Jesus space sounds a little off the beaten path, but please believe that I'm not trying to start anything New Age or trying to deter you from the True Word of God. My question to you: Where do you find your space to be with Christ? Do you have a place in which you and Christ have privacy? Is it a daily routine? How often is it if it isn't daily? And let's be honest: why isn't it daily?
I'll be true to you in saying that I am not always with Christ. It takes 21 days to get a daily routine to become a daily habit. It took me 21 days to learn how to wake up with my daily prayer. Don't get me wrong: it was very trying to wake up and speak to God. Especially since I'm the world's worst morning person! (There are a few of us out there!) Let me put it into perspective. Remember how I was in the relationship of damage? I didn't ever wake up and pray that God would give me everything I needed for that day. I prayed that He would let me survive the day if I were to come across the man that I was in the relationship of damage with at the current time. I just wanted to stay alive. I thanked God for my survival of the previous day and I prayed even harder for me to survive this day. The Lord puts people in our lives to help us become better human beings. Even if those people aren't good to us or for us. Every moment is a teachable moment from God.
I don't have a full devotional every morning. It's a morning talk with God. I praise Him for allowing me to open my eyes in a house with a warm bed. I praise Him for allowing me to stay with a loving family who supports me in all my endeavors. I then begin ask Him to be with those who can't be surrounded with family as I am and I ask God to keep my heart open to those around me who need my smile or shoulder to cry on. I may need the same things sometimes and I have friends I can call on when the time comes.
Matthew 6:5-15
Praying privately. And if you haven't guessed, I will always talk about prayer. Praying is a huge part of my faith and who I am as a person. Talking to God is something that is relieving. It calms me. You're asking what prayer has to do with spending time with Jesus. Because talking to God is talking to Jesus. He's our Friend, He's our Brother, He's our Savior. Believe that He will restore your soul in all times: good, bad, and indifferent. I see all over social media that you have to like and/or share a certain picture to believe God will save you, or He will love you more if you like something in ten seconds. God loves you more than you could even fathom. Why do you need to like a picture of Him in order to get His love or attention? That's a very selfish humanistic thing to believe. And humans are selfish animals. Yes, I said humans are animals. I know more dogs that behave better than humans I've interacted with over the years. I admit that I'm a selfish being. I want my grandparents to be alive so I can share with them the joys of being an aunt and eventually the joys of being a wife and mother myself. However, I know that having them in my life, even for only twenty-one years, made my life better. I know that one day God will reunite all of us. My point is selfishness gets in the way of our Jesus Space. Christ is the Ultimate Social Media. I love my Jesus Space! A lot of times it happens when I'm sitting at my desk crocheting. I love to crochet! I am self taught and I can't get enough! Having that skill has led me to learn a great deal of patience and self control. Two things that have been mentioned on several occasions in the New Testament.
2 Peter 1:3-11
Faith has gotten me some places I've never seen before. There have been things I haven't wanted to see. And if you go on blind faith, you open your eyes to something you weren't expecting. That's what I've done. I did it for years! Believing that I could go on blind faith and I ended up hurt, abused and wretched. More wretched than I wanted to be. Seriously. Add goodness to your faith. Goodness? This is where I said, "Okay Lord, You know I'm already good enough!" When He and I both knew that wasn't true. I have never been good enough. As most of you know there is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to your Jesus Space. I wasn't being good, let alone good enough. I'd never known what a demon alcohol could be until I left the relationship of damage. I'd only been on one side of that fence. And it was the side of being on the outside looking in. I found what I thought was a real friend in beer and liquor. I'm what you might call a binge drinker. I can go weeks, even months, without it. It's scary! I've got family members that have done this. I have to use my self control in order to stay away from it. It's a daily activity! It's not just a one time thing, it's a daily issue. Alcohol creeps up and bites me when I allow it to do so, but I've learned to know my limits.
Which leads me into my next point. Add knowledge to goodness. Knowledge? Really? When you find something you believe you know more about than anyone else, God has a sense of humor and says, "No, you don't know anything!!" He lovingly allows you to learn things the hard way. Many people don't believe this. I then point out to them that their parents let them learn things the hard way. After learning most everything the hard way, you are knowledgeable in certain areas. Keep in mind: you don't know everything in those certain areas, just enough to have the experience in order to teach those who are behind you in life. In the last three to four years, I've heard the phrase, "You plan, and God laughs." He already knows what's to happen tomorrow. Life happens. Things beyond our control happen. No one person can prevent the wind from blowing and no one can prevent the drunk person from getting behind the wheel at two p.m. on a Tuesday and ramming into someone else. No one human being.
You may be asking still what I mean by Jesus Space. Do you talk to Christ as though He's your friend and your Savior? Or do you just acknowledge him? There is a difference. I can say I'm happy with Jesus all day long. But what does that mean? Does that mean that I'm out doing all the sinful things I can and every once in awhile saying a quiet prayer? Or does it means I'm truly happy with Christ as a single person? Am I depending on Him to give me emotional peace and shining His light in my daily life? These are things I would like you to ask yourself before your feet hit the floor everyday. God asks you to as well. He's a jealous God.
How often do I speak to God during the day, week, month, year?
What can I do to change that?
What do I see in my Jesus Space? Cluttered mess or cleanliness?
Do I worship Him daily and ask for guidance?
Am I arrogant and boastful as a Pharisee or humble and poor as the tax collector?
I'll be true to you in saying that I am not always with Christ. It takes 21 days to get a daily routine to become a daily habit. It took me 21 days to learn how to wake up with my daily prayer. Don't get me wrong: it was very trying to wake up and speak to God. Especially since I'm the world's worst morning person! (There are a few of us out there!) Let me put it into perspective. Remember how I was in the relationship of damage? I didn't ever wake up and pray that God would give me everything I needed for that day. I prayed that He would let me survive the day if I were to come across the man that I was in the relationship of damage with at the current time. I just wanted to stay alive. I thanked God for my survival of the previous day and I prayed even harder for me to survive this day. The Lord puts people in our lives to help us become better human beings. Even if those people aren't good to us or for us. Every moment is a teachable moment from God.
I don't have a full devotional every morning. It's a morning talk with God. I praise Him for allowing me to open my eyes in a house with a warm bed. I praise Him for allowing me to stay with a loving family who supports me in all my endeavors. I then begin ask Him to be with those who can't be surrounded with family as I am and I ask God to keep my heart open to those around me who need my smile or shoulder to cry on. I may need the same things sometimes and I have friends I can call on when the time comes.
Matthew 6:5-15
5“And
when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by
others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
6But
when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your
Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you.
7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9“This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
but deliver us from the evil one.b
’
14For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
2 Peter 1:3-11
3His
divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through
our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4Through
these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that
through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
8For
if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep
you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
9But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10Therefore, my brothers and sisters,a
make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,
11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Faith has gotten me some places I've never seen before. There have been things I haven't wanted to see. And if you go on blind faith, you open your eyes to something you weren't expecting. That's what I've done. I did it for years! Believing that I could go on blind faith and I ended up hurt, abused and wretched. More wretched than I wanted to be. Seriously. Add goodness to your faith. Goodness? This is where I said, "Okay Lord, You know I'm already good enough!" When He and I both knew that wasn't true. I have never been good enough. As most of you know there is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to your Jesus Space. I wasn't being good, let alone good enough. I'd never known what a demon alcohol could be until I left the relationship of damage. I'd only been on one side of that fence. And it was the side of being on the outside looking in. I found what I thought was a real friend in beer and liquor. I'm what you might call a binge drinker. I can go weeks, even months, without it. It's scary! I've got family members that have done this. I have to use my self control in order to stay away from it. It's a daily activity! It's not just a one time thing, it's a daily issue. Alcohol creeps up and bites me when I allow it to do so, but I've learned to know my limits.
Which leads me into my next point. Add knowledge to goodness. Knowledge? Really? When you find something you believe you know more about than anyone else, God has a sense of humor and says, "No, you don't know anything!!" He lovingly allows you to learn things the hard way. Many people don't believe this. I then point out to them that their parents let them learn things the hard way. After learning most everything the hard way, you are knowledgeable in certain areas. Keep in mind: you don't know everything in those certain areas, just enough to have the experience in order to teach those who are behind you in life. In the last three to four years, I've heard the phrase, "You plan, and God laughs." He already knows what's to happen tomorrow. Life happens. Things beyond our control happen. No one person can prevent the wind from blowing and no one can prevent the drunk person from getting behind the wheel at two p.m. on a Tuesday and ramming into someone else. No one human being.
You may be asking still what I mean by Jesus Space. Do you talk to Christ as though He's your friend and your Savior? Or do you just acknowledge him? There is a difference. I can say I'm happy with Jesus all day long. But what does that mean? Does that mean that I'm out doing all the sinful things I can and every once in awhile saying a quiet prayer? Or does it means I'm truly happy with Christ as a single person? Am I depending on Him to give me emotional peace and shining His light in my daily life? These are things I would like you to ask yourself before your feet hit the floor everyday. God asks you to as well. He's a jealous God.
How often do I speak to God during the day, week, month, year?
What can I do to change that?
What do I see in my Jesus Space? Cluttered mess or cleanliness?
Do I worship Him daily and ask for guidance?
Am I arrogant and boastful as a Pharisee or humble and poor as the tax collector?
How willing am I to be in my Jesus space?
Do I have the right attitude in my heart when I talk to Christ?
I'm not alone. Do I believe that I'm not alone and do I know that He is with me?
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