There Are Levels Of Intimacy With God

                                                        When The Door Slams

Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not set his mind on what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully. Psalm 24:3-4 

        God has rigid requirements for those who want to enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. There is no easy access to God for those with unclean hands or an impure heart. It is an dishonor to holy God to assume that we can indulge in our sin and offensively disobey His Word, then shamelessly try to enter the Holy of Holies.

        In the Old Testament times, one's hands represented one's activities. Clean hands symbolized pure activities. Priests washed their hands before serving in the temple to symbolize that only those who were cleansed could worship holy God.

        There are levels of intimacy with God. The moment you become a Christian you begin a relationship with The Lord. However, if you persist in your sin, sin will separate you from God and keep you from enjoying close fellowship with Him, thru the power of the Holy Spirit. If you follow only God's basic commandments but resist every time God gives you specific, personal directions, you will never fully experience the depths of God's Person. 

        If, however, you are like the psalmist and understand the holiness of God, you will adjust your life to His standards and respond to Him immediate so that you may have a deeper fellowship with God. 

        Think about this: The closer you get to holy God, the more obvious even your smallest sins become. The more you know of God's character, the more you will realize the need to wash your hands and purify your heart before you can get close to God. Are you willing for Almighty God to make you absolutely pure before Him so that you can enjoy the maximum possible relationship with Him?

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12