Intimacy with Jesus Christ

Being in the presence of God is what every Christian wants, but somehow, it can get difficult to keep it consistent. We often allow the troubles and distractions of the world to rob us of such sweet fellowship with our Father.

Occasionally we stumble into Him, and we are delighted. It’s a joy and a privilege to us to be able to spend time with Him. Time alone with Jesus Christ allows us to know Him, to love Him, and to grow stronger in Him.

I just want to encourage you (and myself) to pursue times of intimacy with God. He desires that time alone with us, just as a Father longs for intimacy with his child.

As Christians, our goal in life is to grow more Christ-like each day, and there is no other way to accomplish that other than spending time alone with Him. We ought be fully committed to Him in order to know Him intimately and to become more like Him.

I admit, I get such a joy from serving the Lord in church and from fellowshipping with other Christians. But that alone is not enough for my spiritual growth. I need time alone with Him where I can share my deepest thoughts and cares, and where He too can speak and comfort me. It’s important to even have a place (an altar) where we can be alone with God. Of course, mine is my room, my bed, especially. There, I have had the most intimate, one on one, times with the Lord. It is there that I have felt the most satisfied in life!

I am positive that you, likewise, as Believers, have experienced such intimate times and can vouch with me that there is nothing more satisfying in life than spending time in prayer and Bible reading with Jesus Christ.

James 4:8 says “draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” I take great delight in that. He really does draw nigh unto me each time I seek His face. Truly, there is nothing more satisfying than intimacy with Jesus Christ!

LYDIA

In Acts 16:14-15, we have an account of one woman who was in the right place, at the right time, with the right heart, and with the right attitude. God can do amazing things through men and women who are prepared to seek Him, to follow Him, and to be obedient to His will.

In this passage, we see how the Holy Spirit guides Paul to Philippi and guides him to one particular woman - Lydia. That's challenging - am I, are you, the right woman, in the right place, at the right time, with the right heart and with the right attitude - ready for God to use?

I really like Lydia, because she was the first Christian convert in Europe – a Greek young lady, Amen! Although Lydia is only mentioned in Acts 16, we can put together a really neat profile:

1. She was a dealer in purple cloth, and as such was probably wealthy. Our passage says the members of her household were baptized along with her, so she might have had servants, and certainly had relatives living with her. Purple cloth was valuable and expensive. It was claimed to be worth its weight in silver. It was usually worn as a sign of nobility or royalty, which gives a new significance to the passage in Mark 15:17 where we read that the soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus, then twisted together a crown of thorns as they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!"
2. She worshiped God, although, at that point she may not have met the true God, Jesus Christ. However, we know that she responded to the gospel, and got baptized. She probably won her household to the Lord too, which is why we read that they too were baptized;
3. She was a woman of prayer. She went to prayer meeting (v13);
4. She listened and was eager to learn;
5. She was obedient to the doctrine of baptism;
6. She wanted to serve, and remained faithful to the Lord;
7. She had a love for the saints of God;
8. She opened her home and was hospitable, which leads to my last point;
9. Through her the door was opened for ministry in that region. She was a key person in the establishment of the church in Philippi. Philippi was the key city in the region of Macedonia (Northern Greece).

The result of Lydia's conversion led to the first church in Philippi. The church met in Lydia's house. We know this because of verse 40:

~And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. Acts 16:40

This was after the famous story of Paul and Silas in prison and their miraculous deliverance which led to the jailor’s, and his household’s, salvation. Isn’t it great that when Paul and Silas were finally set free, they had a place to go to – the house of Lydia.

It really is a remarkable story. We have an incredible account of a lady who met the Lord Jesus Christ and remained faithful to Him and to His people. Now that the Lord has given my mom and I a new home, my prayer is that the Lord turns our house into “the house of Lydia”, where Christian brothers and sisters can fellowship here and call this place their home too.

Spring Revival

Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Psalm 85:6

This past weekend was just…great! Our church had its spring revival with Pastor Rick Sowell, of Hope Baptist Church, Toledo, Ohio. The preaching was solid, the music was great, and the fellowship was even greater.

These events make for wonderful opportunities to invite unsaved loved ones, which we did. Many visitors came over the Friday through Sunday services and heard the blessed gospel of our Lord. We know of one teenage girl who got saved. Tears ran down her face as she accepted Christ as her Saviour, especially when told that her friend had been praying for her salvation.

This revival was also good for us as Christians and for the Church. I know we all benefited tremendously from the preaching of God’s word.

I was saddened when the revival came to its end on Sunday evening. Even now, I kinda wish I could go back in time. But we can only look forward, which is a good thing, since this coming June our church is “evacuating” Montreal as it will be our turn to attend Hope Baptist Church’s revival (Heartland Bible Conference – June 17-22).

Our church services for the revival were Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday morning and evening. Pastor Sowell’s revival, however, is an entire week long! Each day of the week, there’s a service in the morning with THREE preachers, and TWO preachers in the evening, and a whole lot of Christian fellowship in between.

I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!! (only 7 weeks to kill….)