Resist and Draw Near

In my devotions this week a portion of Scripture stood out to me and it became the Message for today. Psalms 73: “ Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. For, lo, they that are far from Thee shall perish … But it is good for me to Draw Near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.” It is easy in our day to fall short of being “near” our God. The trials and stresses of our day cause us to temporarily fall short of the Glory of God. We do not mean to walk a distance away, but the cares of this life seem to draw us and tempt us and soon we are a distance away from our Lord. We are not backslidden, we are just going our won way taking care of business and Ooops we are a bit off the “Path of Righteousness.” Let me point to God’s Word, a powerful Word, I might add: Prov. 8:20-21 “I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that Love Me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.” Our Lord’s desire is to lead us in paths of righteousness, that is the “right path.” The Paths of His Grace, His Mercy, His Peace. He has said He will not leave us nor forsake us. Let us hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the Church. The most famous of all Scripture is Psalm 23, vs 3: “He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake. Have you ever wondered why Jesus pursues us so intensely? He is always present with us even when we do not desire Him to be there. But He is Faithful to never give up on us. Perhaps the desire of His heart is that we “Draw near with a true heart in full assurance of Faith” when we are in the midst of some trial or test of our Faith. I hear the power of His Word from James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you …” There is a lot to meditate upon in that verse. We must resist the enemy of our soul and we must draw nigh to our God – And God is Faithful to draw nigh unto us! O Thank you Jesus! His desire is that we purify our hearts and not be double minded. Blessing you and loving you, Pastor