Yesterday, I preached from Ephesians 1:3-4 about a “Checklist for Getting Close to God.”

This passage is a great checklist for living close.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love.”

I reminded our congregation that this is about the basics: acknowledge God and place Him before all things, let Him give you what you need for obedience and to please Him, and seek to live in holiness and righteousness as you were called.

Today, I want to encourage you to have a different kind of checklist.

What is another way we can stay close to God?

First, spend time daily with God in prayer and reading of Scripture. I prefer to set the same time each day and make it a habit. The follower of Christ simply cannot ignore the “sweet hour of prayer” and time in the Word.

Second, join with the church in fellowship, ministry, study, and worship. The writer of Hebrews warned believers not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. Jesus established His church for a reason. We need the fellowship of believers.

Third, give. If you don’t give, you are disobeying God.

Among many things, giving helps us by giving us a “buy in” to the work and ministry of the church.

Fourth, take Christ to other people. As a friend reminded me, I can’t always win someone to Christ, but I can take Christ to someone. Sharing our faith and telling of what God has done and is doing in our lives draws us closer to Christ.

A checklist has great value. It creates habits, and it doesn’t allow us to skip a vital step.

Make this checklist a part of life. It will bless you, and it will bless the church.