Every Christian who has ever lived has struggled with seasons of not feeling close to God. All of us want to have meaningful encounters with God, yet there are times when it just doesn’t happen. It can be frustrating to say the least.

What I’m about to share isn’t a guaranteed formula for getting through to God. I don’t have His unlisted number. But what I can share with you are a few tips that have helped me in some of the dryer seasons of my friendship with Him.

Pick a time and place
Whenever I’m about to spend time with a friend, whether it’s over lunch, coffee, or a movie we always set a time and a place to meet. It’s something we can count on as a way to know we won’t miss each other in the pace of life. I think we need to apply that same principle with God. We need to carve out time in our days to have appointments with Him.

This doesn’t mean God gets only 30 minutes of your day and that’s it. Scripture teaches we should talk to God throughout our day. What it does mean is that you intentionally schedule time to spend extended, focused time with Him that’s more than a minute here or there when you can. It’s important to have those quiet moments to stop, be quiet, and make a connection too. But consistent and thoughtful times with God are vital to every Christian’s health.

Prepare the night before
Usually the most productive, meaningful, and less rushed days of my life don’t happen by accident. They typically happen when I make time the night before to get ready. Things as simple as making lunch, setting the alarm, ironing clothes, reviewing the calendar, and getting my supplies ready tend to make or break my day. If I don’t do these things beforehand I find I’m stressed and running around all day. When I do them I notice I have more space in my day for what I need and want to get done. The same is true with our appointments with God.

Have a reading plan
Not every time with God fits into the box of Bible reading, journaling, and prayer. But there is something to spending time with God in these ways. A good way to start is by picking a plan to help you read through the Bible. YouVersion.com has several custom plans. LifeJournal.cc has a neat one that takes you through the Bible in a year. There’s also hundreds of books for every stage and walk of life.

Your problem won’t be finding one. It’ll be choosing one. Don’t let analysis lead to paralysis. Choose one and go with it. If it doesn’t work, pick another. Eventually you will find one that’s right for you.

Have a recording plan
I like to write, so I’m a little biased here. There’s something to the practice of putting into words what’s on your mind that’s always been really helpful to me. Like the plethora of devotional plans, there’s just as many ways to record what you’re learning. The SOAP Method and Rick Warren’s Bible Study Method are two of my favorites. I like to record what I’ve learned in the Day One app on my iPad but a moleskin is just as good if you’re a more tactile person.

Whatever you decide, even if it’s just a tweet-sized sentence, or a verse that really stood out to you, write down what you learn.

Keep it in front of you
Take the sentence from your journal or that key verse and put it somewhere you’ll see throughout the idea. Maybe it’s on a postcard. Maybe it’s on the wallpaper of your computer or smart phone. It doesn’t really matter. Just have it with you throughout the day. Pause for 1 minute each hour and reflect on what God wants to say to you through it.

Having a meaningful quiet time is something all disciples want to do. But sometimes it’s hard in our loud world. And even when you follow these tips it may not always happen, but you’ll be more likely to having meaningful experiences with God when you plan and prepare for them

—

If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing. It’s easy and free. Click here to sign-up and start getting regular updates sent to you.

They may be a complete strangers to you, but you may not be to them.

A few weeks ago our Family Pastor and I were at Ontario Airport. We were headed from California to Colorado to interview someone for a spot that’s open at our church.

As we finished going through security (which is about as much fun as when the dentist accidentally cuts into your gums while trying to clean your teeth, making his instrument feel like the white-hot blade of a 19th century Samurai from Feudal Japan) a man walked up to us and asked if we worked at High Desert Church. We told him we did.

He went on to explain how he thought we looked familiar, that he knew our Senior Pastor, and had been attending our church for years. We chatted for a few minutes, then left to catch our flight. It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time.

Or so we thought.

The next day we were at our hotel in Colorado, having breakfast, and getting ready to head to the airport to board our flight back to California. As one of the kitchen staff was taking our plates he asked us if we worked at High Desert Church. We told him we did.

He went on to explain how he thought we looked familiar. It turns out he had moved to Colorado not long ago from the High Desert and was looking for a new church. We talked for a little bit, gave him our contact info, and told him we would try to help him find a new church.

Ever since these two encounters I’ve been thinking how small the world has become. How what we do at home people hundreds, even thousands of miles away can know about. Just because we don’t know someone doesn’t mean they don’t know us.

It’s a good reminder to keep us in check. Not in a “Big Brother is Watching” kind of way, but more in a “My ‘secrets’ may not be so secret” kind of way. I should probably be more thoughtful about my words and actions. I know this is true of me. And I think it’s probably true of you from time to time too.

Have you ever bumped into someone who knew you but you had no idea who they were? Did you come clean or did you try to fake it? What happened afterwards?

—

Was this post helpful? Consider Subscribing!

Subscribe by Reader
Subscribe by Email
Follow Me on Twitter

“Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.” – Proverbs 18:21 (Msg)

Words are powerful.

Over the last year I’ve been working hard to lose weight and get into shape. So far I’ve lost 59lbs. It has been one of the most concentrated, brutal, and fulfilling experiences of my entire life. Many in my life have been very encouraging of my progress with comments like:

“Dude, you look so great!”

“Seriously! What are you doing, skinny?!”

“You look awesome!!! What an inspiration!”

But others have not been so supportive:

“That’s a great start. Just between us, though, you probably still need to lose another 30-40lbs. Just sayin’.”

“I wouldn’t throw away my fat clothes if I were you. You’ll probably gain most of that back.”

“Your face doesn’t look as oily or greasy, but you still have a lot of belly fat. Maybe if you work harder you’d look better.”

“59lbs, really? You still seem pretty husky to me.”

“I don’t think you’ve lost that much weight.”

“It’s too bad you had to lose that much weight. Gluttony is just as much of a sin as murder in the eyes of the Lord. I’ll be praying you don’t go back to your old sinful ways.”

Here’s what I realized about the power of words:

As much as I remember the compliments, I remember the criticisms so much more.

From the looks of it I remember them more by a ratio of 2:1. Probably because they cut twice as deep, like Crocodile Dundee’s knife in the jawbone of an australian saltwater croc. It’s sad this is true about me. It’s even more sad this is true of most people I think. We  hurt each other so much.

What we say to people matters. I’m culpable of having spoken hurtful words to people. Most on accident, but some on purpose. We’ve all been there. I think the key is to make sure our compliments outweigh our criticisms by at least 2:1 (or more). That’s the kind of math everybody can get behind.

—

Was this post helpful? Consider Subscribing!

Subscribe by Reader
Subscribe by Email
Follow Me on Twitter

Every read something in the Bible and think, “Wow, that is some SERIOUS weird! What am I supposed to do with this, God?”

I had one of those moments last week when this passage came up in my quiet time:

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. - Acts 19:13-26 (NIV)

Weird, right? It’s not quiet on the same level of weird as when Steve Urkel build the Urkel-bot on that one episode of Family Matters, or as weird as me brining up that bit of 90s TV trivia. But it’s a little weird.

So what’s this passage all about? What does it have to do with spiritual disciplines? I think it highlights an important principle:

Ritual without Relationship is Ridiculous.

When you stop and think about it these guys did all the right “stuff.” They used the right words. They went to the right places. They had the right background. But all of that “stuff” amounted to a serious beating they never forgot.

I think if we’re not careful something like this can happen to our walk with God. We can go through the motions of reading the Bible, praying, going to church, and being involved in ministry. We can do all the right stuff but get nowhere with God because we think all the ritual adds up to a relationship and that’s ridiculous. Doing all of this stuff, as good as it may be, is meaningless without the relationship.

Why? Because God doesn’t want your “stuff.” He aches for a personal connection with you.

We don’t get that connection with God through ritual or routine. We nurture it by desiring more of Him. And not so we can get what we want, but so all we want is to know Him better and to love Him more. We all know people who only stop by our office or call or email when they want something. Do you yearn for a deeper friendship with them? Probably not. You crave the scenes in the story of your life when you get to spend quality time with someone who really loves you and who you love deeply.

And so does God.

Take a step back from all the stuff and dive into an experience with your maker where you show love and friendship for no other reason but because you mean it. And not just because He deserves it (even though He does) but because He’s your friend and you care enough to speak the unspoken words of your relationship. You’ll be glad you did. And so will He.

When was the last time you felt like you were just going through the motions with God? What did you do to change things?

—

Was this post helpful? Consider Subscribing!

Subscribe by Reader
Subscribe by Email
Follow Me on Twitter

This post may not apply if you’re ever conscripted to lick embers from an ash tray while it’s still in use at a casino, or forced to listen to the entire William Shatner record collection, serenaded to you by the star himself. But otherwise I think this can really help.

I’m a guy who always has a lot on his mind. It’s not uncommon for me to be typing a task into Remember the Milk, returning a text or email, jotting an idea down in Evernote, or scrambling to come up with the perfect word to crush a family member or friend in Words with Friends. It’s not that I’m all that important. Just ask anyone who knows me. It’s just that there’s a lot to do. Can you relate?

A few weeks ago my wife’s parents flew down to visit us for a few days. I think I’m one of those rare guys who genuinely enjoys time with his in-laws (and if they’re reading this, “Hi Jan! Don’t forget to buy a super-sized box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch when Sarah and I come up to visit for Christmas. I love you!”). As the four of us were talking one night during their visit the conversation turned toward their work once their trip was over. My father-in-law (who’s a pretty smart guy by father-in-law standards) said something that really stuck out to me:

“We don’t need to think about any of that stuff right at this moment. All that matters to me right here and right now is enjoying right here and right now.”

And that’s the secret to be happy no matter what you’re doing: Living like all that matters right here and right now is enjoying right here and right now.

I think that’s really good advice (and not just because I wrote it. OK, maybe a little bit).

We have access to too much information. People can get a hold of us at the speed of light. There’s less time to do the things we need to do. When we are able to squeeze in a break our minds flood over with all the stuff we have to do later. Like Facebook and Twitter. Or how much we hate our jobs. Or wishing we made more money and lived in a better house.

We live in the most advanced time in history, with more resources than ever before, where everything is literally at our fingertips. And we’re never happy.

But there are people who live with less and are truly happy. Happier than most of us have been since we were kids. They work and live like that because they choose to. They choose to live in the moment, to enjoy what they’re doing and who they’re doing it with (without having to check their phone every three milliseconds). They don’t spend time being upset about their lot in life, or wishing to be somewhere else with someone else, because that is wasteful to the soul. It leaves our minds and hearts with a landfill of regret.

Jim Elliot was one of those people. He had a great approach to life. It was simple, but not simplistic:  “Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”

Today I hope you’ll take the challenge to live like all that matters right here and right now is to enjoy right here and right now. I hope you’ll pursue contentment over complaining, gratefulness over grumbling, and wonder over worry. Because that is the secret to being happy, no matter what you’re doing.

So I recommend the enjoyment of life. People have nothing better to do under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves. This joy will stay with them while they work hard during their brief lives which God has given them under the sun. – Ecclesiastes 8:15 (GWT)

What can you do (or turn off) to be more present in your everyday life?

—

Was this post helpful? Consider Subscribing!

Subscribe by Reader
Subscribe by Email
Follow Me on Twitter