Part of our CoJ vision is to be “God Honoring.” What does it mean to be God Honoring? One way is to draw near to God. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” The context is dealing with how to resist temptation. James is saying we can’t be out there doing our own thing and going our own merry way and expect to be spiritually strong enough to fend off temptations when they strike. James admonishes Christians to draw near to God. Meet with Him in prayer. Treat Him like your best friend. Get to know His heart and share your heart with Him and by so doing, find the strength to resist temptation.
Remember that God made the first move toward us in His offer of salvation. God so loved the world that He gave …. Furthermore, He keeps reaching out to us with overtures of love. How then shall we live? Ignoring or neglecting Him? Of course not! We’re family. Our instinct is to be close. Yet, we become busy. Life crowds in on us. We have lots of pressures and demands on our time. Yet, by neglecting Him we drift further and further from the awareness of His presence. Just remember, God wants nothing more than to spend time with His children, but He respects our freedom. He normally won’t force Himself on us. He wants us to choose to be with Him. So honor God by drawing near to Him. He’ll be there waiting.