Cultivating Friendship with Jesus

From very early in my journey with the Lord, leaders and teachers told me to do quiet time. At retreats counselors would say, “QT time!” But no one actually took the time to explain thoroughly what QT stuff was all about; and why I needed to do them. It was something that had to be done at retreats to appease my leader and to eat meals! I wonder if any of you are in the same shoe? So this week I thought I’ll take the time to write about quiet time which is often refer to as devotional time or spending time alone with God.

If you want to passionately follow Jesus, quiet time is indispensable. It’s more than simply reading the bible everyday! While reading the Bible daily is very helpful, just reading the Bible will not lead you to more abundant walk with Christ. You need to take the time to soak in the word, study and learn from it everyday in order to cultivate intimate friendship with Jesus! Without this time alone with Jesus, your Christian walk will often feel dry and nonessential! But with it, you will soon understand what it means to walk with the Lord.

So here are some QT steps to help you: 

Time: Set aside around 15-30 minutes. You can choose the time according to your schedule but I prefer the early morning to spend the time with the Lord. Mornings are calmer and refreshing. No one tunes his instrument after a concert... I find my QT to be a time of readjusting my schedule and thoughts as I begin the day. But if mornings are impossible for you, find another time. But it is important to set fixed time everyday, as it brings discipline and consistency.

What do you need?
Your Bible, Notebook and pen. You can use a study bible to help you with difficult passages of bible. ESV [English Standard Version] study bible is an excellent resource to invest. As you begin your QT each morning, take a moment to ask God for his guidance to understand the passages. It is a very good practice to take notes in your QT. You will be pleasantly surprised when you go back to read your QT notes years later!

How to do QT...

Being with Prayer | Spend few minutes in worship and thanksgiving. Pick a song that uplifts your soul and readies you to receive what God has in store for you. Spend some time asking God to reveal any sins that displeases him so you can start with clear conscious. Ask for his guidance in today’s QT. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you clearly as you do your QT.

Passage for QT...

I use a small booklet called Living Life. Living Life helps me to read both the Old Testament and New Testament. But what ever material you use, reading a big section of Bible is a must. Stay away from booklets that give you one verse from the Bible and a large section that shares stories. It’s not that they are bad, but the Bible should be the main source to speak to you so that you will your own stories to write. Select 8-10 verse from a book of the Bible [if you are beginning start with the gospel - John]. 

Read the verses 2-3 times. And even though in discipleship training we use deductive method, in this case we will use the acronym ASPECT as our guide to do our QT.

A | About God - What can you learn about God from your reading?

S | Sin - Does it talk about any sin? Your sin?

P | Promise - Is there any promise to claim?

E | Example - Is there any examples to follow?

C | Command - Is there a command to obey?

T | Teaching - Is there a teaching I need to apply today/immediately? 

End with Prayer

A | Adoration - Praise God for what he has done and who he is.

C | Confession - Any sins God has revealed to you as you did your QT.

T | Thanksgiving - Is there anything you ought to thank God for?

S | Supplication - Ask God for anything he has placed in your heart [i.e. deliverance from sin, strength for the day, non-Christian friend, discipling relationship, anyone in growth group that shared prayer request...etc.]

Try it this week. Enjoy the Lord! Blessings. ~ P.Sam

All Fragments of Life as Worship!

Everyone has to work. There is no such thing as all play with no work. Just as we must eat and breathe, we must work. Work is a venue God has chosen to give us provision and bless us. We must work to live. It’s the way God has set his economy for us. We spend a third of our life in school in preparation for a dream job! But in fact, as we prepare for a job, unbeknownst to us, we work... as a student. We spend a tremendous amount of time at work. Do you love your work? Or do you hate your work?

According to the Center for American Progress, “in 1960, only 20% of mothers worked. Today, 70% of American children live in households where all adults are employed.”

In another study, the National Sleep Foundation found that the average employed American works a 46 hour work week; 38% of the respondents in their study worked more than 50 hours per week. 

We spend a whole lot of time at work. I hope you love your work!

But regardless of your attitude towards work, the meaning behind work for a Christian is quite different from the meaning of work for a person who has not received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In Genesis, God created Adam and Eve, and gave them work -- to tend the garden to make it as it ought to be. Work is more than a paycheck. Work is the means God has given us to care, serve, love, encourage and provide by expanding our energies. We aren't after money; we’re after the pleasure and the joy of God!

While not all of us will have our dream job, in fact some of us may hate our current job, God says in Colossians to see work as an act of thankful worship -- bringing glory and honor to Jesus as we express our attitudes, words, and work ethic in the world.

Colossians 3:17 | “...and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all int he name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Do you love the work you did today or do you resent it? Why do you love it? Why do you resent it? Are you missing the preciousness and meaning behind your work because of attitudes in our own heart?

Friends, God is inviting us to see work differently. Some of your work provides service for people and some of your work exists to provide enrich lives in other ways. Let us ask God to give us new eyes to see our work from God’s perspective. Let us receive work as an expression of our worship. 

“The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same times calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament [communion].” ~ Brother Lawrence

Brother Lawrence is inviting all of us who are in Christ, to give all fragments of our work day into one holy act of worship. He calls us to see our work as a privilege rather than a burden. Have a blessed week.