“God does not see as man sees,
since man looks at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.”
(1 Samuel 16:7)
Dear Friends –
Our outward appearance conveys very little past our ability to dress appropriately while employing proper grooming habits. We notice the disheveled and wonder if they are homeless. The body language of another squirming in their chair at a public meeting depicts one about to explode, and only when we hear the utterances of their voice can we decipher if they are knowledgeable or not, confrontational or peacemaker. For it is only “what comes out of a man” that reveals to the public how
that interior appearance was formed, and if we like what we see there, then the outward is secondary in our consideration of forming a relationship. God knows us inside and out… we are never overlooked, by Him who created the diversity of physical appearances, for any natural image of inferiority or superiority that we might have, only malignancy of spirit or generosity of heart catches His eye. It is the heart that generates our good or bad actions and that is where His work ensues to bring about the plan He has for our lives as His beloved children. God knows that a loving heart is the only way to happiness even if others think wrongly and are provoked by the Evil One to find devilish ways that achieve pleasure through sin. For a complete picture of the breadth of love, read Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, but etch in your mind the following. “If I can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge but do not have love, I am nothing. Love never fails; prophecies will cease and knowledge will pass away… these three remain… faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.” God is love… the only source of authentic love… if you do not have God residing in your spiritual being, shallow love will be your fare.
Our culture has a way of promoting false love through the exploitation of media that touts slogans primarily for material existence, where keeping up with the Joneses, in one form or another, is the motivation for life. Celebrity narcissists encourage “followers” to their egotistical lifestyle making 
spectators out of pinheads who haven’t got the smarts to participate in their own unique life. Creative imagination is constantly promoted to push the boundaries of morality with “think outside the box” as a good thing, when in reality it is encouraging the abandonment of rules and boundaries that produce proper behavior, speech, modesty in dress, and respect for authority. Undisciplined life grants a chaotic freedom where self takes whatever it wants, often at the expense of another. A Godly disciplined life will find that meeting the needs of another over self, giving, not taking, is the only way to love and happiness, eternally.
The pinheads of the world don’t think Godly thoughts… they don’t realize He is cognizant of their every move and that He knows exactly the selfish motivation of their hearts. 
Neither do they have the slightest idea what is in store for them come judgment day when they will have to suffer the consequences for selfish existence. Pity the ignorant to faith, hope, and love… thank God always for His abundant love and blessings which keep you on the straight and narrow path to heaven… love Him truly, who loves you more!
INTIMACY WITH GOD
We marvel at the relationship with God that some saints of old have experienced and recounted in their writings… they talked with Almighty God one on one! Can you imagine that experience? The Supreme Being, stoops for a personal tête-à-tête with one of His creatures, unbelievable, and yet, that is exactly what He did and still does. Those intimate relationships didn’t just happen overnight, except for a rare handful of individuals who were dumbfounded by the sudden insertion of His being into their existence like Moses or Saint Paul. Friendship, intimacy, or the start to anything new takes time to flourish into mutual pleasure and the eventual love affair. Certainly, there is love at first sight, but the initial reaction still takes time to develop a lasting appreciation, for first-impressions can change when time discloses complete attributes. Many Saints were attracted to the beauty 
and logic of God’s reasoning’s for all of life, and the more they learned, the more they wanted to know, and thus, their lives were spent hermit-like in constant prayer with the One their heart was drawn to love. There are still Religious Orders that carry on that tradition of constant prayer and contemplation of His Words as the means to establish a personal relationship with God. Nothing starts fully or maturely developed in God’s natural or supernatural worlds; He wants growth in all living things, growth that begins from a seed. Like the mustard seed Christ used in parables: “It is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” (Matthew 13:32) Your relationship with God may still be as tiny as a seed that has hardly begun to flourish… we all need the regime of a steady spiritual diet that constantly feeds the growth of our relationship with God to intimate love. The neglected seed will never do well.
Busy lives must make a concentrated effort to incorporate God into every moment of their existence; the busier the life, the more necessary the effort. God is only a whisper away; in a second He hears whatever you say to Him. Once you know His character inside and out as related by The Bible, talk to Him devotionally in a morning 
meditation, or relate your worries to Him while cooking, washing the car, or commuting on the bus. Wherever, whenever, spill out your thoughts and needs to Him in silent conversations all day long; admire Him and thank Him for nature’s beauty that just entered your day; tell Him you know He is the only one that can help you and you need and want His help. At first, it will be a one-sided conversation, that’s okay; in time and depending on the sincerity of your utterances, you will begin to “hear” Him talking back. That will not be a natural hearing, but things will happen beyond chance occurrence that you will come to understand as messages from Him… prayers answered, problems resolved, impossible opportunities made possible… so many ways He will speak to you that you can’t imagine until they happen, because you will learn to listen with your heart, mind, and soul that has in time grown to love Him.
God is in the details no matter how tricky the situations rely on Him. Our Heavenly Father is ALWAYS with us 
whether it’s during a natural or supernatural storm, or in those joyous or sorrow-filled rollercoaster moments of life when our spirit is out of our control, He is a faithful God that will meet our needs. On your own, you can do only so much, but always with God beside you holding your hand, a moment of intimate love will transpire that can never fail.
