Relationship or Religion

Extracted from Henry Blackaby's Chosen To Be God's Prophet

God has delivered a message .....................................................

We are accomplishing religious activities and all the while missing out on an abiding relationship with Christ.

Notice that this desire for a relationship is consistent with the heart of God. In Exodus 19, God entered the first covenant with His people. He said, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to Myself?" (v. 4). Relationship was what God was helping the people to remember.

God's original call was to Himself, not to a place, a position, or an assignment. If you neglect developing your personal relationship with God, you have tainted the essence of why He called you. You must have a significant time with God - not thirty minutes of devotional time. I am talking of a life that is anchored in a relationship with God twenty-four hours a day. A servant has no time off. A servant relates to his master twenty-four hours a day. If you are to serve Him as you should, you must know Him, hear Him, and obey Him. You cannot say you know Him merely with your head. For example, all the seminary training in the worldd cannot be a substitute for a relationship with God. You can have your head full of all the knowledge the seminaries can provide, read the books they assign, and still not have a relationship with the living God.

It is not more head knowledge we need; it is a heart relationship we must develop. Why? First, because He calls you to Himself. Second, God revealed His heart in this call of Samuel when he said, "I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest.""

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