5 Minutes to a Deeper Relationship with God

John 12:44-45

Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.”

The above Bible verse is an example of how you can know God more intimately in just a few well chosen words.

Knowing God Intimately

When we study the Bible, our goal should not be to simply recite Bible verses or tell Bible stories from memory.  Our goal should be to know God.  Our goal should be to know God in the same way we know our family members, in the same way we know our close friends, in the same way we know the people we work with.  That’s what it means to move closer to God. When we truly know God, we don’t have to look up Bible verses to figure out what direction He wants us to travel.  If we know God intimately, it’s easy to guess what He would say in any given situation.

How Would God Answer These Questions?

Here’s some examples of questions for God that you can easily answer if you know Him:

Should I work hard to earn the money to buy a car or should I steal a car?

Should I tell the truth when selling my house or lie to get a higher price?

Should I wait for the right girl to come along or have an affair with my neighbor’s wife?

If you know anything at all about God, the answers to these three questions are obvious.  If you trust God, you would never steal a car, or use deception when selling your house, or even consider having a relationship with your neighbor’s wife.  But keep in mind, there are many people in this world would have no problem doing all three.  It’s our relationship with God that prevents us from traveling down a dark road that can lead to destruction.

Now these were three easy questions, but life is not that easy is it?  Life can get pretty complicated.  The only way we can be certain of God’s answers to the complicated questions, is to know Him intimately.  We need to know God so well we can essentially read His mind.  The only way to get that close to God is to constantly study the Bible – which, of course, is also known as the Word of God.

Bible Study Made Easy

If Bible study sounds like work to you, you’re not alone.  Never fear, I’m going to show you how to make this work easy.  I’m going to show you how anyone can seamlessly integrate a closer relationship with God into their daily life.   Bible study doesn’t have to be hours of reading, followed by long lectures and complicated analysis.  Bible study can be as easy as watching a five minute video.

Studying the Word of God is not at all like studying any other topic.  When you study the Word of God, with a sincere heart, you can be certain you’ll receive miraculous assistance.  If you’re already a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit inside you directing your steps.  When you come to God in prayer, asking to be filled with His wisdom, tiny bits of knowledge can blossom into volumes of information.  Even if you’re not yet a believer, if you’re honestly searching for the truth, you’ll discover God’s miraculous power as you seek to know Him.  God will magnify the learning experience of everyone who studies the Word of God with love in their heart.

God Can Miraculously Expand What You Learn

God is at work in the lives of believers and unbelievers every day.  When we take what we’ve learned from the Word of God and carry it with us throughout our day, we discover God will use events in our lives to punctate what we’ve learned.  Small bits of wisdom can grow into major lessons when we see graphic examples play out in our daily routine.  A five minute Bible study video is only the seed from which God begins his miraculous work.  The true benefit of your study will come when you connect with God personally as you go about your day.

Start Your Study with Jesus

I’m going to suggest that the best place to start your study is with the Teachings of Jesus.  If you look at the playlist of this blog’s YouTube channel, “Pointing the Way,”  you’ll find several videos dedicated to this task.  The teachings of Jesus are like musical scales that need to be played over and over again to perfect our faith.  Everyone will benefit from this study – not from the information the videos provide – but from the wisdom God will provide when you take the thoughts in those videos into your daily life.

Taking Your Study a Step Further

Of course, the videos at Pointing the Way are not the only place to get brief Bible study lessons that can stimulate your closer relationship with God.  There are many resources you can include in your continuous study of God’s Word.  You can find many additional resources right here in this blog, including Worship Music Devotionals, the Online Worship Experience, and several other choices on the Start Here page. The important thing I want you to walk away with today is the simple fact that the lessons are not the end of the experience – the lessons are only a seed that God will grow when you carry that knowledge forward with a loving heart.

You Will Be Greatly Blessed

Right now is a perfect time to start your closer relationship with God.  I pray you will be greatly blessed by every minute you dedicate to this effort.  I know for a fact that God will make Himself known to you in a special way, if you sincerely call out to him in prayer and move closer to Him by studying His Word.

All scripture references are linked to Bible Gateway so that you can read each verse in context.  Bible Gateway allows you to change the verse to your favorite translation and compare it side-by-side with multiple translations.  In addition, you can select to hear an audio version of any verse by clicking on the speaker icon.  Keep the Bible Gateway App on your phone so that you can visit the Word of God at any time during your day.

Your Love for God