INTIMACY,
WITH GOD

A GUY was watching football on a Saturday afternoon. He had the remote in his hand when the phone rang. He walked over to the phone with the remote in his hand. Even while on the phone, he was interested in keeping up with the game so as not to miss any big plays. He couldn’t see the TV but he figured that at least he could half listen in. He pointed the remote in the direction of the TV and attempted to turn the volume up. Nothing happened because he was too far. It’s not that the remote didn’t work, and it’s not that the TV didn’t work. He was just too far. Sometimes Christians will say that God doesn’t work when in reality the problem is that they are simply too far. It’s not that Jesus doesn’t work; it’s not that the Bible doesn’t work, and it’s not that the Holy Spirit doesn’t work. If a person is not in the vicinity, then it will certainly seem that way. Closeness and intimacy with God is what provides the full experience of walking with Him.504

[Intimacy, Importance of; Jesus, Relationship with; God, Knowing]

Mark 7:6; Heb. 10:22; James 4:8

THERE was a sister in the church who was battling with her weight. She had tried every diet known to man but her weight kept fluctuating up and down. A few months passed without me seeing her at church. One Sunday, I happened to see her after service and I was shocked. She had virtually lost all of the weight she had fought for so long to shed. Her solution? She met a man and fell in love!

She explained to me that she knew the man she had been dating was the man she was going to marry and she wanted to look good in her wedding dress. The solution to her problem wasn’t a rule-based approach to eating less. She was able to conquer in a short amount of time what had plagued her for years because she had developed a relationship and was seeking his pleasure. There’s power in intimacy. There’s power in relationship.505

[God, Knowing; Intimacy, Power of; Jesus, Relationship with]

John 17:3; 2 Peter 1:3

THE STORY is told of two dogs, a German shepherd and a poodle. They were arguing about who was the greatest. The German shepherd argued that he was bigger and stronger; the poodle argued that he was cuter.

The German shepherd, game for a contest, asked the poodle if he wanted to test his greatness by seeing which dog could get inside the house of the owner first. Poodle agreed to the challenge. The German shepherd went first. With its strength, it went up on its hind legs, opened its mouth, and put it on the doorknob. He couldn’t turn the knob with his mouth so he took his paws and begin twisting and tweaking. After about three minutes, he had twisted and turned and tweaked it and he got the door opened. He was worn out from his effort to get inside.

It was the poodle’s turn. He went over to the other door, got up on his hind legs, and scratched. The owner came and opened the door. Religion required hard work and lots of effort. Relationship required a lot less because the poodle knew how to get the attention of the owner.506

[God, Knowing; Jesus, Relationship with; Legalism, Danger of]

John 15:7; Eph. 2:8–9