Thursday, March 24, 2011

a Jesus wreck...

If you’re reading this on April 1st, we are on day 23 of the 40 days of prayer study. 
I hope you decided to join us.  

I was having a hard time deciding what to write about for this article. Then Colleen (Director of Youth Ministries, Christ UMC) posted pictures from Acquire the Fire (ATF). It got me thinking about collisions, the theme of the event. How often do you collide with God? That was one of the questions at ATF this year. We aren’t talking about car wrecks. We’re talking about run-ins with the Creator of the Universe.

Maybe you are wondering how you could collide with God. If you don’t think you’re going to be colliding with God anytime soon, maybe you should be looking at how close you are to him. Have you ever been in a car accident? The moment you feel your car shake and hear that crunch. Time seems to stop for a second as you realize what just happened. The same event happens when you collide with God. When you collide with the God of the universe you cannot be the same…the experience will not allow it. What if you aren’t close enough? How do you get closer?

Prayer…Bible study…worship. Just like the relationships we have with each other, the more time you spend with someone the closer you become.  God doesn't wait for you in the hallways of the empty church hoping that someone might come to visit before Sunday.  Nope. He is out there with you, but if you aren't listening for him, you'll never find him.  Getting in tune with God creates collisions, they cannot be avoided.  The closer we are to God the more likely we are to run into him.  Lets say you buy a yellow sports car because you have never seen anyone driving one - suddenly everyone and their cousin has a yellow sports car!  Did the person who sold you your car send out a mass text to the world telling them to buy a yellow sports car?  Maybe...
I doubt it.  Your brain created a cognitive category called "yellow sports car."  You have a cognitive category labeled "God" but how big it is, or how well it works depends on how much information you give it.  The more time you spend seeking out God the more you will find him.  In the study Experiencing God, you learn some truths about God, one of them is that God is always at work around you.  You just have to find him. 

Prayer...Bible study...worship.  Work that into your routine, 5 minutes of prayer and 5 minutes of Bible study is a great way to start out your day, then comes Sunday, grab the church of your choice and fill up. If you don't have a home church and you live in the Westfield, Carmel, Noblesville area, look us up.

Blessings, jb

No comments:

Post a Comment