Word For Today

THE WORD FOR TODAY DEVOTIONAL.

Sunday, 07 January 2018
Get Closer To God
‘Such people should not expect to receive
anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is
divided between God and the world.’
James 1:7–8 NLT
The planet Mercury is hot, whereas the
dwarf world Pluto is cold. That’s because
Mercury is close to the sun and Pluto is a
long way off. A planet’s temperature and
climate are determined by its proximity to
the sun. There’s an important spiritual
principle here. As a redeemed child of
God, your spiritual temperature is
determined by how close you are to
Jesus. You say, ‘I wish I were closer to
the Lord.’ The truth is that you are as
close to Him as you desire to be, decide
to be, and discipline yourself to be. Your
pursuit of God reveals your passion for
God—or the lack of it. To experience true
intimacy with someone, you must be
willing to sacrifice other things and give
yourself fully to that person. The psalmist
wrote: ‘You have said, Seek My face
[inquire for and require My presence as
your vital need]. My heart says to You,
Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I
seek, inquire for, and require [of
necessity].’ (Psalm 27:8 AMPC)
You’ll notice that the psalmist didn’t say
you were to seek God’s gifts, but His
face! Not the gifts, but the Giver of the
gifts! And a wonderful thing happens
when you do that: ‘Delight yourself also in
the Lord, and He will give you the desires
and secret petitions of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord [roll and
repose each care of your load on Him];
trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident)
also in Him and He will bring it to
pass.’ (Psalm 37:4–5 AMPC)
SoulFood: Ex 20:1–3, Deut 6:1–9, Mk
12:28–34, Rev 2:1–7