Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Christian living

  • God is Closer Than You Think

    God is Closer Than You Think

    God is closer than you think

    Where do you think God is? It’s a simple question, but the answer is often surprising. A lot of people think God is somewhere way off in space, in heaven, wherever that is. The truth is that God is closer than you think.

    There is a sense in which that is true. God is transcendent. He is outside of time and space as we understand it.

    There is a sense in which he is internal. The Holy Spirit dwells with every believer.

    Yet at times, he can feel so far removed from us that we cannot even begin to sense his presence. Our prayers seem unanswered. We seek peace, but all we feel is turmoil. Everything is going wrong. We feel pressed, persecuted and beaten down.

    The world weighs heavily on our shoulders. Humanity is a mess, and the inmates seem to be running the asylum. Where is he?

    He is closer than you think.

    The Bible is full of verses to confirm the truth that outweighs our feelings.

    For Yahweh will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance. Psalm 94:14

    Yahweh is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. Psalm 145:18

    He is often with us, and we fail to recognize Him. It happened to Jacob.

    … “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it.” Genesis 28:16

    Hagar did not recognize the Lord in the wilderness. Cleopas and his companion did not recognize Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. He walked for 30+ years in Israel, and most people could not see Him for who He was.

    In closing his instructions to the disciples after giving them the Great Commission, Jesus said, “… I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 18:20

    He hasn’t left you. He’s right there with you. God is closer than you think. He sees, He knows, and He cares.

    There will come a time when we see him in the New Jerusalem, but never forget He walks with you today in every situation.

    Hold fast, my friends.

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone) 

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    SUMMARY

    Despite our feelings of abandonment during hardship and unanswered prayer, God is never truly far — He is both transcendent and intimately present with every believer.

    KEY POINTS

    Throughout Scripture, people failed to recognize God’s presence even when He was right beside them — Jacob, Hagar, and the disciples on the road to Emmaus all missed Him in the moment. 

    God’s Word overrules our feelings: He will not abandon His people, He is near to all who call on Him, and Jesus promised to be with His followers always, to the end of the age. 

    Whatever you’re facing today — pressure, turmoil, unanswered prayer — He sees, He knows, and He cares. He hasn’t left you.

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

    You might also enjoy “Close to the Master,” “Is Christianity too narrow?” or “The best news you will ever hear!”

  • Is Christianity Too Narrow? What critics miss about the gospel.

    Is Christianity Too Narrow? What critics miss about the gospel.

    A narrow uphill trail in the woods - Is Christianity Too Narrow? What critics miss about the gospel.

    We hiked up the mountain through the forest. The trail wasn’t very wide, at places almost non-existent.  We had two choices: use the path or scramble up where there was no path. We chose the narrow path.

    Now, if you have been a Christian for any length of time, that phrase narrow way reminded you of a Bible passage (perhaps in whole, or maybe just the idea).

    Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. Matthew 7:13

    In other places, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the only way is through faith in Him. There is no other plan.

    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:3

    That has led to charges that Christianity itself is very narrow. Those charges have merit; there is only one way, and it doesn’t get any narrower than that. That’s God’s plan. He created everything, and He gets to make the rules. There is a narrow path.

    There are some things that the complainers don’t recognize.

    Firstly, without Jesus, there is no way to be forgiven and reconciled to God at all. He would have been perfectly righteous and just to allow everyone to perish in their sins. That’s fair punishment for rebellion against the king.

    Jesus didn’t have to come to redeem us. He chose to, and that is incredible love and unmerited grace.

    Secondly. While some may claim that the way of Christ is exclusive by its one-way nature, it’s also the least exclusive club in the world.

    The way of Christ is open to people of any age, from any culture, of either gender, from all socio-economic backgrounds, and at any level of sin. You don’t have to be religious enough, righteous enough or good enough. You don’t need lots of money or education to enter through the narrow path.

    You can’t earn your way in by good works. You can’t buy your way in. You can’t be born in. It has one requirement, faith in Christ, and even the worst among us have an opportunity to choose that.

    Christians are not people who have their act together. They are flawed people who are being transformed into the image of Christ. They will let you down. They may be hypocritical. They might look very much like Jesus. Then again, neither do you.

    The difference is that they responded to Christ by faith and were redeemed.

    Churches are messy places, but God will clean them up. The world outside the church is equally flawed, but without Christ, it will never get better.

    Narrow? Absolutely!

    Exclusive? Hardly!

    God calls, and we have a choice to make. Will we respond, take the narrow path, and follow Him ,or will we reject Him?

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    You might also like. “Enter through the narrow gate.”

    SUMMARY

    A narrow mountain trail becomes a vivid illustration of Jesus’ teaching about the narrow way to salvation — one path, one requirement, one Savior. Though Christianity is rightly called narrow, it is paradoxically the most inclusive invitation in the world.

    TAKEAWAY

    • The narrow way is real and intentional: Jesus is unambiguous that faith in Him is the only path to the Father, and God, as Creator, has the right to set that condition.
    • Narrow doesn’t mean exclusive: The way of Christ is open to every person regardless of age, background, culture, wealth, or depth of sin — the only requirement is faith.
    • Grace, not fairness, is the starting point: God owed humanity no rescue; that Jesus came to redeem us at all is an act of extraordinary love and unmerited grace.

    You might also like “The Gospel, the best news you will ever hear” and “The call you can’t ignore.”