Last issue, we began to delve into how we as Christians must begin to go deeper with the Lord in various areas of our lives. This entails building a stronger foundation in the following 4 areas:
1 – Deeper relationship with God
2 – Deeper understanding of God’s Word
3 – Deeper in God’s love
4 – Deeper planting in a church of His choice
We left off the last issue with an encouragement to stay connected, or vitally united to the Vine, which Jesus describes Himself as the True Vine and we, His followers as the branches. And as the branches cannot bear fruit apart from the vine, neither can we if we are separated from Him (John 15:1-9). This speaks of our relationship with the Lord, how we must do all that we can do to guard and maintain that relationship.
Our relationship with God is the most important relationship that we have. It is what Jesus died for, so that we can have forgiveness of sins and to restore our relationship with the Father. I like the way this is described in the God’s Word Translation. It says this:
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 – GWT – God has done all this. He has restored our relationship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships. 19 In other words, God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn’t hold people’s faults against them, and he has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others.
Everything that Jesus did on the Cross, the shedding of His blood as an atonement for our sins (Ephesians 1:7), His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:4) was so that we weak human beings can be restored to have a relationship with God the Father. What love!How much the Father loved us to sacrifice His only Son so that we can enter into fellowship with Him!
With that in mind, how much more ought we to guard the most important and precious relationship that we possess? As my encouragement persists (even though I know I may sound like a broken record), as a Christian, do all that you can do to guard your relationship with the Lord. Do everything, with the help of the Holy Spirit who is your Helper (John 15:26), to protect and guard it, for many distractions can come your way to keep you from maintaining that relationship.
This is not just something that I encourage others to do. I also have to stay on top of this for my own relationship with God as well. I too, find that I can become very easily distracted if I am not careful to guard my own heart. The busyness of life, the distractions of other pursuits and sometimes the “I-don’t-feel-like-it’s” try to get hold of me as well. And I also have to watch and guard my soul!
The book of Proverbs has a warning for us that deals with the heart. It says this:
Proverbs 4:23 – NLT – Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
We have to guard, keep, or as another translation says, “protect” our hearts, for what proceeds out of it will determine the course, or direction of our life. We have to watch what we put into our hearts and minds and be diligent to protect it, primarily our hearts in response to our relationship with the Lord. We have to be careful that we do not let bitterness or offenses enter in as these things can disrupt the purity of our relationship with the Lord. We must also be careful that we do not allow known, habitual sinful practices to interrupt our communion and fellowship with the Lord (Psalms 66:18).
So I encourage anyone who may be struggling in your relationship with the Lord to fight for your personal time with Him. Give Him the time that He so deserves from us so that we can know Him better. I am convinced that God wants to fellowship with us much more than we can imagine. Ask Him for His grace to help you for the Scripture says this:
2 Corinthians 12:9 – NIV – But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
We will continue in our “Going Deeper” series next issue. God Bless!
