Principles to Live By: Spiritual Intimacy, Pt. 2

First, above all else, we must know and have an intimate
relationship with the God who loves us deeply.

Principles to Live By: Spiritual Intimacy, Pt. 2

"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.'"

(Matthew 22:37-38)

I saw a friend of mine post on Instagram about the 30 life principles that Charles Stanley preached and lived by. I was intrigued and began to read these 30 principles, and I thought to myself, "Wow! These are good!" All 30 messages can be viewed online at intouch.org. Stanley was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA for over 50 years. He was well known for his faithfulness to teach the Bible on his InTouch TV broadcast. Stanley passed away on April 18, 2023, at 90 years of age. I heard him preach live at least on one occasion and heard him say one of these life principles in the sermon he preached.

In a New York Times article on Stanley, the author wrote:

Dr. Stanley's path to becoming the church's senior pastor, after the previous senior pastor stepped down, was rocky. The search committee initially rejected him. One of its members told The Atlanta Constitution that he was power hungry. And during a heated church meeting, Dr. Stanley was punched in the face by a member of the church board after cautioning him about using a curse word.

"I was preaching a lot of things that made some of the church leaders uncomfortable — the Holy Spirit, the coming of the Lord, evangelism," Dr. Stanley told The Constitution in 1982, explaining why his acceptance had come slowly. "Secondly, there were a small group of men who'd always made the decisions, and when I would say we've got to obey God, that'd disturb them a bit."

"So," he added, "I became a thorn in their plans. But I was willing to stay or leave, whatever God wanted."

Stanley's first principle to live by is "Our Intimacy with God". It is very significant that he chose having an intimate relationship with God as the first principle. It is foundational to the remaining 29 principles for the follower of Jesus. We first must know Him, have an intimate relationship with the God who loves us deeply. Stanley preached this series about 3.5 years ago in 2019, so he would have been in his mid 80s preaching and going strong for the Lord. I saw a photo of his prayer room, and it was inspirational to me. He had a place where he would go each morning and spend time with the Lord in prayer.

In this week's remaining devotions, I will share with you many of the insights Stanley has given to us on this vital topic of having an intimate relationship with the Lord.