“Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16, New American Standard Bible
In the Old Testament, the people could not approach God. They brought their goats and bulls to the temple as sacrifices to atone for their sins, but the people were not allowed to enter the temple beyond the Outer Courts. Only the priests could enter the actual temple and only the High Priest had access to the Holy of Holies, which represented the presence of God.
Our access to God was provided by Christ. When He died on the cross for us, He was the perfect sacrifice that cancelled out the old law requirements of goats and bulls to be offered for atonement. Matthew 27:51 says that at the moment of Christ’s death, the veil in the temple that was the entrance to the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom. That was the exact moment when our direct access to God was made available to us.
A book I read recently had this quote: “But access doesn’t equal intimacy. Just because we can connect with God doesn’t mean we do. Even if we do connect with God it doesn’t mean we’re connecting in a meaningful way.” – Go With the Flow by Brad Huebert
When I recently attended a training seminar in Nashville, I spent 16 hours with 95 people I had never met and I cannot tell you one thing about them. Even though I ate lunch with some and talked to them for an hour or so, I’m doubtful I would recognize them if I passed them on the street today.
Access does not equal intimacy and just spending time with someone does not create intimacy.
I may read my Bible daily, yet, my connection to God is NOT based on me sitting and reading His Word for 30 minutes every day. I will certainly know more about God by doing that, but the real connection occurs when I also open up to Him, pour out my heart to Him, tell Him everything that is on my mind; surrender every part of my being to Him, seek His will and respond obediently to that will.
And once I have done all of that, I’m am still not done. All of those thing listed above are all about me. To experience true intimacy with God, I should turn my mind off of myself. I can start with an attitude of gratefulness, acknowledging that without God I have nothing. I can confess every sin and receive forgiveness for that sin. I can approach God and sit with Him, basking in HIS presence and HIS glory.
In my old way of doing quiet time, I used to take weekends “off”. After all, on Saturdays, I go to my Bible Study group and on Sundays I go to church. Then, I started following the “flow method” of quiet time that is described in the book “Go With the Flow”. I could still take weekends off from my quiet time, but I don’t. This time of intimacy with God has changed from a routine item on my check list into a time I need and crave daily.
This same intimacy with God is available to you. If you would like to learn more about the Flow Method of quiet time, there are two opportunities for you to experience it: Prayer Journey on Friday, June 5th: This evening is based on the “flow method” taught in the book. We will drop our “baggage” aka distractions at the door and journey through the flow that leads up to truly enjoying the presence of God.
Summer Bible study: Intimacy with God: We will read the book “Go with the Flow”. The method for quiet time taught in the book is based on the “flow” of the Old Testament tabernacle/temple, but with a New Testament perspective of our personal access to God through Christ. We’ll read the book, then mentor and serve as an accountability group for each other as we start to enrich our quiet time with God.
You can learn more about the Prayer Journey and the study at the Women @ CF counter or at christfellowship.me.
Note: When you pick up your book, this is a case where you literally should not judge a book by its cover. You may think the book is about Finding Nemo and if you leave it lying around, your toddlers may pick it up and ask you to read it to them. Trust me – when you read this book, you’re going to find someone a whole lot bigger than Nemo!
Shared by: Cindy Cantrell
Women@CF Blog 