Some things to think about...

If we want to speak to a man, we must learn his language first. This phrase means more than just learning a different language, from a different country. It mean that we need to understand the culture in which we live in. In learning a new language ( meaning from a different country ), we learn the new language and learn the culture and how to live with and relate to the people of the language, but we don't change our own morals and our own value systems, unless of course we find our values flawed from learning the new culture. The same goes, however, with learning how to be relevant in a culture such as the 21st century, we change the language in which we speak, but that does not mean that we change the content of what we speak. We definitely should not give up our Biblical standings in order to be more relevant to the culture at hand. So many churches, though, have this view that in learning how to be relevant they need to change themselves, and this, I believe, is a lie of Satan.

To often, as well, Christians when sharing the Gospel respond and interact with the person as if the soul and the person are separate. Yet this is not the case, and although our flesh is sinful, so is our soul and what happens in the flesh can not be separated from the soul and likewise in reverse. The two cannot be separated.
To understand and speak to sincere but utterly confused 21st century people is costly. It is tiring; it will open you up to temptations and pressures. I feel that to often we are told in the church to run from any kind of temptation and pressure, but we are never told that to effectively witness to people means that you are going to open yourself up to such pressures. I think that it is important to understand this, and address this more in our churches. Christians need to understand that if they are going to be involved in living out the Gospel, that means that they are going to be in the world and exposed to all kinds of temptations and pressures. If we are always running from any kind of temptation, like the church preaches, then we do not build up a sense of immunity when we are tempted. When it comes I feel that most Christians instead of attacking it head on, either give in or completely run. They don't know how to handle certain situations. To effectively live out the Gospel and share it with a dying world, we need to understand how to deal with certain situations that arises and live in a secular world that we are so often sheltered from.

Wht ds t mn 2 b a Chrstn

To be a Christian does not mean that you love church, you love to sing, you love to listen to boring sermons and get up early on Sunday to go to church with your family. No, to be a Christian means that you love God and you want to serve him. You find Jesus beautiful and not useful for your own gain. You should seek to experience God's love not just know about his love. The devil and the demons believe and know about God's love, but it's actually experiencing his love that saves us. Don't think that you are going to be more spiritual if you simply pray more or read your Bible more. When you read your Bible, read it not for what you can get out of it, like a self-help book, but read it to learn about your Savior. Pray, not for things that you want and when bad things happen, but for the needs of others and to praise God. I promise you, it may not feel like it at first, but your faith will come alive much more if you do this. Because you cannot please God by what you do. God will only find pleasure in you through Jesus Christ and you only find Jesus by seeking after Him and seeking after His beauty.

Meeting at Starbucks with God

The term "devotions" as I see it represented in todays culture ( Christian and secular), represents a short portion of a Christian's daily routine. This routine includes a short time spent in prayer, Bible reading and perhaps even ( for the really "spiritual" christian) a silent time of meditation. All this sounds great, but did our devotion to God become a cliche we use flippantly to represent a five-minute spiritual coffee shot in the arm? I'm not saying that any of that is bad but, we must be careful not to treat or devotional time with God like we do our double shot expresso - quick, sweet, and a temporary energy boost. Its not an easy bake formula for spiritual growth, its a valuable connection to God!!!

The purpose of meeting with God is not just to keep us spiritually "awake" during the day; its a time spent together for relational intimacy and connection. Our whole lives should be offered up as a devotion to Him. Romans 12:1 states this clearly...

" I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

Also in I Corinthians 6:19 - 20 it says: " Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

You ARE a devotion to God, and you should continually be in prayer and worship of God. Its not a punch in... punch out time card.

So if we are to be connected to God all day... How, when and where do we spend our quality time with our Savior? If we look in the Bible we find that throughout Biblical history people have risen early in the morning to meditate on God. Jacob in Genesis 28: 16- 18 built an alter before the Lord in the morning. The prophet Samuel parents rose early and went out of the city to worship in 1 Samuel 1:19. Then in 2 Chronicles 29:20- 31 King Hezekiah came in the morning before the Lord to offer up his sacrifice. Job in Job 1:5 arose each morning to sacrifice his offering to the Lord. Also Jesus himself in Mark 1:35 got up early while it was still dark to go and pray in a desolate place.

Each day we should also start our day in prayer. If you don't have time in the morning, the answer is simple get up earlier ( even if you have to take a nap later in the day) Go before the Lord expecting to learn something new about Him. Dive into his Word... don't skip stones over it. Every time try to read something that you haven't read before. If you haven't read the Bible all the way through you'd be surprised at the new stuff you find or new stories you may not have heard or forgotten.

Another reoccurring thing I find in those passages that are listed is that the people worshipped somewhere that they were least likely to find distractions. Samuel' parents went completly out of the city. Jesus found a desolate place. Find your quiet place that you can focus on God. FOCUS!!!! you will never be 20/20 with God but it sure should be our goal.

James 4:8 says: " Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." God's design for our lives is that prayer, reading, worship, and meditation be used as life expressions to grow in love and intimacy with the Father. Isn't that why we are all here anyway, to be closer to Him?