The Loft is open, come on up!

 

This Week’s Topic: “Intimacy with Jesus” (What does that look like for you? How do you abide in the vine? What barriers do you face or victories you’ve discovered in maintaining intimacy with Jesus? Let’s encourage each other!)

Get a running start on Next Week’s Topic: “Fall Recipes” (Please do share your favorite fall recipes so we can enjoy too!)

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Intimacy with Jesus.

Whew! What a topic. I am not even sure how to write about it, because I feel like it is such a personal, individualized thing. What works for you, may not work for me, and vice versa. It is for sure that there is no one-size-fits-all formula.

This intimacy with Jesus thing has taken a while for me. I remember when I was a child watching my paternal Grandma walk out her faith, and abide with Jesus. One time, she said the most ridiculous thing.

“The older I get, the more I long for heaven.”

To a 10 year-old mind, no statement could have been more ludicrous. Life was good. Why would she want to leave all of us for somewhere she had never been? Forty years later, my 50 year-old heart totally gets it. So, here, in no particular order of importance, are a few things that are important for me as I seek to build intimacy with Jesus.

 

Time/Age – The passing of time, the flipping of the calendar makes a Jesus-lover long for that better home that He promised to prepare for us.

Scripture – The only way we develop any kind of intimate friendships, whether heavenly or earthly, is through communication. Hearing from God via His Word is an absolute necessity in my relationship with Jesus.

Prayer – See #2. It’s a two way street. Speak. Listen. Listen. Speak. Listen. Listen.

Experience – Every time we trust God in a situation and find Him faithful, it is easier to trust Him the next time a challenge comes along. Trust in God is built on continuing faithfulness by God.

Examples – Watching other Christians walk in intimacy with Jesus gives us patterns and examples to follow. It helps create a holy hunger in our hearts for that same intimacy.

Worship – Although I cannot carry a tune in a bucket, I adore Christian music. It is one of the ways Jesus communicates with me, and I with Him. As I lift my voice in praise and adoration to Him, my heart is drawn closer to His.

Secret Place – I imagine many of us have our own secret place where we spend intimate time with Christ. Mine is outside, on my walk through these beautiful north Georgia mountains. Jesus and I have walked many a mile together. I’m prone to fling wide my arms, and offer my entire being to Him on one of our walks.

Testimony – Sharing about how special Jesus is to me, and how He has faithfully cared for me and mine, causes me to remember His goodness to me, and draw closer to Him.

 

I’m so thankful that the veil that separated me from the Father, who abides in the Holy of Holies, was ripped from top to bottom at the death of Christ. Because of that, there is no longer a separation, and I can boldly approach the throne of God. I can climb right up into His lap as His beloved child. Now, that friends, is intimacy.

 

Now it’s time to link up!

 

 

Add Your Link Here:
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About #TheLoft

 

The Loft is the place for conversation, community, networking, and Christian growth.

Each week we provide a topic to start the conversation.

 

PLEASE NOTE: We want to foster community and transparent conversation with one another, just like we’d do if we were meeting in real life. So we ask that your link stick to the weekly topic and that you mention The Loft in your post. Thank you so much!

Monday night, at 9pm Eastern, the linky goes live and all week you can link up your post on that week’s topic.

We’ll have fun topics, serious topics, practical, soul-ful, holiday, and so, so much more…we can’t wait to get started! This is not only a great way to connect with others, it’s also a fun and easy way to establish a writing habit. If you aren’t a blogger, you are welcome to join in by leaving your comments in the comment section.

So grab your coffee mug and come on up! Hang out for a bit. We betcha you’ll be glad you did.

 

To Participate:

 

1. Be creative. Feel free to use words, photos, video, audio, your family pet, whatever, to communicate on the weekly topic. But please stick to the weekly topic 🙂

2. Listen twice as much as you talk. If you leave one link, visit two. Trust us on this one~wink.

3. Be a community. Include #TheLoft graphic and/or link back in your post so we can find each other. Also, share the great stuff you find when you visit around…we’ll be doing the same.

 

 

 

When you link up at The Loft, your link will appear on 4 blogs! We’d love for you to visit The Loft co-hosts and know who we are: Jen, Rebekah, Leah, Arabah