Close to The Master (article) by Frances Seymour on AuthorsDen

Life is all about relationships--with God and with each other! Enjoy! My cat, Precious, loves to snuggle. Some mornings I wake up and she is cuddled as close as she can get up next to my side with her head resting on my shoulder. Her steady purring wakes me up and I wrap my arm around her warm, furry, calico body and stroke her back. The purring noise soon increases in velocity and by now, I am completely wide awake. There’s no more sleep for me on these mornings, so I simply enjoy the closeness that my cat’s presence brings. Can you relate? Are you an animal lover too? It occurred to me today that my cat and I have something in common. She enjoys spending quiet moments with her master—nestled close and feeling safe and content. I enjoy this same closeness with my master, Jesus, and hopefully, so do you! You see, this is the same relationship that our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ longs to have with each one of us. After all, we are His children! Don’t you love it when your child or grandchild tells you that he loves you and snuggles close? Well, guess what? God longs to hear these words from us too! And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ Mark 12:30 Jesus is our source of strength and the only way we can increase our own energy supply is to tap into the source every day! Here is a list of 5 Important Reasons to set aside daily quiet time with God. 1. We were created to have fellowship with God. Genesis 1:27, 2:7, 3:8 2. Jesus died to make a relationship with God possible. Rev. 3:30 3. Personal time alone with God was Jesus’ source of strength. Mark 1:35, Luke 22:39, Luke 5:16 4. Every person who has ever been effective in service for God developed this habit. Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, Paul, just to name a few. 5. You cannot be a healthy growing Christian without it! 1 Timothy 4:7 says to, “Take the time and trouble to keep yourself Spiritually fit.” This means that Spiritual growth is not automatic. It takes effort! Now, let me share 5 things that will happen if you don’t have a quiet time... 1. You’re missing out on the privilege you were created for. 2. You’re rejecting the very thing that Jesus died to make possible. 3. You’ll never be like Jesus and experience the same power. 4. You’ll never be used greatly by God. And lastly… 5. You will remain a weak & sickly Christian. Bottom Line: Hopefully, there is something here that will motivate you to spend quality quiet time with and to develop a deep longing to be close to the Master.

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