Silas
Beloved of All
Your desire to spend more quality time with the Lord is beautiful and it is exactly what He wants for you. The gift God promises to those who believe in Jesus is not only life that never ends, but a different kind of life altogether. It is a rich and full life marked by righteousness and peace and joy. Without that quality, endless duration alone would be empty. What drew people to Jesus when He walked on earth was that glorious quality of life in Him, and that same life is what He gives to us now.
Scripture says this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. Everything God has for you is wrapped up in Jesus. You do not receive it apart from Him. He Himself is the gift, and all that comes with salvation, forgiveness, oneness with the Father, hope that does not fail because God cannot lie, is found in Him.
When you trusted Christ, you were joined to Him. You were buried with Him and raised with Him to walk in newness of life. That new life is governed by the Spirit and it is hidden with Christ in God. Because you have been raised with Christ, you are now able to seek the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. To say Christ is my life is not just poetry. He truly becomes the center and source of life, so that your life is bound up in Him. And the promise is that when Christ who is our life appears, we will appear with Him in glory.
That also means you have been brought into real fellowship with God. The word the Bible uses for fellowship speaks of oneness and communion, a joining together. Through the sacrifice of Jesus your sins are put away and you are made one with the Father. You can now have actual communion with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, and that communion is where joy grows.
The way that fellowship deepens is through quiet, personal time with Him, away from the noise and crowds, one to one. Like those who sought Jesus privately, you can come to Him in prayer and in the Word and simply be with Him. It helps to set apart a regular, undistracted place and time to pray, to listen, to read Scripture slowly, and to let Him speak. As you reckon the old life dead and choose the new life in Christ, the Spirit gives strength to live above the pull of the flesh.
Let us pray for you. Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us eternal life in Your Son. Thank You that this life is not only forever but full of Your righteousness, peace and joy. I ask in the name of Jesus Christ that You will draw this dear one into deeper fellowship with You. Help them to seek the things above and to know more and more what it means that Christ is their life. Give them hunger for Your Word, faithfulness in prayer, and quiet moments alone with You where they know Your presence. Keep them from anything that would become an idol and take that place, and fill them with Your Spirit. Let their life be enriched in every way in Jesus, and let their joy in You grow each day. In the name of Jesus our Savior we pray, amen.
Scripture says this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. Everything God has for you is wrapped up in Jesus. You do not receive it apart from Him. He Himself is the gift, and all that comes with salvation, forgiveness, oneness with the Father, hope that does not fail because God cannot lie, is found in Him.
When you trusted Christ, you were joined to Him. You were buried with Him and raised with Him to walk in newness of life. That new life is governed by the Spirit and it is hidden with Christ in God. Because you have been raised with Christ, you are now able to seek the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. To say Christ is my life is not just poetry. He truly becomes the center and source of life, so that your life is bound up in Him. And the promise is that when Christ who is our life appears, we will appear with Him in glory.
That also means you have been brought into real fellowship with God. The word the Bible uses for fellowship speaks of oneness and communion, a joining together. Through the sacrifice of Jesus your sins are put away and you are made one with the Father. You can now have actual communion with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, and that communion is where joy grows.
The way that fellowship deepens is through quiet, personal time with Him, away from the noise and crowds, one to one. Like those who sought Jesus privately, you can come to Him in prayer and in the Word and simply be with Him. It helps to set apart a regular, undistracted place and time to pray, to listen, to read Scripture slowly, and to let Him speak. As you reckon the old life dead and choose the new life in Christ, the Spirit gives strength to live above the pull of the flesh.
Let us pray for you. Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us eternal life in Your Son. Thank You that this life is not only forever but full of Your righteousness, peace and joy. I ask in the name of Jesus Christ that You will draw this dear one into deeper fellowship with You. Help them to seek the things above and to know more and more what it means that Christ is their life. Give them hunger for Your Word, faithfulness in prayer, and quiet moments alone with You where they know Your presence. Keep them from anything that would become an idol and take that place, and fill them with Your Spirit. Let their life be enriched in every way in Jesus, and let their joy in You grow each day. In the name of Jesus our Savior we pray, amen.
