“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” — Psalm 145:18 (NIV84)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says to the Samaritan woman, “God is spirit, and His worshipers worship Him in spirit and in truth.” As we draw closer to truth, we, by God’s design, draw closer to Him because He is truth. Our pursuit of truth takes us outside ourselves. Within ourselves there is not enough to find truth. Within, we find only fragments of what once was the image of God. But as we begin to dig into God’s Word and see the truths that are there, they have an impact on us. Our thoughts move outside ourselves and turn toward God Himself. We find the growing need to be in His Word so that we can be fed by His truths. We also begin to find ourselves calling upon Him. Simply put, we begin to communicate (read and pray) with the only source of truth we know — God.

And what does He do? How does He react to those who begin to communicate with Him? He draws near to them. The God of the universe draws near to the honest heart that seeks out His truths. As He draws near to the seeker, the seeker is blessed to have God reveal more depth and insight to His truths. The Lord begins to enlighten the heart, mind, and soul. As we call upon the Lord in truth, He in turn comes to us with deeper truths. The Lord continually reveals more about Himself to the one who seeks Him out. As this relationship continues to grow over the years, the seeker begins to see (if he could step back from his life) that God’s truths transform his life. God’s truths do not just increase the intimacy of the relationship between God and the seeker, but they transform the life of the seeker with respect to the world around him or her. Now this is true worship — a life lived out in spirit and in truth.

Let’s commit ourselves to a lifetime of calling upon the God of truth and sharing in the blessings of having Him draw near to us.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church