How to Have a Sweet Time with Jesus
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”
ADORATION
In offering admiration to something or someone outside us, gratitude enables us to interact with something not only larger than ourselves but also profoundly worthy and encouraging. It opens our eyes to the wonder of life, something to admire, delight in, and rejoice in. In this process be open to the vibrant, resurrection life of Christ flowing through us.
Dr. Timothy Jennings has found daily reflecting on the goodness of God significantly improved the lives of those who did so twelve minutes a day for thirty days. The participants were 65 years old or older and had better memory, lower blood pressure, and clearer thinking reflecting on the love of God. Brain research has demonstrated the kind of God you worship changes your brain. Only the worship of the God of love brings about healing.
The reason:
”If you contemplate God long enough, something surprising happens in the brain. Neural functioning begins to change. Different circuits become activated, while others become deactivated. New dendrites are formed, and new synaptic connections are made, and the brain becomes more sensitive to subtle realms of experience. Perceptions also alter, beliefs began to change, and if God has meaning for you, then God becomes neurologically real. For some, God may remain a primitive concept, limited to the way a child interprets the world. But for most people, God is transformed into a symbol or metaphor experiencing a wide range of personal, ethical, social, and universal values.”
AWARE
As your move through your day, using the following scriptures, reflect on a word in the verse, and think about synonyms that come to mind regarding the word and how it affects your world. Consider ways in which He has come to you in the words you are mulling over. Are there people around you who have displayed these attributes? With the words in mind, thank Him for how He has come to you during your day and in those you have encountered.
When your mind wanders, that’s ok, just bring your thoughts back to the moment. Over time your thinking will change. Seasoned hikers will explain when they find themselves off the path they turn around and retrace their steps back to where they went astray.
Also, remember, when we give intentional, focused attention to our thoughts, our brain then fires differently: it changes with experience, which activates neuro firing and eventually affects its very structure. This system, known as Hebbian learning, “cells that fire together, wire together” –is the basic way all organisms gain new knowledge about the world.
Furthermore, it will take time to draw your driven, busy day into His presence. Just begin where you are and relinquish the struggle of where you think you ought to be.
If this is new for you, start with a short period of time – say about two minutes a day. Keep it simple. Don’t attempt too much at first. If you can read the Scripture and praise Him for one thing, just do that. It may take a week or a month. You will begin to feel more comfortable and drawn to do four minutes and so on.
ATTENTION
Example: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” (La. 3:22-23)
What are the other words which come to mind regarding “loyal?” Trustworthy: devoted, reliable, or maybe constant. In what ways has He revealed to you He is like this? Are there people around you who have shown you these qualities? If so who? Thank Him or praise Him for them. Thank Him for coming to you in this truth.
Simply put, praise is to adore Him for Who He is, and thanks is to be grateful for what He has done.
Consider the word, kindness, what words or thoughts come to mind about Him? What do these thoughts or words say to you in your daily experiences? How has He come to you through others in this way? Thank Him or praise Him or do both.
You may want to dwell on each word in this verse for several days. You are on a journey and do not have to hurry through these words of truth. Or, you may want to move on to the next site. This is not a memory exercise. So, be patient with yourself in this process. Give your thinking process time to change.
ARTICULATE
I have listed several Scriptures for your thoughts.
“You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you (Ps. 86:5)
“The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.” (Ps. 116:5)
“I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.” (Ps.140:12)
“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2)
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. (Rev. 2:8)
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” (Rev. 3:14)
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” (Rev. 22:16)
“I am the bread of Life” (Jh 6:48)
”Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” (Heb. 2:11)
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6)
“The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.” (Rom. 11:26)
“Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. (Jn.10:7)
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).” (Matt. 1:23)
“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” (Zec. 13:1)
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2:5)
“Who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.” (1 Tim 2:6)
“You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.” (Acts 3:15)
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 Jn. 2:2)
“Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph. 5:2)
“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” (Rev. 3:7)
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation.” (Lk. 2:29 – 30)
“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.” (Mal. 4:2)
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (1 Jh. 2:1)
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” (1 Jn. 4:8–9)
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Rom. 11:33)
“God also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.’” (Ex. 3:15)
“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands… But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” (Ps. 102:25, 27)
Reflect through each word in the following Scripture which describes Christ and His work.
“We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
“He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.” (Col. 1:15-20 MSG)
ANYHOW
You might want to work through the Psalms and the words there describing the Lord. “The One enthroned in heaven….” What comes to your mind as you process that name? What way has He shown Himself in that way?
I encourage you to praise and thank Him when you receive income and pay your bills. Put a sticky note reminder in your checkbook or on your computer if you use the internet.
Try this experiment for a week: thank or praise Him for five different things every day. When you shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, or get involved in the activities of the day, thank or praise Him for five things involved in getting those things done.
There is evidence such exercises can change thinking patterns in our brain and positively influence our well-being because we do so with intention. Moreover, we become more adjusted to His loving presence and aware of His gifts to us, no matter how small.
If you forget, that’s OK. Start with the place where you remembered to do so.
What if you don’t feel grateful or want to praise Him?
Even if you don’t feel like thanking or praising Him, do it anyway. You are acting in faith not feeling.