How do I come closer to God?

incorporatestreet · Aug 4, 2009

ive noticed that this is where a lot of people struggle.
but it is SO MUCH MORE then just going to church, tithing, praying, and reading your bible.
those are just things that help, but they sadly turn routine fast and people get stuck doing
'the motions' of church... you should continue to do those things, but pursue a PERSONAL relationship
with God. worship is very important, go into a deep worship so that you can truly connect with God
on a more intimate level...worship isnt the only thing, but in my life it is important.
he should be your best friend. dont get me wrong, you are doing a GREAT job so far and that is awesome

everyones walk with God is a bit different, you just gotta find your own stride.
also, ask god what he wants you to do to get more in depth with him.

BLU · Aug 4, 2009

dothackzero said:

To get closer to god you must obey his commandments. If you are still feeling alienated after all that then that must be the problem. By obeying God I mean to this, to read: (Rev 13:7) And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
(2Thes 2:3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
(2Thes 2:4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
(Mt 24:15) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand

(Mt 24:16) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Judea is the synonym for the church, and the mountains are a synonym for Jesus
(Rev 18:4) And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Listen to Open forum in the evenings at familyradio.com from 7:30 to 9, you can learn from listening to a teacher. Or find it on your radio dial. Familyradio!

BLC · Aug 4, 2009

MahogonySnail said:

Jesus fed Peter and said, 'if you love me feed my lambs and my sheep' Jn 21:15-17, Acts 20:28, 1Pt 5:2).

Christ, who is the head of the church, is the one who calls, equips and gives the pastor-teacher to the church to perfect the saints, for the work of the ministry and for the edification of the body of Christ (Eph 4:11,12). These that God has given for the oversight of the church will be according to (Jer 3:15).

'And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding'.

dothackzero · Aug 4, 2009

Okay I'm starting to get a really good idea of what I need to grow stronger:

1. Learning, and understanding that pain suffering Jesus went though when he died on the cross.(I think for somereason I'm simplifying it or something like that in my own mind and that's somehow making me less thankful than I should be.)
2. Putting Jesus 1st in my life. Girls are still alowed to be second right?
3. Worshiping, Praise, and thanking Jesus and God more.
4. Focusing on Jesus more, and not just on God. (Still don't exactly understand how this one fully works)

beloved · Aug 4, 2009

Easy... Don't make it complicated..just spend time with Him whereever you are...I found that the Lord loves to go shopping or play golf with me. Just talk to Him whereever, whenever, and stay in an attitude of thanksgiving. Tell Him how you feel, be honest, He loves honesty! Be yourself and let Him love you. That's it.

incorporatestreet · Aug 4, 2009

do what you feel in your heart god wants you to do.
everyones walk is different, figure out what god wants you to
do to get closer to him.

dothackzero · Aug 4, 2009

incorporatestreet said:

That's part of the problem, I don't really know what God wants me to do as far as getting closer to him. That's why I'm asking other oppionions on this this...

MahogonySnail · Aug 4, 2009

The way you get close to anyone is by communication. Prayer and bible reading. But realise if you're a christian God is already closer to you than he can get. But if you want to experience a greater depth and reality of God, ask to be filled with the Spirit and anointed and receive the gift of tongues. Then you can experience communication on a deeper level in your spirit and it will feel closer. Another way to feel closer to God is to give, give to a Christian organisation or charity. Or something like that.

Thaddaeus · Aug 4, 2009

incorporatestreet said:

I don't know if anyone has ever asked you this but could you please put on some clothes, this is a Christian Chat forum. not a dating web site or a porno site.

1co 8:12But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.

MahogonySnail · Aug 4, 2009

Thanks for the reminder Thaddeus that this is not a porno site. Some people might get confused.

Thaddaeus · Aug 5, 2009

Thaddaeus said:

much better picture Thank you

William · Aug 5, 2009

Hello DockHackZero,

Have you ever noticed that people who have been around each other and are close have little things that they share only between themselves? Little gestures and inside jokes no one else gets. "Places" that they only go to together. One way to draw closer to God is to keep a few secrets between just you and him. Could be almost anything. A walk you take, a little hobby, maybe a small service you perform for others anonymously, stuff you could do with reasonable regularity. I don't think it neccesarily has to be stictly "religious" in nature either; maybe its even better if it isn't. The point is that whatever it is you keep it between just you and him.
There are a lot of advantages to this. If the Holy Spirit is working in your life, then there are going to be times when he makes you aware of Sin in your life and you are going to question your motives for even the best things you do. By keeping this "thing" secret, between just you and God, you don't have to worry if you doing something to gain the attention and praise of others. If its not "strictly" religious you don't have to ask yourself it your doing it to gain/earn your salvation. It also helps you to learn a legitemate way to build intimacy with others, and it moves you away, at least a little bit and for a little while, from what C.S Lewis calls "need based" love and on to what he refers to as "appreciative love".

Hope that helps,

Willian

incorporatestreet · Aug 5, 2009

youre welcome.

dothackzero · Aug 6, 2009

William said:

Hello DockHackZero,

Have you ever noticed that people who have been around each other and are close have little things that they share only between themselves? Little gestures and inside jokes no one else gets. "Places" that they only go to together. One way to draw closer to God is to keep a few secrets between just you and him. Could be almost anything. A walk you take, a little hobby, maybe a small service you perform for others anonymously, stuff you could do with reasonable regularity. I don't think it neccesarily has to be stictly "religious" in nature either; maybe its even better if it isn't. The point is that whatever it is you keep it between just you and him.
There are a lot of advantages to this. If the Holy Spirit is working in your life, then there are going to be times when he makes you aware of Sin in your life and you are going to question your motives for even the best things you do. By keeping this "thing" secret, between just you and God, you don't have to worry if you doing something to gain the attention and praise of others. If its not "strictly" religious you don't have to ask yourself it your doing it to gain/earn your salvation. It also helps you to learn a legitemate way to build intimacy with others, and it moves you away, at least a little bit and for a little while, from what C.S Lewis calls "need based" love and on to what he refers to as "appreciative love".

Hope that helps,

Willian

It sounds good, but I don't really have any secrets. I'm a pretty open book.

William · Aug 6, 2009

LOL. Sorry, re-reading my post, maybe I wasn't as clear as I orginally thought. I was suggesting that you create a secret between you and God. Something you start to do, an activity, that you share only with him. I could give you mine as examples, but then they wouldn't be secret. It could be as simple as building a bird house you drop off secretly on someone's door step or as elaborate as learning another language. The point is that its something between you and God alone.

imoss · Aug 6, 2009

MahogonySnail said:

dothackzero that is great you want to get closer to God. But I think going to more church etc may make you feel empty and less satisfied unless you are meeting one on one with God.

Some people like to pray and fast.

Don't you know that faith implies persistence, and persistence implies faith. I think you are expecting quick and fast results, but it doesn't happen like that.

The reality is, if you're a Christian God is already as close to you as He's ever going to get in this life. His Spirit joined to your spirit. Be comforted with that thought.

But I admit we don't often experience His closeness or feel He is close.

Imagine yourself as a desperate lover trying to find the one you love, who is separated from you by some sort of chasm/gulf.

That chasm/gulf we know as the flesh.

The way we can draw near to God is by turning our hearts towards Him. You cannot get that by "doing" anything externally eg going to church, praying more, reading the bible more etc. We have to desperately seek His face out of the hunger in our heart. That means we have to get on our knees and cry out to Him for hours if we have to. Sing, worship, cry, laugh, do whatever you feel like doing. Be desperate. Ask to be filled with His Spirit, by the Spirit is how God makes His presence and reality known and close to us. Keep going until you do feel Him close to you and don't give up, persist in regular prayer. Realise He lives within you. Lay down your life and all your ambitions, desires, and will, humble yourself before Him. You are searching for Him, and scripture promises when we search for Him (seek and ye shall find), we will find Him. It doesn't say we will easily find Him, it often requires a struggle within our heart/mind. We might need to give up an activity we like doing, or cancel a planned meeting with family or friends etc in order to find the one we love.

After seeking God in this way, sit silently and quietly contemplate and meditate upon God's Person and His Word, and then relax, wait for Him to respond. Before God's still small voice comes, is turmoil eg earthquake, lightning , thunder.

Give yourself a couple of hours and if you don't feel closer by the end of 6 hours at least, then do it again the next day after having a good nights sleep.

wonderfully written!

BLC · Aug 6, 2009

Eph 1:22,23, 3:17-19, Col 2:9, 1Cor 12

When you read these scriptures they tell you something about the fullness of God and the body of Christ. Look at the NT and you will see that after the four gospels you have (9) letters written to (7) different local churches that were made up of believers. In the book of Acts you have the church at Antioch that sent out Spirit-filled believers to go and plant churches and visit other churches to build them up and extend the right hand of fellowship. Paul also writes (3) letters to (2) pastors dealing with various situations in local churches they pastored. Then you have Peter's and James' letters and the book of Hebrews dealing with Jewish believers in various locations and at the church in Jerusalem. The book of Revelation deals with (7) churches in the first three chapters.

Even in the four gospels you have the disciples and the people gathering with Christ continuously to hear Him speak. Christ gathered Himself with others at the synagogue from the time He was a young boy. In (Heb 10:24) we are instructed to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but to do it more as we see the day approaching. Anywhere you read in the NT you will see that believers and others where always gathering themselves together unto Christ, to hear the word, to pray, to fellowship, to preach the gospel and to worship. They gathered in synagogues, in other buildings, in homes, in the upper room, in the market place, on the hillside, on the shore and by the river, in a boat, on the streets and in many other places.

Jesus said that when (2) or more are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Mt 18:20).

Zeph 3:17,18 'The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden'.

God told Adam is was not good to be alone and it is not good for believers to be alone. Jesus Christ is the head of His body. It is a corporate body. We get to know the head of that body corporately. We have a personal relationship with God, Yes! But we will not experience the fullness of God outside the body. God does not want us to be a loner or some independent Christian doing their own thing. We can only comprehend the love of God with the saints.

Eph 3:16-19 'That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God'.

This was written to the church and local body of believers at Ephesus and not to an individual. Here is the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning Jerusalem those that He loves.

Mt 23:37, 38 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate'.

William · Aug 6, 2009

BLC,

I suspect its a matter of balance. I think its always important to place everything we read in the Bible in its full context. In this case there are many examples in the Bible of people who spent time alone with God, including Jesus. At the same time he also spent a great deal of time in fellowship with others. So I guess I would say that if a person's tendency is towards "going it alone" they need to keep in mind the warning to "not abandon the fellowship of believers" and the other benefits of cooperate worship that you have noted above in your post. However, I would also say that it would be a mistake to ignore the example given to us by Christ himself, and not make provision for time alone with him.

William

BLC · Aug 6, 2009

Let's also be practical. There is (24) hrs in a day and (7) days in a week. That is plenty of time and opportunity to be alone with God anywhere you want.

William · Aug 6, 2009

BLC,

Actuallly the advice was practical, not all inclusive, and was meant to compliment the other posts here not usurp them. It could have been taken as an attempt at a "real working out;" at least in the spririt, of the cooperate approach that you advocate in your post, provided of course that the reader was of a minimally charitable spirit. In any case, I've said all that I have to say on the matter and I won't be drawn into a silly debate about it. I would encourgage DockHatZero to read all the posts, test the spririts, and consider if together they don't answer his original question.

William

How do I come closer to God?

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