Walks With God

      Our Fall Focus begins in three weeks. It is going to be a great month as we focus on our God, getting to know Him better, drawing closer to Him and learning to walk hand in hand with Him. I hope you are telling your friends about it.

      Below is an excerpt from the book we will be reading: Walks with God. This is from the chapter entitled God in Heaven.
 

      If we are going to walk hand in hand with the God of heaven, we have to remember our place. The whole purpose of recognizing God’s heavenly abode is to remember God is God and we are not. He is in heaven, we are on earth. He sees and knows all, we do not. He is the master, we are the servant. He is the king, we are the subject.

      When we come to God, we are not doing so as equals. We should, therefore, humble ourselves in His presence.  Regrettably, many are so enamored with God’s grace and condescension they have forgotten God is God. The king who has been merciful to his subject is not bringing the subject up to the King’s level, neither is God doing so with us. God rebuked the Israelites in Psalm 50:21 saying, “These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.” God is God and we are not. We must remember that as we pray, sing, study and teach.

      Read what the preacher said about God in Ecclesiastes 5:1-2:

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

      The preacher’s whole point is the care we must take because God is in heaven and we are not. We must not be rash and hasty as we approach our God.

      Let’s keep this in perspective. God does care about us.  I believe He cares even about the small things in our lives. Thus, this point does not mean we should only come to God when it is really important. Rather, this means we need to take care in how we approach God no matter how important it is.

      I appreciate the folks who advise us to talk to God the way we do our best friend. However, I fear this advice misses the point. God is our loving benefactor. He does care. But He is not like our best friend. Our best friend is on earth; our God is in heaven. We can speak flippantly, irreverently and lightly with our best friend. We had better not do that with God.

      We can boldly enter the presence of God because of the blood of Jesus Christ.  However, we must not enter His presence brazenly or brashly. We must do so with respect and reverence, remembering our place before Him. We are the creature; He is the creator. We are the subject; He is the Ruler. We are on earth; He is in heaven.

Edwin L. Crozier