The following joke is old and has been around quite a bit, but I have taken the liberty of adapting it to make it more accurate. :-)

A man decided to write a book about churches around the country.  He started by flying to San Francisco, and started working east from there.  He went to a very large church and began taking photographs when he spotted a golden telephone on a wall.  He was intrigued with a sign which read,

"$10,000 a minute."

Seeking out the minister, he asked about the phone and the sign. The minister explained that this golden phone was, in fact, a direct line to Heaven and if he paid the price he could talk directly to God.  The author thanked the minister and continued on his way.

As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and around the United States, he found more phones with the same sign, and the same answer from each minister.

Finally, he arrived in the mountains of North Carolina. Upon entering a church, behold, he saw the usual golden telephone. But this time, the sign read,

"Calls: 25 cents."

Fascinated, he requested to talk to the minister.  "Sir, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to God, but, in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute.  Your sign reads 25 cents a call. Why?"

The minister, smiling benignly, replied, "Sir, you're in the Appalachian Mountains now, and it's a local call."

I have to confess there have been times when I have driven on the Blue Ridge Parkway, gazed at the beautiful mountains covered with fall foliage and thought, "This is where God is." The truth is, though, for those who seek God, "He is not far from each one of us." (Acts 17:27).

One of the great truths that Emmanuel ("God with us") made known to us when he came to this earth is that God is near us. He cares about us, and his ears are open to our prayers.  For all of His children, approaching the throne of grace is a "local call."

"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
(I John 5:14)

Feeling that God is far away?  Be reminded today that it's just a local call (from wherever you live).  Not only that, but the God of glory sits waiting anxiously by the phone waiting for your call, just as eagerly as you awaited a call from your boyfriend or girlfriend while you were dating.

So what are you waiting for?
Pick up the phone!
There's no charge.