Chasing the Beautiful God

Intro: A friend of mine recommended that I start recording these to accomodate people who would rather listen than read. So here’s my first attempt. It’s a little rough and ready, straight off my iphone but things will improve from here!

I was driving to meet a friend the other day out on the M4 at Blacktown. We’ve been meeting at Mcdonald’s on that highway every couple of weeks for the last 3 years to study the Bible. Driving down Lane Cove road the context of Jesus’ death and resurrection in Jewish history suddenly ran through my heart and mind.

For the most part the Jewish people were looking for a messiah, a “greater King David” to rise up, deliver them from the Romans (who had conquered their land) and reestablish the Kingdom of Israel. But Jesus had other plans of which few understood until after they took place. He died and was resurrected to save people into a spiritual Kingdom. This fact offended and confused people no end. In pondering, this reality struck my heart: Jesus died not just for the physical, He died primarily for the spiritual – to bring heaven to earth, to bring us into an awareness that we are as much a part of a spiritual world as a physical one. Here’s the significance of that:

The physical is so real to us as humans and as Christians. It’s all around us every day. We live in and interact with it every second. And unfortunately, the truth of what I’ve noticed is that we live as though the physical is more real than the spiritual. Yet the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection and our infilling with the Spirit at the new birth is a calling for us to bring the spiritual and make it as much, if not more a part of our lives as the physical. In short: we’re called to live with Jesus on our minds all the time, to be in constant communion with Him (see John 15). Doing this is something we grow into and it starts like any new habit – by adding a few simple things into the routine of our days.

Here’s 5 ideas for how to start to do this today:

• Breath prayers – set a reminder on your phone to go off 4 to 5 times a day. When it goes off, send up a prayer of thanks or a prayer of request for someone in difficulty.

 

• Write down a short list of prayer points and put them on the dashboard of your car, behind the steering wheel. That way whenever you drive you’re reminded to pray. Praying while driving is a great way to redeem otherwise wasted time.

 

• Have worship music or a sermon series on in your car that starts as soon as you turn the car on. Don’t just get regular studio recorded worship songs but see if you can download some live worship sets/services. For example: Jon Thurlow

 

• Write your prayers in a journal. I used to find prayer hard because I would start to pray and be distracted after 5 seconds. If you write your prayers it’s easier to concentrate and you start to keep a record of them.

 

• At critical junctures in the day (e.g. before you start work, when you arrive home at night, etc), spend two minutes being quiet before the Lord. Letting the many thoughts and pressures of the day be laid to rest before God and wait for His voice or touch. Just 2 minutes a couple of times a day will revolutionize your day.

J. Ratcliffe

Photo by Brett Jordan from Pexels