If you wanted to learn as much as possible about what a brilliant scientist knew, you would read what he had written. If you wanted to know how he did his work, you might visit him in his lab and watch him. But if you wanted to know him on a very personal level, you would try to spend time with him regularly, seeing how he acted, made his decisions, and lived his life. Doing this would make it possible to even predict what that scientist might do or say under certain circumstances. Being close to him on a regular basis is what would make this possible. 

Coming to know Jesus better involves something like this. Spend time getting to know Him: Learn what the Bible teaches about what He did, the words He said, and the actions he took during His life on earth. Spend time with Him in prayer, to hear His heart for you and for those in the world that you care about. As you do this on a regular basis, you find that your actions begin to more closely conform to His example. As with the example of the scientist, it is your closeness to your subject that makes you a better imitator of him. And you will also find as you become close to Him that He meets your needs ever more consistently. 

The next in the series of Don Francisco songs dealing with stories from the life of Jesus is taken from two passages of scripture, Mark 9:14-27 and Mark 5:25-34. The focus of these passages both deal with a miraculous healing that Jesus does for two people, and in both situations, these people have to get closer to Him in order to make it happen. From Don Francisco’s 1976 album Brother Of The Sun, here is Closer To Jesus. As before, the audio Bible version used here is the 2002 dramatized NIV Audio Bible by Zondervan Publishing, read by Steven Johnston.

Well, a woman with a burden of sickness twelve years
Heard that Jesus was coming her way
She didn’t stop to worry ’bout her doubts and her fears
She had to fight for every step of the way

Through the crowds that were pressing around Him
Through the heat and the dust of the road
And when she touched his cloak, God healed her body
He lifted her heavy load

If I can get a little closer to Jesus
Just a little bit closer to Jesus
Just a little bit closer to Jesus
Everything’s gonna be all right

Now a man asked Jesus’ disciples
If they could deliver his only son
From a spirit that threw him into water and fire
But with them it just could not be done

So he called out to Jesus saying “Lord I believe;
Help me in my unbelief !”
Jesus had mercy, He healed his son
He took away all of his grief

If I can get a little closer to Jesus
Just a little bit closer to Jesus
Just a little bit closer to Jesus
Everything’s gonna be all right

Now the story ’bout touching the hem of His garment
Nearly everybody knows
But that woman was healed by her faith in God
And not by Jesus’s clothes

And the boy with the unclean spirit was delivered
When everybody’s faith was gone
When his father cried out, saying “Lord I’m weak!”
And Jesus made his weakness strong!

If I can get a little closer to Jesus
Just a little bit closer to Jesus
Just a little bit closer to Jesus
Everything’s gonna be all right

Now if you want to get a little closer to Jesus
There’s nobody to stand in your way
You don’t have to wait for another disciple
To find the right words to say

‘Cause He is the same, today and forever
No matter what the Devil may do
And if you need a little faith or some more of God’s Spirit
Just ask Him and He’ll give it to you

And you can get a little closer to Jesus
Just as close as you want to to Jesus
Get a whole lot closer to Jesus
Everything’s gonna be all right

And you can get a little closer to Jesus
Just as close as you want to to Jesus
Get a whole lot closer to Jesus
Everything’s gonna be all right

You can purchase this music      from the artist’s web site here.