Call on Him While He is Near
(Is 55:6; Lk 8:22-25)
God is omnipresent(Jer 23:23-24).
For there is no place He is not present, there is nothing He does not know.
For He is near, when one calls on Him, He answers(Ps 145:18; Is 55:6).
Faith is knowing that He is near and
The life of this faith is calling His name and experiencing that He is near(Ps 73:28).
When Adam heard the voice of God after he sinned(Ge 3:8-10),
He knew that God was near and confessed, because of which
God clothed him in a garment of skin(Ge 3:21).
He was, however, banished from the Garden and
A flaming sword was put around it(Ge 3:24) because
No man with sin can come near God.
It became thereafter human nature
To make idols to satisfy their emptiness with images of gods and
To make religions by naming gods to approach them.
God called Moses from the burning bush on Mount Horeb(Ex 3:2-5) and
Warned him not to come any closer because
It was a holy ground where God was.
The sanctuary God commanded the Israelites to build(Ex 25:8) was where
The name of the Lord God was(Nu 3:10), and
Only Moses and the high priest could enter there(Lev 19:22, Lev 21:17-21, Lev 24:1) for
Without blood no sinner could come near God(He 9:7).
The prophet, on the other hand, warned them of
The curse of God, which was God refusing to listen when they called(Jer 7:13) but
Pleaded them to return to God for He stretched out His hand(Pro 1:24; Is 55:6).
Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days(Jn 2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
God would near Himself to men for
He is the Word in the beginning who came in the flesh(Jn 1:1, Jn 1:14)
To be Immanuel(Is 7:14).
As such, Jesus began His ministry by calling the disciples
So they might be with Him(Mk 3:13-15), and
When there was a storm out in the sea
He rebuked the winds and the waves,
Only after the disciples cried out to Him(LK 8:22-25).
As He died, Jesus said, "It is finished(Jn 19:30), declaring that He:
- Laid down His life and fulfilled the Father's will(Jn 10:17-18);
- Condemned the divider(Ge 3:4-5);
- Tore His flesh and tore down the dividing wall between God and men, and shed His blood and paid the price of their sins, bringing them close to God(Eph 2:13-14).
He rose and sat on the heavenly throne.
The Holy Spirit comes in the name Y'shua to
Those who call on His name and have their souls saved(Rm 10:14), and
He lets them call on Him.
The man of the Spirit is he who
Received the name Y'shua and knows that He is near.
Therefore, he calls on the name and
Experiences His nearness whenever and wherever for
He longs for the day when he will finally
Be near the Lord forever.
O Lord,
When we call Your name again and again,
You never let us down and You answer us,
But we do not even call and fall in despair.
As You heard the prayer of Elijah on Mount Carmel,
Hear us when we call on You and
Let us know that You are near!
Amen.