Family: Growing Up Godly…Next Steps
Learning the Basics
Hey There…
We hope you and yours enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Celebration of Jesus’ birth! But now as the New Year explodes on the scene, where will 2019 take us? What are your goals and objectives? That depends on how you start…and learn the ropes.
As we mentioned last time, when we were born Spiritually into God’s family, just like with our Parents, there was already a lot in play. God already had in mind our best “life set” that would reflect His Glory and Name through our lives. Like any newborn, our parents already knew how to meet our every need before we understood we did. (Well kinda …but you get the picture 😉 ) God does this too, as He begins to build intimacy, trust, provision and Love into our young lives in relationship with Him.
Soon we begin to communicate with Him…through prayer conversation, then listening to Him through reading His Word, pondering what He is impressing on our hearts. How does it to our relationship with Him? As we have known our earthly fathers intimately, do we know what our Heavenly Father is like? What is His personality…what does He Love? What makes Him smile and happy. What causes Him pain and grief? What were His thoughts when He created me? How can I show my love to Him, respect Him, honor Him. He is the Lord of all Creation, He created everything that was made, including you and me. How can I serve Him? It all comes down to the “heart” of our relationship with Him. That’s really the “Heart” of the matter… Not just what God does for us, or what we do for Him. It is the heart “motive” and the “why” what is done that matters. That is the foundation of any relationship.
But before we begin, let pause to clarify a few things…
I’m going to move away from the early childhood references for a moment to say that many of us may be new in our relationship with God as adults. If that is you, Welcome to the Family!! You are going to be amazed!
But, maybe you are like I was for many years, just going through a “religious” relationship with God that was purely platonic; Like me, you accepted Christ’s death for your salvation, but never learned those first foundational steps of knowing and understanding Who our Heavenly Father is. I knew that He had many attributes, but I didn’t equate them to His personality or His desire for my life. I just went along my way, connecting with God, so He could help me when I needed it. For a long time many perceived my life as being a strong Christian, but it was not really true. I mean, I knew the right things to say and do more than others, but I wasn’t fooling God. he wanted so much more for me. If this sounds a bit like your journey, Welcome Home! I know our Heavenly Father is waiting for you with open arms to begin cultivating your best life for the rest of your life.
Communication is the Key for a lasting relationship with God…
Heartlife believes that a close and intimate relationship with God is firmly founded upon an intimate prayer connection, an intentional and reflective study of God’s Word; and an expectant eye for watching God at work around us and joining Him daily.
Intimate Prayer Connection: Personal interaction is crucial to all human relationships. From the time we enter this world until we say goodbye, the 5 senses that God created in us helps us to communicate personally with each other, and with God Himself. Those relationships are intended to be interactive both ways… (If you have ever been in a one-sided conversation you know what I mean… like pulling teeth) God made us with an innate desire for relationship so that we would not be alone, and that we would know of our relational need for Him to be active in our lives every day.
Many have heard it said that “Prayer is conversation with God”. But somehow, we struggle. Like a young preteen boy getting the nerve to talk to a new little girl in his class. We don’t know what to say, or where to start. Why?… because it’s God; what do I say? The truth is… just start talking about what is on your mind. There are no right or wrong ways when starting out. He wants to hear what’s on your heart, He is our Heavenly Father who is completely open and wanting to hear from you, His son or daughter…just as most loving parents would do. He understands that the relationship is only beginning, but He has been waiting a long time to connect with YOU! Through Christ we are all now adopted as new brothers and sisters in our Heavenly Father’s Forever Family, with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that we share.
Next time we will look more at “Who is God?” What does God say about Who He is, in His own words, from the Bible. What is He like? What is His personality? His mind and heart? How does it fit with your picture of Him? Now that we His Children, His People; how do we reflect His Family traits? Now THAT’s a conversation you won’t want to miss. ♥