Intimacy With the Father

Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

About a year ago I remember asking God a simple, sincere question, “What is Your heart?” He gave me one word in response. It was “relationship”. As I pondered this thought, I realized that this is what it’s all about. Intimacy with the Father. Everything God did from creation to now was for relationship. He created us to be His family. When sin separated us from His presence, He immediately went to work to restore it and completed that work in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Right away I thought of David. Here we have the “man after God’s own heart”. Why was he called that? We know that he wasn’t a perfect man by any means. The reason he was given this title is because he was a man that would literally go after the heart of God. He sought God to do all His will (Acts 13:22). His songs express how he longed to be in the presence of God and would meditate on His law (Psalms 27:4, 119:97). This was a man who had an intimate relationship with the Father. Because of this, he was surrounded with God’s favor and enjoyed many victories even when it seemed impossible.

There is no denying that Jesus set the greatest example of all. In his ministry we see how he would separate himself from the crowds to enjoy time alone with the Father (Luke 5:16). Prayer was the key to the outpouring of miracles and revelations leading up to our redemption at the cross.

Now, we can enjoy the same level of intimacy with our Creator. The veil of separation has been removed. The world is looking for something real and has endured all the religion it can stand. What is needed and necessary is the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. We need to have such a close and intimate relationship with God that He illuminates our world around us, and so that His power may be demonstrated everywhere that we go. Just like Moses, we need to be lit up with the glory of God. That only happens when we spend time with Him.

Fulfilling Your Purpose - Step 1

The first step to fulfilling your God given purpose in life is to get a vision. In Proverbs 29:18 we read that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The Message translation says, “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves.” In other words, without the ability to see what we are aiming for (God‘s plan for us), we just blindly stumble about searching for the unknown. Chances are, we will miss our target.

Now, according to Merriam-Webster, one of the definitions for vision is: the act or power of imagination. Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” The imagination is a gift from God which provides us the means by which we may envision our future. God gave you the ability to dream, and what you see and think on regularly will affect the direction your life will take.

Another definition for vision is: mode of seeing or conceiving. In order for conception to take place, a seed must be planted. To conceive an idea, a thought must be planted. The longer that thought is permitted to stay, the more it will take root in your heart and produce results in your life. "As he thinks in his heart, so is he…" (Proverbs 23:7a) "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things." (Matthew 12:35) So what are you thinking on?

If you are wandering around aimlessly with no vision and no plan, the end result will be an unfulfilled life. What a tragedy! I encourage you to read God's Word. Let's look at what God told Joshua.

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8)

David referred to the Word as, "...a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalms 119:105)

God has a great vision for you in His Word. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11) So, dig into His Word and see what He has in store for you.