Close Relationship with Jesus
A person’s relationship with Jesus is the most important focus in following Him (Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35). Knowing that Jesus is always with people who are in His family and wants to be friends with people are truths that are helpful to know. Spending time with Him in His presence and getting to know who He is, what He thinks of you grows the relationship. Spending time with Jesus can happen anytime and anywhere, but cannot be while doing things God does not want. There are 3 main ways to spend time with Jesus: talking and listening to Him (prayer), reading the Bible, and worshiping Him honestly with obeying Him. To help the reader get an idea of a few traits of someone close to Jesus, 3 are given. These are: loves the Lord, fears the Lord, and lives righteously/lives by faith. Living out the traits of the Spirit are good indicators as well (Matthew 28:20, Luke 5:16, Galatians 5:22-23).
Application
Set time aside each day for spending time with Jesus alone, make an appointment with Him! The following are suggestions on how to spend time with Him:
Read the Bible, Pray to Him (talk & listen), Worship Him (sing or talk it out)
Be honest & open with Him, tell Him how you are feeling!
Loves the Lord
The greatest command Jesus gave is to love the Lord with all your heart (desires), all your mind (thoughts & will), all your soul (your personality) and all your strength (body). In essence to love the Lord with our whole being, an all in pursuit of a relationship with Him. You cannot love the Lord unless you understand and believe that He loves you! Love for the Lord is increased through spending time with Him. Understanding how much He has forgiven you for doing bad things. Receiving His forgiveness and love will also increase your love. This results in a love for the Lord which is laying one’s life down for Him, in the same way He did for us! (Luke 7:47, 10:27, James 2:10-11, John 15:13, 1 John 4:10,19, Revelation 12:11).
Application
The following are some ways to help with understanding God’s love & to love Him back:
Ask Him to help you understand His love for you
Ask Him to show His love for you
Spend quality time with Him, go on a trip, cozy up with Him, go for ice cream!
Fears the Lord
The fear of the Lord is to have a healthy fear, a reverence and awe for Him who is set apart and above all things. Humility is a result of this. People who fear the Lord will be humble in all areas of their lives. They will also consider everything not as good as having closeness and relationship with Jesus. Another part of fearing the Lord is to hate evil. This is to hate what the Lord hates. Hate sin and the evil that is in the world, but not people! (Proverbs 8:13, 14:16, 22:4, Hebrews 12:28, Philippians 3:8-10).
Application
The following are some ways to develop humility:
Ask God to reveal His power & holiness to you
Take your focus off yourself and put it on Jesus & others (you will need His help to do this)
Lives by Faith
To be accepted and be in a right relationship (righteous) with God only comes through believing in Jesus and trusting Him (faith). This is the work of God and cannot be earned by doing anything (or not doing anything). Any blessing of God in your life (healing, provision, deliverance, gifts) cannot be earned. rather it comes from believing Him. Making a bad decision or doing something wrong does not make you less righteous! This leads to living the way the Lord wants out of love for Him. Listen to what He is saying and asking us to do, then we do it (listen & obey). This must be done by following the Holy Spirit's instruction, and not going on human effort and ideas. Having a good relationship with Jesus and living out of a place of peace, rest and God's love results in love for other people (see image below). No trying hard using human effort! This reflects the Lord’s character and His kingdom principles and the result is no pressure on you! It is the work of the Holy Spirit, rest in that! (Matthew 7:21-23, 11:28-30, John 6:29, 14:21, 1 Corinthians 13:1-4, Philippians 1:6, 3:3, Ephesians 2:8, James 2:23, 3:18, 1 John 2:3-6, Galatians 2:20, 3).
Application
The following are some suggestion to help with living by faith:
Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit
Ask Him to guide your thoughts and feelings to trust Him
Ask Him what He has for you today
