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1) Be honest with God
Be honest with God about where you are at and how hard it has been to pursue Him relentlessly this year. He knows you inside out anyway, and He knows what is in your heart. He knows what is keeping you from having a heart that desires nothing else but to know Him more. So why not pray to Him and approach Him boldly because He invites us to come to His throne of grace boldly to obtain mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)
2) Tune out the static
Tune out the static! Anything in your life that messes with and competes with that intimate space that you are meant to have with Jesus is static! Eeeeeek! Think of that horrific screech that sometimes pierces through the speakers at church when the person holding the mic gets too close to the speakers? Yes! Interference! That’s what happens to your place of intimacy with the Lord when you do not tune out the static. So what are the things in your life that are static? What is competing with your place of intimacy with Jesus? it could be people’s voices, past experiences, it could be media, music, TV, your phone, it could be work… Examine your life and identify the static you need to tune out. Decide on how you are going to do it. Journal your decisions…and BOOM! Do it! (Matthew 5:17-31, Psalm 1:1, Matthew 13:3-9 and 18-23 )
3) Turn on the Truth and Fill your Spaces
Yes! We are all about destination PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIVING! But we know that in order to get there, we need to hook arms with the Lord and be intentional about, among other things, de-cluttering our spaces from the noise of the world and the noise in our minds (“static”) and then filling our spaces with the goodness that God has made available to help steer us towards this goal. If you have been following from step 1 then you should be heavily into the process of “tuning out the static” by now. This is actually a life-long, ongoing process in a Christian’s walk with God. However, simultaneously, we should intentionally fill our spaces. We fill our spaces by “setting our minds on things of the Spirit” or, as the Message Version of Colossians 3:1-3 says, “pursuing things over which Christ presides”. Key in! tMake the right choices to feed your spirit with godly goodness that will enhance your drive to #getthatGodlife. (Colossians 3:1-5)
4) Get plugged in with other people who are passionate about that God life
Iron sharpens iron folks! Just the same way being “unequally yoked” can drag you down, being equally yoked can totally get you moving in leaps and bounds towards Jesus, whiny feed off of others who are also all about passionately pursuing Jesus. So be careful who you allow to be an influence in your life. If you are one of those people who follows celebrities or public figures in the media or on social media, why not be intentional to find some godly people out there and follow them? Follow and copy the good habits that they have that help them in their own passionate pursuit of Jesus. I follow quite a few such people, like Beth Moore, Lisa Bevere and John Bevere, Dr Ferdinand Nweke of Eternity Ministries, my Pastor, Pastor Carlton Williams of High Life Church. These are people who have blazed trails…why not follow them as you (and they) follow Christ? No, do not “godify” anybody. Just identify people who are walking humbly before the Lord and lean into the things God is doing in and through them. (1 Corinthians 11:1)
5) Date night with Jesus!
Yup! God is the lover of our souls. He longs to be alone with us. We are His bride. His body. His church. There’s no love relationship that can survive and remain in intimate union without that frequent alone-time of exploring one another, serving one another, loving on one another, hearing from one another. Commit to your own alone time with God and meet Him there, frequently. You will see your intimacy with Him growing in leaps and bounds (Psalm 27:4)
Friends, I am confident to say that if you follow these 5 practical steps, walking hand in hand with the Holy Spirit who enables and helps you, the 2nd half of 2017 will see you crack open those goals of passionately pursuing Jesus and being all about that God life. It is not a formula, neither is it a “get rich quick” kind of scheme. Nope. It’s all about being intentional. Even if you only get to 4 of these steps, just that fact that you have set your face and heart at intentionally pursuing Jesus, you will find yourself winning. Because the Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth. He will fulfil their desires and hear their cry (Psalm 145:19-21).
Oh friends, let me even go as far as to dare you! Try it out…please do…and email me to let me know how it’s going! (thenarrowgateway@gmail.com)
Hugs!
Toyin Oladiran (Christian Life Coach, Founder of The Narrow Gateway)
Work with Toyin:Do you want to apply for an early spot in the B.O.O.M Walk Program? If so, please email me on thenarrowgateway@gmail.comDo you want to work with me One-on-One or with your Group (church fellowship or Bible Study or group of friends) to work through the B.O.O.M Walk Program or to work through and overcome trouble spots in your walk with God or to forge a more intimate and deliberate relationship with God from which you are living in God’s unique purpose and plan for your life? If so, please email me on thenarrowgateway@gmail.comDo you want me to faciliate a group Bible Study for your church or with your group of friends? If so, please email me on thenarrowgateway@gmail.com