One of the questions I get most often is, How do I get close to God? And/or ... how do I stay close to God?
Today I want to talk about "drifting." In order to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you actually have to swim against the cultural current.
In one sense, we’re all drifters. No one lives a perfect faith journey. You've heard me say it many times, "No perfect people allowed here." It's never about perfection, it's about progress.
So in other words ... Welcome Drifter!
Like any other relationship, your relationship with God must be maintained. It's a fact, relationships change.Those of you who are married know that your marriage has changed over time. Our bodies change. Our waist lines change. Even our hair line changes. Ha, it’s natural. When it comes to relationships, they're either getting better or getting worse.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" This verse is all about a fresh start. That is what being made new means! I don't know about you, but I sure am glad God doesn't stop at one fresh start, He offers them as much as we need them....and sometimes that's daily!
God gives us the option of digging in and being disciplined or just "going with the flow" and drifting and living for ourselves. The problem and the reality is that not living God's way has a lot more consequences. Some of us have chosen to believe in Christ but are coasting in the Christian life. So here's my question for you ... where are you on the drifter to disciplined continuum? Drifter being 1 and disciplined being 10 ... ask yourself where you land.
Many Christians live their life in such a way that it requires no faith at all. Your heart is either growing warmer or colder with someone. It is the same when it comes to our relationship with Jesus.There are times we just don’t feel as close. But we must be intentional if we’re going to keep any relationship strong, especially a relationship with Christ. And, while we don't like this word "discipline" the reality is it takes discipline to be a disciple.
Drifting away from God is a big deal. Instead of growing, somehow we started drifting. It's okay if you don't have an outlined plan for your growth just yet. But, you'll need one to accelerate your growth. At our church, we have a plan and we call it Seven Steps. Without a plan, we get into a mode of just drifting with our Christianity and not letting our faith get stretched like God wants to stretch it. The first step is simple ... tune in to our "Today Matters" daily devotional on our Skyline YouTube channel or check out our messages on our app or website. You'll get practical tools to help you take that next step of faith to ensure you're growing in your relationship with Jesus.
It's no coincidence that the root word of discipline is disciple! Ask God today what needs to happen in your life to grow in faith. What is God saying is your next step of faith?
rej56 said:
To help keep us from drifting:
Whoever keeps His Word, in Him, the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
the one who says he abides in Him ought himself walk in the same manner as He walked. 1John 2:5,6
Cathy said:
Being a Christian, is not easy. But with the Lord’s help we can do things super-naturally! As I have told other Believers we walk by Faith, not by sight. Usually against our selfish motives. Thank you for your sharing and giving us gentle reminders. God Bless you and yours.