Week 1

In Week 1 we are introduced to God’s invitation to us to become radically intimate with him. This is an idea which certainly seems radical! We learned that God wants to spend time with us. As one person in my discussion group exclaimed, “Why would he want to know us?” It is an amazing thought, but Catherine shows us many places in the Bible where the invitation is extended. One of these places is Isaiah 65:1-2, God said to the people of Israel, “Here am I, Here am I… I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people” What he seemed to be saying to them was, “Where are you? I want you with Me. I want to share life with you. I have much to give you. I want you to know Me.” Catherine states on page 22, “This firsthand experience with God is incomparable, and once you have enjoyed His presence,nothing else will come close to satisfying the need of your heart and soul.” This is so true!

On page 31 Catherine asks us readers, ” Where are you in the great adventure of knowing God?” My response was, “Well, at least I’ve begun. I began as a child of ten when I put my faith in Christ. I talked with him, read his word back then, shared with him the desires of my heart, prayed for those desires, and God gave them to me. But something happened when I became an adult. The time-responsibilities crept in and stole my time away. I’ve always had a hard time getting up in the morning early enough to spend time with God and the evenings were always filled with things I had to do or I was just plain tired. Now on the downside half of my life I finally feel like I have the time to spend in Quiet Time with the Lord but how many many blessings I”ve missed out on by not following him more closely all these years. I have regrets that I didn’t give the Lord first priority in my life but I don’t want to sit around regretting the past. It’s never too late to start. I can get to know God better now. The greatest adventure is ahead of me. I’m not at the end of life yet. Hopefully, there are many more years to live. Many more years to walk with my Lord.

At our Bible study meeting this week I read aloud a chapter in a booklet entitled, “My Heart, Christ’s Home.” It’s an allegory comparing inviting Christ into one’s life to inviting him into a physical home to live as a permanent guest. I read the chapter about the living room, where the author agreed to meet Christ every morning for intimate heart-sharing and reading the Bible together. This booklet does a great job of making us all feel enticed to meet with the Lord every day. It makes the point, also, that it’s not just for our benefit, but that Christ longs to meet with us! The same point that Catherine made in “Six Secrets.” I pray that everyone going through this study will begin to experience this for themselves!