“He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”
Late, one Sunday afternoon, a man was at home viewing football on TV. He held on to the remote, when suddenly the phone rang. He walked over to the phone with the remote in his hand. Even while on the phone, he was interested in keeping up with the game so as not to miss any big plays. Since he couldn’t see the TV, he figured that at least he could half listen in, and pointing the remote in the direction of the TV, attempted to turn the volume up. Nothing happened because he was too far from the TV. It’s not that the remote didn’t work, and neither was it because the TV didn’t work. He was not in the vicinity of the TV.
Sometimes we think that God doesn’t work, when in reality, the problem is that we’re simply too far. It’s not that Jesus doesn’t work; it’s not that the Bible doesn’t work, and it’s not that the Holy Spirit doesn’t work. If we are not in the vicinity, then it will certainly seem that way. Closeness and intimacy with God is what provides the full experience of walking with Him. The writer of Hebrews admonishes, “…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:22).” “Let us draw near to God and He will draw near to us (James 4:8a).”
Stephen Thomas
Stephen is an ordained Christian Minister and a Bible teacher who is a mentor to several youth leaders in Crossway Church and around the globe. He is a regular visiting Speaker in Crossway Church, New Delhi. He can be reached at stephenthomas6400@hotmail.com
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