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Christian Perspectives: Christmas is a time for drawing near to God…

December 18, 2013   ·   1 Comments

Good morning Beloved, everyday near God is a good one. So I ask, “How do we come near to God?” Let’s see what the Bible says; “So humble yourself before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw close to God, and God will come close to you. James 4:7,8

From this scripture it seems pretty clear that we need to humble ourselves, resist the devil, come close in repentance and He lifts us up, seems simple enough.  However sometimes in life things get in the way, we believe lies such as, “You are too far gone, you can’t come to God”, or “Look what you’ve done, there’s no way God will forgive you.” So we submit to the lies of the devil instead of God’s word. It says to resist the devil who is the accuser as Revelation 12:10 states. Instead we are to humble ourselves and submit to God. The word says this “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness,” 1 John 1:9. It takes humility to admit we have done wrong, but God’s love receives us unconditionally and does not condemn when we confess them to Him; Jesus did not come to condemn the world, He came to redeem it.

Another set of lies we believe is that “We need more of this or that to be happy” or “You’ve made it on your own, you don’t need anyone!” Yet these are other deceptions keeping us away from God. Materialism and self-reliance are subtle traps luring us away from the creator and giver of all things. What we fail to realise is that our Father in Heaven desires to bless us with good things, for our good not our harm but above all things he wants a relationship with us, notice the scripture says,” Draw near to God and He will come near to you.”  When we are near Him we have all we need, as David wrote,” But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign  Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do,” Psalms73:28 and “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need,” Psalms 23:1

Beloved the Bible inspires us and guides us to surrender every aspect of our lives unto God. Our spiritual, physical, financial, and social lives are meant to do good unto others bringing glory to God our Father. So to come near to God the first step is to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, as scripture says;” If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God,”1John 4:15.  Then let’s reject the devil’s lies and humble ourselves before God confessing our sins then out of His great love God forgives us; next join His family. When we fellowship with one another we will find comfort, encouragement and strengthen our relationship with God and each other. Our lives when surrendered to God will be lifted up and used for good and in turn we reap the sweet benefits. This Christmas season is the perfect time to come close to God. When we acknowledge the birth of His Son we are closer to His heart. Although Christmas is a time for gifts and giving, the best gift to receive and the best one to give is the Love of Jesus, so it is with great pleasure that Crossroads Community Church desires to  wish you all  a Very Merry Christmas and a Love filled New Year! Asherey Shalom!

         

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