How Do I Feel Close To God? (or, Sanctification)
Sanctification : being made holy, or being set apart It happens every time we attend a Jesus conference or camp! We are reminded of the bad news of sin and the good news of forgiveness and love, and we turn back to God. Time after time, students experience this phenomenon. Praise God for his working! And yet… The next question on their young hearts is always the same: “What can I do to feel this close to God back home?” The frequent concern in the older hearts of adults is similar: “Why do I not always feel close to God?” There is a single answer to both questions – sanctification. The words of John the Baptizer ( John 3:30 ) fit quite nicely here to explain it succinctly: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” The first time we claim that Jesus has become our Master, the first time we ask forgiveness of a holy God, we are set free from sin’s chains; we are saved from sin. Because the perfection of Jesus has been exchanged with our sin, we are holy en