Jesus was sent on mission into our world.  God the Father sent Jesus into this world to “seek and save the lost.”[i] As we are made into the image of Christ we are sent too.  From the beginning, Jesus’ desire wasn’t for us to receive his gift of salvation and then be whisked off to heaven.  Jesus’ prayer for us as his disciples was clear and simple.

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.[ii]

As Christ followers, we have been blessed with a great gift.  Jesus has trusted us to share his good news with those around us.  This is a beautiful and simple task, but it isn’t easy.  Just as the world was against Jesus, it will be against us.  Jesus didn’t send us into the world alone though.

When Jesus told his disciple to love one another in John 13:34-35, he wasn’t telling them to live in loving community for the benefit of each other (although there are benefits to living in loving community).  It was for the benefit of those around them.  “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”[iii] We are called to share the good news of Jesus through the instrument of community.

There are two areas that can hurt our mission to image Jesus to the world that are found in Jesus’ prayer in John 17:14-18.  The first is if we are part of the world.  Jesus was not of this world.  He lived differently than everyone around him.  He handled money differently.  He handled relationships differently.  He handled work differently.  He handled family differently.  He handled love differently.  Jesus lived a life different from the world around him.  We are called to do the same thing.  By living differently than the world around us, we bring the focus to Jesus who is the instrument of salvation.

The second area that can hinder our mission is if we separate ourselves from the world.  Jesus was different as he was in the world.  He didn’t escape the dirt and evil of this world, but instead dived deep into it to shine His light into the darkness.  He ate and drank with alcoholics, corrupt city officials, prostitutes, self-righteous religious leaders, disease- infested street dwellers, and blue-collar workers.  Who cares if we have the hope of Jesus if it doesn’t make a difference in the world around us?  Like Jesus, we are sent into the world and share that hope.  We glorify Jesus when we are in the world but not of the world.  Spend this week focusing on how you are sent to be a light in this dark and dying world.

[ii] John 17:14-18 (ESV)

[iii] John 13:35 (ESV)

Ok I know…it’s a book.  Some might say that a book isn’t technology, but I say tell that to Gutenberg.  Anyways back to the point at hand.  Crossway recently annouced it is coming out with an ESV Study Bible in Ocober.  For most of you this won’t be a big deal, but I’m totally geeking out on this one.

Let me give you a run down of the authors in this Study Bible:

That’s just the authors.  This thing has:

I’ve also heard that buyng this study Bible will garuntee a place in heaven and a new BMW.  Ok maybe not.  But the free online version is a nice plus.  All I have to say is I own too many Bibles already, but I might have to add one more to my collection.

photo by: JasonRogers

If you’re like me, you have trouble spending time with God (I don’t like to use the words quiet time…it makes me feel like I’m five and in a “time out”). I’ve written in the past on some tips and tricks that I use to do this daily. But just like in a marriage relationship, sometimes you just need to spend more than a few minutes with your spouse. You need to spend the whole day. I call this spending time with God hardcore style.

I learned this concept from Doug Fields a few years ago. He talked about one of his youth saying that they “take God on a date.” Now taking God on a date is a little creepy for me, but I liked the concept. The idea is to just spend some extended time with God and nobody else.

To do this, I normally take an afternoon and spend the entire time reading scripture, praying, walking, reading some more, praying some more, and walking some more. The idea is to have a large chunk of time that is devoted to nothing but growing closer to God. This isn’t time to study your Bible and parse Greek verbs…this is time to just be with your Creator, Savior, and Sustainer.

The following are 26 quick tips that can help you with your hardcore time with God.

1. Get out of your house. There are to many distractions there. To many things to play with.
2. Get away from people.
3. Go to a park or go hiking. Go be in His creation.
4. Wear comfortable clothing.
5. Turn off everything…phone, pager, radio, ipod, laptop, ect. If it has an on/off, make it off.
6. Look for God in everything and then give Him the glory.
7. Take your Bible (ESV ), a pen, and something to write on.
8. Anytime you think about something that you need to do when you get home, write it down and forget about it. This will allow you to focus on your time with God. (this is a good practice in general)
9. Take a list of prayer requests and things/people you want to pray for.
10. Have an agenda/time line.
11. Don’t have an agenda/time line.
12. Pray, pray, pray
13. Take a snack and some cash.
14. Take some water.
15. Tell one person where you are going to be in case of emergencies (your wife goes into labor). This helps to keep your thoughts from being overtaken.
16. Read through a whole book of the Bible several times.
17. Read through a passage of scripture several times.
18. Read all the gospels in one sitting (it can be done in an afternoon).
19. Fast
20. Eat
21. Just walk and talk to God as if He was walking right next to you.
22. Take a short nap (it’s better to sleep for 20 minutes than to fight it for 3 hrs).
23. Write out your prayers to God.
24. Pray for God to reveal sin in your life that is keeping you from Him.
25. Take some time to sit and listen to God.
26. Be diligent to focus on God and your relationship.

Well I hope that helps. I’m off to go spend some hardcore time with God. Leave me a comment, with any tips that you might have for spending hardcore time with God.

A few months ago I listened to a lesson by Wayne Cordeiro that changed the way I spent my time in the Bible every day (you can listen to it here. The lesson was so practical but also so relevant and inspiring. The reality was that I wasn’t going to the Father with my needs. I wasn’t going to Him and growing in my relationship with Him. I was basically getting spiritual crumbs from books, podcasts and my pastor. I was living vicariously through others’ relationships with God.

Wayne’s lesson was a needed kick in the pants. He reminded me of my need for a one-on-one relationship with God. While it’s good to learn from others, Jesus calls us to follow Him (not follow others who are following Him). This has always been one of my biggest struggles. After listening to Wayne, I knew that I needed to go to the Source.Wayne gives some helpful tips for spending time in the Bible. Being the nice guy I am, I’ll share those tips with you (and some others that I picked up along the way).

Tip #1:
The first tip is actually from zenhabits.net and writetodone.com. The author of both of these blogs (Leo Babauta) talks about putting triggers in you life to make you do the things that you don’t want to do.

What’s a trigger? It’s the event that sets off your habit. For example, when I used to smoke, I had a number of triggers: I would smoke upon waking, when stressed, after a meeting, etc. When I wanted to change that habit, I had to change each trigger so that I had a new habit to replace smoking. Upon waking, for example, I would exercise instead. To create a new habit, you need to strongly associate your habit with a trigger. For example, let’s say you want to write in the morning — you might awake, use the bathroom, make your coffee, and then start writing. So making coffee is the trigger for writing, and using the bathroom is the trigger for making coffee, and waking is the trigger for using the bathroom. And as you wake every day, you have no problem. Choose a trigger that you know you’ll do every day, and then do your writing right after it, without exception.

My trigger is getting dressed for work. Like Leo’s example above, I have other triggers before that, but this is the trigger for me to spend time with God.

Tip #2:
Have all the right resources. Wayne suggests that when you sit down to spend time in the Bible, you should have the following items.

1. A Bible – This is a no brainer. But make sure it is version that you can understand (different versions of the Bible are written at different reading levels). I use the ESV…but you might find another version to your liking. Just go to your local book store and test a few out. See how easy they are to read and if you can understand the words that are being used.
2. A Journal – This is where you are going to write down your thoughts. I use a blog to keep my daily thoughts, and it works well for me. Plus, I can share with my friends my daily reflections. Otherwise Wayne recommends using a paper journal and using the first few pages to keep an index of what you are learning. This way you can look back and see what your have been learning (another reason I use a blog…this is done automatically for me).
3. A Reading Plan – Use whatever you want. Just have a plan. I am using the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan to read through the Bible each year. But you could make it as simple as reading two chapters a day or two pages. Whatever you do use a plan or else you’ll spend half your time trying to figure out what to read.
4. A Planner - It’s going to happen. You are going to be in the middle of having a wonderful time with God. Journaling your heart our…and you are going to remember that you’re out of milk. This is where your planner comes in handy. You can write down, “get milk” and go right back to your journaling. If you don’t have a planner, just use a scratch piece of paper. This is probably the best advice that I got from Wayne. I don’t know how many times my God time was hijacked by random thoughts of things I need to do for the day.

Tip #3:
Use S.O.A.P. This is Wayne’s structure for your time with God. It stands for the following:
Scripture: Start off with the Bible. Read the verses that are on your plan for the day.
Observation: As you read, write down any observations that you have from the text. I use the questions, “Who is God?,” and “How do I enjoy Him?,” to focus my observations even better.
Application: Based on what you have read…what should you do? I try to make this practical and realistic. I set a goal for the day based upon my reading. Write it down and hold yourself accountable to it.
Prayer: Last but not least, spend some time in prayer to God. Confess and repent of any sins that were brought to light while you were reading. Spend time thanking God. Also spend some time in silence listening to God.

Tip #4:
Keep it simple. The goal of your time with God is to try to grow closer to Him. It’s not to check off your list. Don’t add extra burdens to this focus. “I have to make at least 15 observations.” “I have to write at least 5 pages in my journal.” “I have to pray for at least 45 minutes.” The goal is to spend time with God and to grow closer to Him. Do what it takes to do just that…the rest is just distractions, burdens, and religion.