Fellowship with the Father Follow up

As many as received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to be called the children of God, who are born... of the Spirit.

Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God... will guard your hearts.

Six simple, practical habits that turn a relationship with God into a daily, living connection.

Living the Vision: Connection with God

Every year here at Cross Connection Church we begin by talking about our vision: life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus. Today we focused on connecting with God, and as a follow-up some questions naturally arise. First, how do we actually experience that in a practical way? What does it look like to connect with God regularly, day by day? I want to mention six things we can do to strengthen and maintain our connection with God once we've entered into that relationship.

First You Must Have the Relationship

Of course, you first have to develop the relationship, and that comes through accepting Jesus Christ into your life as Lord and Savior. The Gospel of John, chapter 1, says that as many as received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to be called the children of God—those who are born of the Spirit. They're not born of flesh and blood, but of the Spirit.

A couple of chapters later, in John chapter 3, Jesus speaks more about this with a very religious man, Nicodemus. There was probably no more religious man in all of Israel during the time of Jesus than Nicodemus. Yet even though he did all the temple things, observed all the feasts, and kept the various requirements of the law, he was still disconnected from God. So Jesus told him, unless you are born again, you will not see the kingdom of God. You're still far from God.

We develop that relationship by receiving Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, confessing our sins, and allowing Him to forgive us by His death on the cross. But then we strengthen and maintain that relationship through several practices. There are probably others we could list, but six are especially helpful.

Worship: More Than Singing

Unfortunately, in our day we tend to think worship is just singing songs to God. That can be a way to worship—singing songs of praise is one avenue—but it's certainly not the only way. For some people who don't sing, or don't think they have a good voice, that might be hard.

One of the ways you can worship God is to spend time in the morning thinking upon who God is and what He has done. The Bible is really helpful for this. If you read through some of the Psalms, you start to get a picture of what God is like—His love, His care, His forgiveness, His grace. When you begin to think about who God is, your heart starts to worship Him.

It's like taking time to think about the person in your life you love—your children or your spouse. As you reflect on all the aspects of who that person is, a smile comes to your face, and you feel a warmth in your heart. That's adoration. The same thing happens with God. Find a quiet, beautiful place—go up in the hills where you can see the sunrise—and start thinking about God, and your heart will begin to worship and adore Him.

Prayer: Honest Conversation with God

An aspect of worship is prayer—spending time talking to God. Sometimes our prayers become very formal, and we think we have to follow a certain pattern. But I just talk to God. I talk to Him like I'm talking right now. I talk to Him while driving in my car, while walking around my house, while sitting at my desk—wherever I may be. I share with Him my concerns, my needs, my cares, my fears, whatever it may be, and I bring those things to Him.

Philippians chapter 4 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God," and God's peace will guard your heart. What a beautiful thing—God has given us a plan from the Scriptures for how we can live without anxiety, without fear, without all the things that weigh upon us. We come to Him with our petitions, letting Him know what we're fearful about and what we need. As we draw near to God, He draws near to us.

Scripture: Start Small and Build

The third thing is the Scriptures. I mentioned in today's message thelisteningplan.com—you can go there and check it out. Or simply get a Bible reading plan. There are hundreds of them. Search Google, or go on the YouVersion Bible app and find one. Even if it's just reading one verse a day, start with that. Begin with one verse, begin with five minutes, and add a little bit to it every single day.

If you start off your day in worship, in prayer, and in God's Word, I guarantee you that this week you will experience God's presence to a greater extent, and you will know what it is to be connected to God.