I want a closer walk with God

I want a closer walk with God throughout this year. New Year resolutions, good as some may be, are not enough. We need to put our good intentions into achievable plans and carefully work on those plans so that we can reach the desired goal.

The desire to draw closer to God this year will be pleasing to Christ and is achievable. Yes, we all need to take careful steps to draw closer to God, to grow in our personal relationships with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul says godly living “promises benefits in this life and in the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8 NLT). When we stop seeking to live godly lives regularly, we will drift slowly to bad habits and practices; and soon undesirable lifestyle.

The Bible instructs us to “always flee from or run from anything that promotes lustful thought and conduct; instead we are to pursue righteous living, faith, love, and peace in association with or close fellowship with those who seek to call on the Lord with pure hearts” (2 Timothy 2:22). In pursuing this goal in the year, we need to take the following five practical steps:

•Change Your Mindset about Christ: The change of mind that God desires of us is daily attitude about where real life is found. There can be no real change in our lives unless there is a change of mind. It is about seeing God with fresh eyes, with fresh truth by renewed vision. Change your mind about the nature of Christ. He is God, not just one of the prophets or a good teacher of good morals or the son of a carpenter. He is our Creator so He deserves our full worship.

We must worship Him with our hearts, mind, soul, and strength. Jesus is supreme and sufficient; and so we must give Him our total allegiance and not look over our shoulders to seek help through any other prophet, shrine or ritual. Through our sinful nature and practice of sin, we human beings are separated from God. Jesus Christ is the only right mediator between the Holy God and us sinful people.

“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5-6NLT). Indeed Jesus is the only and perfect sacrifice for sin. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT).

•Read the Bible Daily: God still speaks to us. He speaks to us now primarily through His word, the Bible. Through daily Bible reading, we come to know the truth about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the nature of people; we learn the truth about demons, life after death, Heaven and Hell, and teachings on victorious Christian living, among others.

The Lord Jesus says when we read and study the scriptures, “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NLT). The testimony all around is that daily Bible reading changes lives! It will draw us closer to Jesus!

To pursue an effective daily devotional Bible reading, you need to own a good daily Bible Reading Guide. We recommend the following: “Daily Guide” (SU); “Light for our Path”, “Daily Bread”, “Walking with Jesus” (Selwyn Hughes). It is also good to own a Life Application Study Bible (LASB).

Life Application Study Bible’s notes are clear, simple, and helpful in understanding the Bible better. Refer regularly to these notes on the Bible passage you have read each day. Reading the Bible daily is a good habit to develop. It is good to read the Bible.

The most important thing is to practise what it says. “History is filled with philosophers who knew what the Bible said but failed to apply it to their lives, keeping them from believing and changing”.

We want to change and draw closer to God. The Bible itself cries out to us, “Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22NLT).

•Prayer is Essential in our Close Walk with God: While reading the Bible, God speaks to us; in prayer we speak to God. It is good to usually begin your prayer with worship and praise. We worship God for who He is and praise Him for what He has done.

After reading the Bible, turn the truths about God into worship or praise. Next, ask God to forgive your sin and wrong deeds. Then bring your needs to God. Make your requests very specific so you know when God answers your prayer. Learn from the Psalmist and bring all of yourself to God in prayer sincerely and frankly, and be hungry for God’s help!! Pray for your family and friends to know Jesus better and for them to succeed. Pray for our national leaders, and the good of Ghana. Pray also for global missions and peace in the world.

•Read at Least Two Books to Strengthen your Devotional Life: Here are some titles to consider: “Knowing God” by J.I. Parker; “7 Laws of spiritual success” by Selwyn Hughes; “The Normal Christian Life” by Watchman Nee; “Disciplines of a Godly man” by R. Kent Hughes; “Disciplines of a Godly woman” by Barbara Hughes; “Where is God when it hurts” by Philip Yancey; “The Pursuit of Holiness” by Jerry Bridges.

•Pursue Practical Holy Living Regularly: The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to live an exemplary life in speech, behaviour, in genuine love, faith, integrity and purity (1 Timothy 4:12).

I cannot imagine a person who knows Jesus Christ truly and is seeking to walk closely with Him, praying to Him or “sowing” tithe seeds so that Jesus will help her succeed in a drug-trafficking project, or in her efforts to snatch another woman’s husband or a godly man setting a trap to destroy his business competitor or political opponent.

We worship a truly Holy God who does not support evil. He instructs us to turn away from evil and live a peaceful, meaningful life. Some people want admission to school, new jobs, visa and prosperity in business through any foul means (by hook or crook) and will do that with good seed money or the payment of tithe to a church or fasting and prayer with a prophet. This cannot materialise without the help of Jesus Christ. He does not get involved with sinful agenda or wrong and evil methods of achieving our goals. We are called to live a Christlike holy life of faith, hope, love, justice, purity and integrity.

We must be encouraged in our goal to walk closer with God. The Bible says “come close to God and He will draw close to you…humble yourself before the Lord and He will exalt you” (James 4:8 & 10)

The author is a Leadership Development and Cross-cultural Ministries Consultant; an international conference speaker and formerly General Director/CEO of Scripture Union Ghana. Email: ghanajesuscrusade@gmail.com / sughanaho@gmail.com