What Draws You Closer to God?

[Bowser]

What draws you, personally, to Jesus Christ? What moves you that he has done?

I was reading the stories in 'Jesus Freaks' about a week ago and couldn't help but be stirred by some of the people and events in the book. Other things that stir me are the devotionals by Oswald Chambers in his book 'My Utmost for His Highest'.

I'm praying that I can continue to be "stirred", and so I'm wondering what everyone else's input is. Post anything that you feel consistently and positively effects your life as a Christian.

For certain reasons I have moved away from being the passionate Christian I so want to be and have shifted to a much more comfortable, convenient, and ultimately frightening position as a casual Christian. I just want to make sure I take the right steps to correct that and be someone who is truly not of this world.

 

[Icthus]

Excellent question Bowser.

I hope more are willing to jump in with some thoughts.

For me personally two things draw me closer to God. The first come from Ps. 41:10- "Be still and know that I am God." Which really plays out for me when I take the time to slow down. I really concentrate on one or two things that bring me to a better understanding of God. One of the devotions I am reading currently talks about how Jesus was a joy to the people He ministered amoung. Sometimes, I personally get very business like and forget about the bringing joy to people. Joy is something attractive that draws people to God. Joy is something I desire to bring to people.

Which leads me to a second thing that draws me close to God. That is when I see people come to a deeper understanding of God. When they "break thru" a barrier to a closer relationship with the Father. I find an intimacy with God in these moments of watching a person spiritually grow before my eyes.

And personally Bowser passion is designed to fade. It is the relationship that is built to last. Passion will flow in and out of the relationship. It is love and obedience that sustains the Christ Follower. Not always in that order.

 

[Melinarlia]

I'm not 100% sure what draws me closer to God but at times I feel like it's a combination of people in my life and my want to grow more. For me, I grew up thinking that I had to go through a priest in order to talk to God one on one and that I had learned everything I needed to in Religion classes at school since they always taught the same things over and over again. Then I came to college and it was just totally different. I was told that I didn't need a middle man in order to talk to God. I could just do it myself. This was a revelation in and of itself. Also, seeing other people around me growing in their relationships with God also inspires me to grow more as well.

I can definitely relate to the "casual" feeling that you're having/had Bowser. It's because you've come down from this "high", most of the time thought of as a "passion". It's natural. If you mapped out your spiritual life, there should be hills and valleys depending on if you were going through a tough time in your life or, on the flip side, if you had just come back from a great retreat/conference/whatever that inspired you to do so much. We're human....this is how we work sometimes.

 

[Deuteronomy]

I'm just the opposite. If things are going well, I tend to forget to talk to my Father on a regular basis. When things are rotten, like when I was going through my divorce, I constantly cried out to God. So I would say the rough parts of my journey are what bring me closer to Him.

 

[Elihu]

Start every day anew....take time to start off your day in prayer, singing, rejoicing, reading the word and taking time to view this beautiful world he has planted us in. Look at the positives at the start of your day, and realize all the things he has blessed you with. (have to work = God has blessed you with provision) I start every morning on the drive to work with a praise and worship CD (Matt Redman usually) and sing my heart out to Him. Sing loud and proud! Take time to contact at least one brother or sister in Christ in your life and talk to them, encourage them, and bless them. More often than not you will find yourself feeling blessed and uplifted too. Put others before yourself (let someone go in front of you at a stoplight, help someone pick something up that dropped, or for real fun...pay for someone's gas at a gas station just to bless someone you don't know) and be amazed at the results you will find. I have found that these things keep my life in Him fulfilling, interesting, and motivating. Just some things to think on. God bless Lee (Tebran) and everyone else who reads this wanting to know the same thing.