Drawing Near to God

Draw Near to God in Times of Trouble

Those of us who normally attend church should encourage ourselves during this time of Corona Virus. Because of the potential threat of getting sick due to exposure, we cannot physically worship God together in a church building. But our Bibles have not been confiscated. And some of us can join our hearts at home in worship by watching the television or internet.

We do not know how long we will be abstaining from attending worship services. Surely we can worship God in our homes until the danger is past or getting sick or unwittingly transmitting this virus to others.

Take heart! Suppose you had to wait seventy years to worship God together. The Israelites had conquered Canaan with God’s blessing and by His strength. After some years of enjoying life in the land they called home, they forgot God. they came down with the disease of spiritual amnesia. They turned to pseudo sources of help when problems developed.

God responded to His chosen nation’s lapse of memory by sending them prophets to warn them and remind them of His love for them. After many years, God followed through on the warnings and uprooted the Israelites out of their land. They were carried into exile.

After seventy years of exile, it was time to go back home, to the land of Israel. They did not return all at once, and some descendants of the Jews are still away from their homeland.

One group who returned rebuilt the temple: not without struggle and opposition. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah helped the Jews stay on track and finish the temple reconstruction. (Ezra 5:1, 6:14)

Another group who went back to the land of Israel built the wall around Jerusalem, a massive effort accomplished in 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15). Getting the structures built was one thing. Bringing back national cohesiveness was quite another matter.

To that end both the nation and their leaders played vital roles. The Feast of Tabernacles served as the unifying agent to help bind the Israelites together. This feast described in Ezra 3 and Nehemiah 8 was an occasion for celebrating God’s worth together.

Keeping track of the calendar, the people voluntarily left their homes to assemble in Jerusalem on the first day of the seventh month. They came to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, but they were most eager to hear the recitation of the Law. This Law was the Word of God recorded by Moses and served as their instruction book.

The assembled Israelites asked Ezra to read from the Law. Ezra was a scribe, trained as a teacher of the Law. Some of our modern day worship services have elements of the ancient Jewish worship at the Temple.

Ezra stood on a platform so the people could see him better. He spoke from a pulpit made of wood just for this occasion. Ezra first blessed the LORD. The people responded, “Amen, Amen,” in worship to God. Then, Ezra read from the Law from morning until noon. In our day, the minister preaches from the text. During Ezra’s time, Levites helped Ezra teach and understand what was being read.

While we are unable to attend worship services because we don’t want to get sick or spread the virus to others, we can still read our Bible at home. God is personal to each of us, His children. He talks to us when we read His Word. He longs for our companionship and to hear us tell Him how much we love Him.

During this time out period of our lives, may we draw near to God with songs of praise and a heart full of gratitude for His blessings. In the best and worst of times, “let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

Draw Me Close to You- Hillsong

https://youtu.be/IdJBYyNsQd0

 

Additional Reading for Easter

The P’s of Easter-Passion

 

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About Shirley Logsdon

I am the only child of Christian parents who wanted me to know God personally as they did. One night during church we watched a movie depicting a family in their home accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. I was nine and realized then my desire to make Jesus my personal Savior. With the full support of my parents, I met with the pastor and prayed to receive Christ. A few years later, several of us around the same age began classes for our confirmation to become church members. The privilege of taking communion was a special time for me. . During my teenage years I was outwardly complacent, but was inwardly rebellious. I developed the nasty habit of disrupting harmony in the household by nitpicking at anything and everything. A preacher came to hold revival services at my dad’s church and nailed me silently with looks. This helped me tremendously. I turned a corner and began to respect and obey my parents in attitude and actions. I survived these years through prayer (mine, my parents and friends). The love and tenacity of my parents and God’s grace got me through these years of upheaval. I readily identify with David the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Because my parents provided a stable home life for me, when I went to college my Christian values remained intact. After completing my education in 1979, I started working. For a while, I worked at temp agencies, then I did odd jobs. I settled down in a secretarial position in 1986 working for a firm specializing in retirement plan administration. In 2007, I started working for a law firm, eventually becoming a knowledge management assistant in their law library, helping to alert attorneys to new business opportunities. I am a productive citizen of my country in large part because my parents prayed for me and made clear by word and example what they expected of me. I am extremely grateful to God for them. John 15:5 is my life verse: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” I am confronted with this realization every day I live, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow path. I met my future husband at church. After a few years of our two families getting acquainted, he and I started courting. We married at the church where we met, in the presence of many relatives and friends. We have been married for 29 years. My hobbies are reading, cooking, and canning or freezing what my beloved husband grows in the garden. Also, I thoroughly enjoy writing. While my writing has included poems, most of my writing has been letters to family and friends. I like to share my faith when I write and am fond of adding a Bible verse or two to help focus on the source of our life. Since I am now retired after working 38 years, I can concentrate on keeping up with birthdays. Something else I enjoy is studying the Bible, often with others. Blogging is a new form of writing for me. I am getting my feet wet and I’m beginning to enjoy the experience.

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