Read Mark 1:35-37
A husband and wife argued about quality time together. He said they talked all the time. She rebutted that they only talked in the bustle of the morning shuffle, on car rides, when passing between errands, on phone calls, or when too tired at the end of the day. She argued that they needed times together that were undistracted, when the focus was only upon their relationship. He didn’t get it.
This all too common story applies to the Christian who says, “I don’t set apart time for God per se, but I pray all the time throughout the day.” A Christian who doesn’t devote daily, focused time for talking and listening to Jesus is like a fish out of water! The Bible describes our life in Christ this way: “In Jesus we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Can you see our spiritual vitality depends upon staying immersed in God’s Word? If we don’t spend daily time with God, we’re like fish out of water. The faith of such Christians will flounder, dry up, and die. If you don’t crave daily prayer and Scripture times, then you’ve already been out of the water too long. A dead fish doesn’t crave water.
Jesus (the very Son of God!) demonstrated the need to stay plugged‐in to this vital relationship. Jesus made a habit of designating time and finding a place to be with God the Father— even (and especially) when the demands of life made it hard to do so. We designate a time and place for everything that is important to us. For example, we habitually go to the same places around the same times, every day, to eat. With the same sense of priority, Jesus spent time with God the Father every day in a place that allowed Him to be undistracted. If Jesus needed this, we certainly do!
A husband and wife argued about quality time together. He said they talked all the time. She rebutted that they only talked in the bustle of the morning shuffle, on car rides, when passing between errands, on phone calls, or when too tired at the end of the day. She argued that they needed times together that were undistracted, when the focus was only upon their relationship. He didn’t get it.
This all too common story applies to the Christian who says, “I don’t set apart time for God per se, but I pray all the time throughout the day.” A Christian who doesn’t devote daily, focused time for talking and listening to Jesus is like a fish out of water! The Bible describes our life in Christ this way: “In Jesus we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Can you see our spiritual vitality depends upon staying immersed in God’s Word? If we don’t spend daily time with God, we’re like fish out of water. The faith of such Christians will flounder, dry up, and die. If you don’t crave daily prayer and Scripture times, then you’ve already been out of the water too long. A dead fish doesn’t crave water.
Jesus (the very Son of God!) demonstrated the need to stay plugged‐in to this vital relationship. Jesus made a habit of designating time and finding a place to be with God the Father— even (and especially) when the demands of life made it hard to do so. We designate a time and place for everything that is important to us. For example, we habitually go to the same places around the same times, every day, to eat. With the same sense of priority, Jesus spent time with God the Father every day in a place that allowed Him to be undistracted. If Jesus needed this, we certainly do!