Spending Time with Jesus

 

This is a little bit of a lighter topic - I realize that I focus a ton on the cost to follow Jesus, the mission He has us all on, and the heaviness of that responsibility. Every once and a while though, God will remind me of the softer edge he so gracefully - the one that I often times neglect to communicate very well. 

This part of Jesus is more experienced than anything - it isn't something we focus on, or even something you can explain or articulate to someone who hasn't experienced it, but here I am, attempting that very thing. 

Jesus desires you. He desires a relationship with you. He loves you - so much so that He moved heaven and earth to be able to be with you. From Eden to Calvary, that was God's desire: to have an individual, intimate relationship with us. Here's why I am convinced of this very thing . . . 

1. Walking in the Cool of the Day

When Adam and Eve had sinned, it is recorded in Genesis 3:8 that they "heard" the Lord walking in the Garden in the cool of the day. This begs the question - how did they know it was the Lord walking? The simple explanation: they had walked with him before. I believe that this was God's original plan - to make man in the image of God, and to walk with man, His blessed creation, for eternity. 

Then the fall happens, and sin enters the world (Romans 5:19) - we can now no longer stand before the Lord, lest we die. Sin is consumed before the Lord; He is perfect, and no blemish survives in His presence (Exodus 22:30). So from the fall until now, God put a plan in place to redeem us all back to Himself: back to that individual relationship He has always desired. 

2. The Old Testament is a Shadow

I love Colossians 2:17 - it says that the law is but a shadow of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. In other Words, Christ reveals the true substance of the Law and the Prophets. We will get to Christ in a minute, but let's discuss the Shadow: 

Every year, only once a year, the High Priest would go before the Lord and individually meet with God. He had to go through an entire ritual to prepare for the entering of the Holy of Holies which housed the Arch of the Covenant, with the cherubim and Glory Seat which represented the Throne of God . The high priest would have a rope tied around his waist in the event that if He died for being unclean, his fellow priests could pull him out. What separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was a curtain, said to be about 5 inches thick.

All of this was to demonstrate just how far sin causes us to be removed from the Lord our God - the only time God could meet with man was to only one man, one day a year, with an excruciatingly tedious ritual.

3. The Death of Christ was the Cost

Matthew 27:50, 51 - The barrier was broken with the death of Jesus Christ. We can now meet with Christ himself. That is how badly God wanted to have individual time with you - He gave up his own Son to make it possible. That's how badly God wants to just be with you. 

Mark 3:14 - Appointed twelve to Be With Him

John 17:24 - Asks God that we be With Him

Matthew 28:20 - Promises He'll be With Us

Acts 4:13 - It was obvious they Had Been With Jesus

How to Have a G.R.E.A.T time with Jesus:

G - Greet God. Pray. Address him and acknowledge you are coming to spend time with Him. 

R - Read a passage. There's no shortcut here: relationship with Jesus starts in His Word. 

E - Enter a thought. Journaling is one of my favorite ways to pay attention to what God is saying. 

A - Answer God. If you feel Him speaking to you, answer back. Talk to God about what He brings up. 

T - Tell Someone. God doesn't intend to do anything in you that he doesn't expect to do through you.