A daily meeting with God

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."
Mark 1:35

We are all impressed with Jesus' miracles, His amazing Sermon on the Mount and His powerful authoritative teaching. But nothing is more remarkable than His passionate devotion to His Father. He lived His life in perfect harmony with His will. His successful public ministry with the people was fueled and energized by His private ministry of intercession and communion with the Father. God was His number one priority!

If Jesus, "God with us", needed this daily communion with the Heavenly Father, how much more you and me! Yet, thousands of professed Christians lack a vibrant spiritual life! They speak the Christian "lingo", go to church periodically, but lack an intimate relationship with God. This lack of intimacy with the Living Christ, this lack of awareness that He lives in us 24x7 is having tragic consequences in our families and society. Divorce, adultery, busyness, absent father figure, materialism, financial pressures and lack of communication are devastating the typical Christian home.

We have become an information addicted society and have lost our way to intimacy in our relationships. These are some troublesome facts I have observed among average Christians in my area:

• They do not have regular daily devotions
  
• Only 10% have read the New Testament
  
• They do not have a regular meal time with family members
  
• They spend hours watching TV or playing video games and have no time for Jesus

I am convinced the reason we have not yet impacted this nation for Jesus Christ is because the majority of Christians are dying from spiritual malnourishment. Many believers desire to grow in the Lord but lack a simple method and accountability.

How can we help the typical believer or seeker to connect directly with God on a daily basis? At PCF we have developed a very simple three step process which facilitates intimacy with Christ and accountability with other believers.

This process combines the age-old practice of journaling with reading and applying the Scriptures.
We call it the J1 which simply means Jesus and you! This is all you need: A Bible, a composition notebook, a pen, a quiet place and 20 min. a day.

The three daily steps are:

	Write a short love letter to God, He is your Heavenly Father. Be honest. Share with Him your feelings, doubts, thoughts, fears and joys.
	Read one chapter of the book of Proverbs or the Gospel of John and write in your journal one verse that called your attention.
	Write a short prayer asking God to help you put into practice that verse in your daily life.