By Rev Tan Eng Boo
There was a time in my early days as a Christian when I decided that going to church wasn’t going to just be a routine or a session of “going through the motions” of worship. My God is real, and I wanted to know Him. I wanted God in my life always. I wanted to go to church with a heart of gladness and praise. I wanted desperately this reality in my life.
I recalled the words of George Verwer, the founder of Operation Mobilization (OM), in his Book, “Hunger for Reality,” in which he wrote, “Our hearts need to experience a deep hunger and longing for God.” Didn’t the Psalmist say that too?
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:1, 2).
Christianity cannot be a routine lifestyle.
We cannot just be attending church and going through the motion and form of worship each Sunday – and having done so, feel good that we have done our duty to keep the Lord’s Day. And after church, our life is no different from the people of the world. We slog like crazy, and worse still, put God aside. We don’t have time for Him. It’s as though He doesn’t seem to exist for the next six days, until it’s time to go to church again on Sunday.
We cannot exist like this as a Christian. Something is terribly wrong with our form of Christianity if we have this kind of lifestyle. Let us do something about it. Make 2025 a blessed year of knowing God and drawing near to Him.
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart….” (Hebrews 10:22).
How can I draw near to God?
1. Make sure you are in a right relationship with God
Drawing near to God will require us to invite Him to purify our hearts so that we may draw near to Him. James 4:8 says,
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Notice what we must do. James says,
“Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Drawing near to God always require us to obey Him and purify our hearts. It’s not enough to worship Jesus and read our Bibles. We also need to obey and submit our hearts to Him. God will draw near to us as we choose todraw near to Him. It is the pure in heart that will see God (Matthew 5:8).
We must make an effort to examine our heart each day, especially when we come to church on Sunday for worship. This is a basic, but needful thing to do. The prophet Isaiah reminds us,
“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2 KJV).
Take time to confess your sins,
“so that the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
Let’s do that, please!
2. God promised that if you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you
This is a reality. When I seek after God with all my heart, I will find Him and He will come near to me.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer 29:13).
In my determination to draw close to God in my early Christian life, I set aside time to fast, read the Scripture, and pray. I did that when I was working in the shipyard. It was tough for me to skip lunch as I had to bring different surveyors to inspect different parts of the ship. I am talking about huge vessels we built in Singapore in the 70s. These weighed between 14,000 tons to 90,000 tons. But God was gracious to see me through each day, keeping me safe.
Drawing near to God must begin with us. With determination, we will find time to fast, pray, and read the Bible to have a personal relationship with God. We will see our life changed. God becomes real and we will find it a joy to meet with Him. And more so, on a Sunday, it will always be a special day for us. We will want to be in God’s House (Psalm 122:1).
3. My grateful experience
As I look back on this experience – which I continue to enjoy – I am so grateful to know my God in a personal way. It has been the source of my strength and encouragement in the pastoral service. I didn’t enter the pastoral office on my own. I was “called” by the Lord through Jeremiah 1:4-8. This is not an office anyone should take on, if you are not “called.” God has never failed me.
“But for me it is good to be near God….” (Psalm 73:28)
The song below has been the theme song all these years for me in my calling as a Pastor:
I've never been sorry,
I've heeded God's call.
I've never been sorry,
I've yielded my all.
My walk with the Master,
Grows sweeter each day.
I've never been sorry,
One step of the way.
May 2025 be a blessed year for you and your family
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