Intimate With Jesus

John 14:9 (Amplified Bible)
Jesus replied, Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say then, Show us the Father?

As humans, everyone desires to have a close relationship with someone, yet the one we think of less often of having this close relationship with is Jesus Christ. We tend to desire someone we can see, hear, touch, the physical stuff that will help us along life's journey, yet the one relationship that will never let us down is the one we have the tendency not to take care of as we ought to. Jesus was encouraging Phillip in this verse to come have a closer relationship with Him. When Jesus first began a relationship with the desciples, He gave them the power to get rid of demons and to begin revivals, Luke 10:18-20. But His ultimate desire was to have a close relationship with them as well, "I have called you friends." John 15:15. " True friendship is rare on earth. It means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit. The whole experience of life is designed to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ." Like the desciples, we are given His blessings and we know His teachings, but do we realy know Him? Jesus loves it when we pursue a relationship with Him.
When we do take the time to seek Him first, and pursue a daily relationship with Him, our lives will begin to produce fruit. Many things begin to take place when we fill our lives with God; we are more at peace, we are less lonely, we never lack for understanding or compassion, and He is always there to listen to us pour ourselves out before Him. Selfishness shows less and less in a person's life who is walking with God, and a peace and strong calmness will show. That individual will not desire to be the spotlight, but their life will show Jesus. This is a gift the Lord gives to those who walk with Him and desire to do His will.

(My Utmost for His Highest-Oswald Chambers)

A personal, daily relationship with my Heavenly Father is my desire. I long to live for Him, daily dying to self and asking Him to fill me with more and more of Him. I want to serve Him in whatever way He shows me, I give Him all the praise and glory for all things He has done in my life, all the things He is doing right now, even the things I cannot see, and all the things He will do in the future!!

(Kandi Pierre)