Spending Time with God

"Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated." Oswald Chambers

 

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
(2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)

"In the progression of the Christian life, that's the way it is. We are transformed into the likeness of Jesus by the Spirit of God. Sometimes we fall back into the rut of trying to change ourselves, and we end up frustrated. We forget that we can't change ourselves. You see, in the same way we submitted to the Lord in our initial salvation experience, we must daily submit to God. He will change us, and He will stretch us. Interestingly enough, we will never get to the point where God stops stretching us. In this life we'll never come to a place where we have finally arrived, where we can "retire" as Christians, and just kick back. The only true retirement plan God has for us is heaven!

We'll never be perfect until we get to heaven. But that's still our goal. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10-14:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death...Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

So then, we must be changed on a daily basis. It may sound overly simplistic, but continuing change in the Christian life comes from spending time with God." excerpt from the booklet Spending Time With God, written by Pastor Danny Hodges of Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg in Florida

Can you not pray with me one hour?  Jesus was admonishing his disciples who had fallen asleep while He prayed.  Can we not read God's word (The Bible) and pray for just 20 minutes a day?

"I'm reminded of the story of a battleship cruising the Atlantic off the northern coast of Maine one stormy evening. The commander of the battleship was notified: "Sir, there's a light ahead. Oncoming vessel."

"Signal oncoming vessel," the commander responded, "Change your course ten degrees to the west."

The message was sent, but a light flashed back, "Change your course ten degrees to the east."

The commander barked, "Signal again. ‘Change your course ten degrees to the west. I am an admiral.'"

The light flashed back, "Change your course ten degrees to the east. I'm a seaman third class."

By this time the admiral was incensed as he thundered, "Signal again. ‘Change your course ten degrees to the west. I am a battleship.' "

And the message came back, "Change your course ten degrees to the east. I am a lighthouse!"

Someone once said that a fool is a person who keeps doing the same things, expecting different results. Unless we change our course in life, the results will be the same. God doesn't want us to run aground. He calls to us, "Come on! Change your course!"

Will you make it a priority to spend time with God? I pray He becomes a lighthouse in your life.

In closing, I believe these words I mentioned earlier bear repeating. I came across them years ago in my devotional reading, and they have never left me. Though the source of the quote now eludes me, the truth of its message has impacted and inspired me deeply.

"Fellowship with God
is the privilege of all,
and the unceasing experience
of but a few."
--Author Unknown

I long to be one of the few; I pray you do as well."
excerpt from the booklet Spending Time With God, written by Pastor Danny Hodges of Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg in Florida