JANUARY 10, 2025
Topic: “INTIMACY, JESUS’ EXAMPLE”
Text: Luke 5:12-16
Memory Verse: “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray.” Luke 5:16.”
Yesterday, we emphasised the need to make out quality time to spend with God in seeking to build intimacy with Him. Since this is so important, we want to look at a few biblical characters who had such level of intimacy with God and the time they spent with Him. I consider Jesus as our model in everything relating to our walk with God and so we are starting with Him.
Amos 3:3 holds that two people cannot walk together without agreeing. Jesus did not only agree with God, He was one with Him – John 10:30. This is the major basis for their intimacy. With this, Jesus would not do anything without the Father and so being in the flesh, He intentionally made out time to be with and commune with the Father.
Our text for today testifies that Jesus often withdrew from everybody and everything to some isolated places to be with the father, spending whole mornings, evenings, and sometimes, whole nights in communion with Him – Luke 6:12. In those times of withdrawal, there was heart-to-heart interaction between Jesus and the Father and this certainly enhanced the cord of unity and intimacy between them (humanly speaking). One is not surprised therefore that Jesus was said to have done all things excellently and far beyond human imagination. See Mark 7:37; Matt 7:28-29; 13:55-56.
Take some lessons from this example and build your intimacy with God. First, if you have not experienced the new birth by expressing faith in Jesus and accepting Him in your life as your Saviour and Lord, you need to do so now. Doing this makes you a child of God and ushers you into a love relationship with Him, which is the beginning of intimacy. Read John 1:10-12; Acts 4:12.
Also like Jesus, prioritise your relationship with God by intentionally warding off all distractions and withdrawing often to quiet places where you can be alone with God to pray, meditate on His word, and receive instructions and directions from Him. Doing this consistently makes you intimately close to God and strong in the faith.
PRAYER: Pray through the biblical references in what you have just reflected on.