Scriptures: James 4:8, Jeremiah 29:13, Genesis 14:8, Leviticus 1:8, Job 13:18, Psalm 23:5, 119:103, 50:23, 16:11, Matthew 4:4, 6:7, 1 Peter 2:2, 1 Corinthians 3:2, 1 Samuel 14:36-37, Isaiah 26:3
How close are you to God? You are as close as you want to be. God is willing to get as close to you as you are willing to get close to Him. Do you want to step closer to God? "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8). This verse if both precept and promises. The precept--you draw near to God. The promise--God will draw near to you. In this message, Dr. Merritt looks at how to develop a devotional life or connecting with God in a quiet time. If you are married, God wants to be closer to you than you are to your spouse. If you are single, God wants to be closer to you than you are to your best friend. If you are a child, God wants to be closer to you than you are to your own parents. He wants us to have "a closer walk" with Him.
"How do we begin to take a step closer in our walk with God? If we are going to walk with Him, we must take time for Him. If we are going to take time for Him, we have to make time for Him. Once you have decided to draw near to God, you may encounter various obstacles set in place by the enemy, the devil, because he has no desire for you to draw near to God." --Dr. Merritt
Keywords: God, devotional, prayer, Bible study, walk, television, Twenty-Third Channel, time, arak, sacrifice, direct, savor, Word of God, blood, alveoli, oxygen, lungs, Theodore Roosevelt, communication
Pastors Edge provides Bible preachers and teachers with ready-to-use resources and materials based on the preaching of Dr. James Merritt, Senior Pastor at Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, GA and host of the international broadcast ministry Touching Lives.