GOD wants YOU!

On April 17th, 2011, I got the honor and privilege to preach at Deliverance Church, our ministry partner here in Busia.  As I was praying on Saturday, God gave me the words to say…what follows are the words that I wrote down after that encounter.
“God, You are more than a heavenly ATM…we aren’t just supposed to do to You when we want to be blessed, when we’ve got a problem and need Your help, but also when life is  good, just to talk to You, just to experience You.  I have come to learn that You desire a relationship with us, and just like a relationship between two humans, it takes effort and time…who are the people I know best?  Those that I’ve taken the time and effort to get to know…it’s the same with You.  If I only spent time with my parents, my leaders, my team, or John when I needed something, to ask for something, how good would our relationship be?  Not good at all, I would guess…plus I’d be missing out on all the things that those people have to offer me.  God, if I don’t spend time with You, if I don’t make the effort to be with You, our relationship will wither, like a garden plant that doesn’t get enough water…if the only time I ever talk to You is when I want to blessed or when I have a problem, I’m missing out on all of You…I’m missing out on praising You, my king; I’m missing out on just talking to You, letting You know how I feel and what’s going on in my life; I’m missing out on being fully enveloped by Your love, peace, comfort; I’m missing out on everything our relationship could be…
Dad, You love me and You want to know me, in good times and in bad.  Sometimes, I will be blessed because I have done something nice, something good for someone, and other times, I will be persecuted because of the things I have done…the question is, AM I GOING TO DO THE THINGS THAT I KNOW GOD WOULD DO JUST BECAUSE I WANT TO BE REWARDED AND BLESSED OR AM I GOING TO DO THEM JUST BECAUSE JESUS WOULD DO THEM AND THAT GOD THE FATER WOULD APPROVE…a good thing or action done for the wrong reasons can be wrong…feeling obligated to give to the church or only doing things because you want to be blessed aren’t the right attitudes to have…we, as Christians, should do things out of love for each other, love for God, and because we know that those are the things that Jesus asked us to do or would even do himself, those are the reasons to do things…
Job was upright in God’s sight, he did good things for right reasons, but God still allowed him to be tested, God still allowed for everything Job loved and cared about to be taken away but Job kept doing good, kept praising the Lord, and God rewarded him…BUT Job wasn’t looking to regain all he had lost by doing good things, his relationship with God had made his attitude right…Job could not help but cry out to God in anguish and praise Him in reverence…Job had been changed by God because he spent time with God, no matter what was going on, and he made a effort to always be in relationship with God.
Be like Job, like David, like Jesus…seek out a relationship with God, put in the effort and time to let Him get to know you, and for you to know Him, do things with an attitude of love and not to receive a blessing , and dive deep with God.  You will be surprised by everything he has in store for you, how much He loves you, and just how much you mean to Him…I can’t promise you that by believing in God your life will be peaceful and blessed but what I can promise is that being in relationship with God will change Your life forever…the Maker of the Universe wants to know You and be known by you…SO ARE YOU GOING TO GET TO KNOW HIM?