How do you get closer to God?

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How do you get closer to God? The answer I heard for the majority of my life has been pray, read your Bible, go to church. All great and move us in the direction of that, but without one specific element, we will never get the connection that we really need. Now, at some point in our life, we've all heard the word sin, right? But do we know what it really means? Because the Bible says to us, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Which now begs the question, what is sin? So, I pulled up the definition. You ready? An act or feeling that transgresses, which means goes beyond the boundaries of, something forbidden or ignores something required by God's law or character, whether in thought, feeling, speech, or action. Now, can we trust definitions that are not in the Bible? Not always, so let's go to see what Jesus said. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." So, even in our thoughts, we can sin against God. And if we're talking about wanting to get closer to God, we have to keep in mind that the Bible says, "Your iniquities, were immoral behavior thoughts, have separated you from your God." So, how can we get closer to God when these sins separate us? Well, thankfully, the Bible makes it really clear. Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Now, at some point in my life, I thought that meant I have to go through Jesus and he has to give me a thumbs up or thumbs down based on how good I am. But that's not true because the Bible says, "For it is by grace you've been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast." So, it's not a thumbs up or thumbs down based on our works, but a gift from God that we have to receive by faith. Well, if Jesus is saying no one can get to the Father except through him, what's the gift and how do we receive it by faith? Well, the gift is God demonstrated his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners doing and thinking the things that God asked us not to do. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How does Jesus dying help us as sinners? Well, the Bible says the blood of Jesus, God's son, purifies us from all sin. So, God's gift is a way to be purified from all sin. Remember, Jesus said, "I am the way." So, that's the gift. How do we receive it? By faith. Well, thankfully, God gives us that answer, too, in the Bible. If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Believing Jesus died is one thing, but when we believe that he was raised from the dead, proving that he was God, we are proclaiming and submitting to the fact that God is who he says he is. And even though we didn't see it ourselves, we can still receive that gift, our sins being washed away, by believing that in faith. Now, it may sound too easy to receive it by faith, but what it requires from us is to repent, to turn from our ways, receive God's way by faith, and allow ourselves to be changed. Because when we say Jesus is Lord, that means we're trusting him to guide our life. And what better way to be closer to God than to have him there walking with us every step of the way. Let us know how we can be praying for each other today, friends. God bless.