God desires a relationship with you

Since the creation of man, God has expressed in his word the desire to have a personal relationship with mankind.

From the Genesis 3:8, “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”

At the very start of history, God shows his desire to have a daily walk with his creation.

Then, approximately 4,500 years later, God brought his people, the Hebrews, out of Egyptian slavery.

As God was instructing Moses in his laws and expectations concerning the Hebrews, God tells Moses in Exodus 25:8, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”

God wanted this newly liberated nation to not only know about God, but to have a daily relationship with God by dwelling among them.

We can find in the prophecy of the coming Messiah in the book of Isaiah where God tells us in 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Now, we can conclude by Matthew 1:23 that Immanuel is being interpreted as “God with us.” So, from the beginning of creation, all the way through the Old Testament, God is letting humanity know that he desires a daily relationship with us.

In the New Testament, we can find this great truth continued in the gospel of John. In John 1:14, referring to Jesus Christ as the word, John says “And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

This word “dwelt” that God chooses to use in John 1:14 means “to make an habitation or abode.”

And, finally in the last book of the Bible, Revelation 21:3 tells us, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”

So, we can find all the way through the Bible that God desires to dwell among and have a daily relationship with humanity.

And, at the very beginning it was so. Then, sin got in between God and man. Man chose sin rather than righteousness.

But, God who is rich in mercy, gave his only begotten son to die on the cross for our sins, therefore making a way to have that sweet, daily relationship with God that he has always wanted. Trust Jesus toady and be saved.

If I may be of any assistance, please contact me by email at bro.robert@hotmail.com, social media, our church website at Highwaymbc.org or visit one of our services at Highway Missionary Baptist Church 24371 Highway 67 S. Greenville, Missouri.

Dr. Robert Randolph is the founding pastor of Highway Baptist Church in Greenville, Mo. and a U.S. Navy veteran.