  Walking in scripture is a picture of life together.  Literally walking together assumes the two walking together:

1. Know each other.
2. Agree to meet at a specific location
3. At a specific time
4. For a specific reason
5. To go to a specific destination.

Whether work associates, friends, best friends, or spouses, these five things apply.

I've learned this because of how attached I am to those I love. 
I first learned it with a close friend of mine.

I never knew when or if I would see him, and this bothered me.  So I told him.  I wanted us to commit to a specific day and time that belonged to us.  During that time, we belonged to each other, giving each other our undivided attention.  We've kept that commitment for 13 years now. 

I realized that my desire for marriage matched my desire for salvation.  I found out that believing in Jesus gave me a guarantee of heaven, of eternal life, defined by Jesus as intimate knowledge of God the Father and God the Son.  So what I wanted was a guarantee of constant intimacy.  Only God could give this to me.

Yet on earth I also wanted a guarantee of intimacy.  Only my wife could give this to me.  We agree to walk together until death or the Lord's return separates us.

I feel insecure when I feel connected or attached to someone without a mutual commitment.  I'm sure you do to, at least with those you really care about.  How can you know you will see and connect with your loved one unless your lives are orchestrated so that you have a guarantee of intimacy? 

How can you both walk together unless you agree?

Christmas: God's gift of intimacy

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23

All of my life I wanted the honor of intimacy:  the honor of someone simply wanting to be with me and know me, for the simple joy of experiencing me, and for this reason only.  Like when someone calls you just to say he is thinking of you.  When someone writes you only because she misses you.  

No other reason.  
No other motivation.  
The simple joy of connection.

What I value most about Christmas is God's gift of intimacy to me.  

In a prophecy about the coming of Jesus, God shows His motivation towards us:  To be with us.  That is how Jesus was introduced: As God with us.  We see this with God walking in the Garden of Eden with the first man and woman.  We see God living with the nation of Israel.  We see the new promise of God to be with, in, and among His people in the words of the prophets Jeremiah and Joel.  In the consummation of all time, and the beginning of the new age, we read these words:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."  Revelation 21:1-3 NIV (Emphasis mine)

In fact, it seems as though the very reason God gave us bodies was for His Spirit to live inside of them, as it is written:

“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
I Corinthians 6:13, 19-20

I appreciate Jesus coming to the earth to be with us, and giving us His Spirit to live inside of us always.  This gives me happiness because it erases my loneliness.  When away from my beloved family, at a job where it is only me and those who may see me as an enemy, I have God with me, in me, loving me.  

This is Christmas.  
This is Jesus, God's gift to us:  To always be with us and in us.

In this God does for me what I value most:  He communicates His desire to simply be with me because He enjoys me.  

I supremely enjoy Him as well.  I live for the simple enjoyment of being with Him.

Why it is sometimes hard to pray

"All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent."
St. Teresa of Avila

It's usually easier to talk on the phone than to text or email, not in terms of convenience and time, but in terms of clearer or fuller communication.  And it's easier to talk face to face than on the phone for the same reasons.  In person we can consider facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language as affirmations of the words spoken.  In addition, we can simply feel the person out by intuition, sensing their vibe or spiritual impressions through all of the mentioned communications.

With God it is the same, though our senses are spiritual instead of physical.  In other words, because God is a Spirit, or because He is Spirit, He simply is who He is.  He is always all of Himself, and never less than real, never other than genuine.

Prayer is simply conversation with God, the Supreme Ultimate Person, Personality, and Community of Personalities. 

But think of this.

Imagine you are with two other people who both know you, or at least know of you.  They talk to each other about you, as if you were absent.  How do you like that?  How does that make you feel? 

Or imagine you and one other person in conversation, someone you like to think of as a friend.  This "friend" talks to you as if you are absent, as if he has NO idea who or what you really are, as if she has never met you (or anyone like you) before in her life.

It's hard, if not IMPOSSIBLE, to communicate or respond to someone who speaks to you as if you are absent. 

God is all knowing, which makes Him infinitely sensitive in the most beautiful and strongest sense of the word.  He knows when He is being treated as though He isn't there (or worst of all, as though He does not exist.)

Would you share your thoughts or emotions with someone who treated you like this?

When we CAN'T be in a "PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP" with JESUS

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. I John 3:4-6 NASB

We can't be in a "personal relationship" with Jesus WHILE WE ARE SINNING!

This should be obvious.

Why?

Look at the verses above.

Those who practice sin or lawlessness practice that which is the opposite of Jesus' purpose and personality, as opposite and non coexistent as light and darkness.  Light and darkness can't be in the same place at the same time, because one, darkness, is actually THE ABSENCE of the other, light.  Darkness is when light IS NOT THERE.

GOD IS LIGHT.  SINLESS.
IN GOD THERE IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL.  NO SIN.
SIN AND SINLESSNESS CANNOT COEXIST AS LIGHT AND DARKNESS CANNOT COEXIST.

Again, this should be obvious.

No one who ABIDES in Him sins.

The "Him" in the verse is Christ.
To abide means to be intimately attached, intimate connection, intimate relation.

A "personal relationship" implies intimacy.

Think of someone who is your intimate friend, or someone you would WANT to be your intimate friend.

Now think of someone you wouldn't DARE be intimate with.

Notice the two persons are in opposition.

The one who is intimate with you knows you, and thus knows what you love and what repulses you.  He would ONLY do what you love, and NEVER purposely do what repulses you.

But the one with whom you wouldn't dare be intimate devalues what you value most, and loves what you most hate.  She refuses to listen to you when you feel most loved when you are listened to.  She enjoys irritating people while you enjoy showing kindness as often as you can.

So, we could put the verse this way,

"No one  who is BEING intimate with Jesus does what He hates.  No one who does what He hates has been focusing on Him or experiencing Him WHILE THEY DO WHAT HE HATES!"

Some of us complicate verses like this by introducing issues of salvation, "sinless perfection," or "habitual sin," when it is far simpler than all of this.  Is it really just all about us?  Is the only focus whether WE go to heaven, whether WE can live without sin, whether WE can sin occasionally or habitually?

Can I commit adultery and experience marital intimacy AT THE SAME TIME AND IN THE SAME PLACE?  Let's make it worse.  Let's say the adultery is with my wife's enemy!  Can I do this OCCASIONALLY, and expect to STAY MARRIED?

You tell me.
Can we experience AT THE SAME TIME both intimacy and enmity?

GOD IN ME

Think of this:  God made us in His image and likeness. 

Think of the words of Jesus:  "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father."

Think of the implications of the purpose of our creation:  To be Christ imitations--Predestined Christian.

Think of what this means right now: 
If you believe in Christ, you possess the nature of Christ,
and the Holy Spirit of Christ;
so when someone sees you,
they have seen the Lord,
assuming you live in agreement with the Lord.

If you accept the mission of Christ as your mission, then men and women encounter God when they indeed encounter you.

This is the mission of Christ, in the words of Christ: 

"For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. All who are of the truth hear my voice."

Believe in Christ and commit yourself to the cause of Christ; in doing so you will be one with Christ.

Thus, when people encounter you, they will encounter Christ in you.

THE GUARANTEE OF INTIMACY

I remember hearing my pastor say, "Did you know that if you believe in Jesus, you have a guarantee of heaven?" 

I liked the word guarantee.

Heaven for me is the guarantee of intimacy!

I have this by God's faithfulness in keeping this promise:

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

The guarantee that God gives to me is that we can be as close as I want to be!!!

He gave Himself in His Son and His Spirit.

Now it's up to me!

The faithfulness of a promise is the power of intimate bliss.

God gave me this.

My wife gave me this.

Think of it.

Parents bring children into the world...in love, with love, and to love.  The promise of faithfulness carries from marriage to the fruit of marriage; but it is not made directly. 

Yet with God one denies self, even if it means death, and commits to following Him.

And with a wife or husband, another commitment is made until death does them part.

At this moment I know nothing more precious than the promise of faithfulness!!



A message from God's Spirit to the lonely

Listen to what God's Spirit says to you, lonely one:

"To each one who read this, no coincidence exists.  Of all that you could be reading, what made you read this?  Loneliness is the condition of disconnection between Creator and creation.  I made you for our union.  I love you, dear one, daughter and son.  If you open your heart's ears, you will hear My voice of love.  Listen.  Let us be one.  Believe in God's son."

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To you, the one reading, listen to me now.  

All of my life I felt alone and lonely, like I was the only one who wanted the deepest connection.  I felt, and sometimes feel, like earth is a hell of shallowness where we hide what we are and who we are.  I felt like I had no one, and before I had God's Spirit, I did have no one.  But as it is written, this is my heart's expression:

"Whom have I in heaven but You?  And earth has nothing I desire besides You." 

Psalms 73:25

Sometimes the hole in me would feel so deep I that my fall into it seemed eternal.  I wanted to be craved as I craved, to be needed as I needed, to be longed for as I longed for.  I wanted to always touch and be touched and touching.  To be hugged tightly and timelessly, the kind of hug where neither feel afraid of hugging too long or closely, where they let go intuitively and mutually, or hold on intuitively or mutually.  Every now and then someone would hug me like this...two desperate and lonely souls finally meeting and connecting...but only briefly...after this, again, lonely.

At times a song sung by a lonely singer cuts our hearts in half.  I believe many fall in love with singing voices because this voice carries the heart of the lonely in each lyric.  Many artist turn to drugs for the high that they seek in relationships...they seek the ecstasy of intimacy...some seek it sexually, not realizing their need spiritually.

We are all alone and lonely.  We come into this world with a cry of helplessness, and we leave this world with the breathlessness of loneliness.  

Who but our Maker hears this cry?  Who but the one who breathes in our nostrils the breath of life understands this need of life?

To the one who reads, if you have read this far, you know.  You feel.  You want.  You need.  You desire.  You crave.  You obsess.  You feel this endless loneliness.  I know, because I felt this.  

If you admit that you do, then I love you.  Yes, I love you, and though I don't know you, I know you.  Isn't this what you want, immediate unconditional love?

Think about it.  If a cute little baby boy or baby girl that you never met, sitting in a grocery shopping cart, looks at you with adorable, innocent eyes and says, "I love you,"

wouldn't you respond, "I love you too," and wouldn't this love be genuine and true?

But we hide this need for immediate and real love.  Some make you feel weak because you are desperate.  You shouldn't be so "needy."  You should be satisfied with yourself and in yourself.  But God Himself said, "IT IS NOT GOOD FOR MAN TO BE ALONE."

You are not alone.

God is with you, as it is written, 

"From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us."  Acts 17:26-27

At this moment, God is with you, lonely one.

And I am with you.

God loves you, lonely one.

And I love you.  

Why does He love you?  Because God is love.  To love for Him is to be Himself.

And why do I love you?  Because the God who is love fills me, spirit, soul, and body.  He gave me the words at the very top of the page.  He gave me these words for you, dearest one, dearest daughter and son.  He longs for you.  I long for you. You are longed for.  He desires you.  I desire you.  You are desired.  He pours out his heart to you.  I pour out my heart to you.  He risked it all.  I risk it all.  I am opening myself up for rejection.  So does God.  But YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!

I LOVE YOU!

Olatunde