From The Desk of:

Don’t Get in the Way of Your Relationship with God

  The beginning of a close relationship with anyone is respect for the person and their thoughts and words since their words come from the heart (Proverb 23:7), which is who the person is. Their words become a representation of who they stand for. Relationships rise and fall and are sustained or ruined by how we respond to the voices of those we say we love. Scripture says in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” To fear God is to take His words seriously. To develop into mature Christians who are growing, we must be men and women of the Bible. God’s Word is not just a book but a transformative force overseeing and determining what will control our decision-making.

 Instead of fearing God’s word, some live by what they think. Their reason, rationalism, and brains will be their lives' authority. The only problem with focusing on the human mind is we are subject to limitations and a mind that can become entrenched with sin. We need God’s word because our minds can become unreliable and desperately need restoration. Jeremiah 10:23 says, “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”  Some live according to their feelings. “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26). Emotions as a source of authority are unreliable because they change. Like rollercoasters, our emotions are up and down.  To some people, their conscience is king. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it” (Jeremiah 17:9)? As much as I want to depend on my conscience, my moral compass can become broken by what I feed it. If your conscience has been getting the wrong information, your view of God, the world, and the people who make up the world will be diluted and disfigured.

 If we care about our relationship with God, we will always be mindful of how He communicates through His wonderful word. Don’t allow anyone or yourself to hinder the most important relationship one could ever have.

©July 13, 2024, Courtney Henderson