I bumped into my friend Jordan and Panera this morning. We chit chatted about life and the early morning. We got onto the topic of our walk with Christ. He shared, “I am stuck. I’m just not connecting with Jesus.” Like most of us from time to time we found we are stuck in our life with Christ.
How do we get moving again spiritually?
One of the best ways is being engaged with the Scriptures. We need to hear God’s directions and insights. We need to hear him encourage us and tell us where we are askew.
Digging into the Bible can powerfully move us ahead.
Here’s a great definition that expresses this engagement with the Word.
A regular time of fellowship with God, marked by communication and intimacy, where a person learns to listen to God’s Spirit for daily insight and direction.
We connect with the Lord. We sensitively listen to what his Spirit wants to teach us. Then we take practical action steps. If we master this we will never be void of wisdom and knowledge we need to live life well.
In Stop we ask, “Lord where’s my heart today?” As we start a time in the Word we assess where is our heart. What am I worried about, excited about, distracted about. The Lord knows where we are. We may not be so aware. We admit to Him these things. We openly confess how we get off the path. We thank him for who He is. Passages like Ps 46:10, Ps 139 help me assess where I’m at. Then I can take a brief time to remember where God is and who he is. Ps 103 is a favorite of mine.
Next we Look. “What do you want to teach me today in your Word?” Here we dig into a passage to find as many facts as we can. We ask questions with: who, what, where, when, why. Who are the characters? What was going on in the story? Who is the example? What is the sin to avoid? Once you’ve gathered the facts consider their meaning. A powerful passage help here is Proverbs 2:1-5. Look at all the ways these verses describe this process of investigating God’s Word.
This leads us to Listen. We ask the question, “What does the Lord want me to do?” Here we consider what the Lord is asking us to focus on. What’s the one thing he wants me to do. Prayer is helpful here. It is usually the obvious theme that is jumping off the page. That is the one idea the Lord wants you to focus on. However, there are times I really have no idea what the big idea of the day is. On those days I take a stab on one of the facts I found in my Look section.
Finally we Respond. We consider “With God’s help today I will ______________. Make it simple enough you can start today. Today I will remind myself after each meal that I am completely redeemed by the Lord. Or today I will remember he has swept away all my transgressions.