Love Relationship
Well, this last week I was reminded that I am in a love relationship . . . WITH GOD!!! As I was strolling through the ASU M.U. last Tuesday trying to figure out where I should eat, I conveniently ran into Scott Maxwell . . . the pastor of EVBC Tempe. He had just finished a campus Bible Study the week before, and was just on campus studying and ready to meet with anyone from the study. Though I wasn’t actually aware of the study that he had been doing, I quickly invited myself to his table so that I might be able to glean some wisdom from such a man of God. WOW, I was incredibly amazed at the way God opened this door and allowed our conversation to be so fruitful.
Before I go into what I learned, I must first mention the sovereignty of God and the way in which he answers prayer. Tuesdays are usually the hardest days for me since I am up at 4 am for the Training Center at EVBC that starts at 5am. To top that, I had a presentation that I was supposed to make in the T.C. and then a huge test in my first class at ASU. I wasn’t going to get much sleep, and I knew it would be a super hard day, so I asked my mom the night before if she would pray for me the next day. Little did I know that she would be in continual prayer for me throughout the whole day. She specifically prayed from about 4:30-5:30am and then she kept praying for the rest of the day as she thought of me . . . I am super encouraged by the way my mom is so faithful and sensitive the needs of her kids that she would spend this amount of time in prayer for me . . . truly her prayers were fruitful and effective.
I was incredibly amazed at the fact that God sustained me through the day (I was probably amazed because of my lack of faith in the power of prayer), and then he even gave me the joy of running into Scott Maxwell at ASU. It was at that lunch that my heart become convicted and encouraged at the same time. As I have become more and more aware of my deep passion for serving students, I love to talk with men who have served with student ministries and have gone the road before me. As a previous youth pastor, Scott was able to tell me some key essentials for being involved in ministry. He reminded me that Christians are in a LOVE RELATIONSHIP with the God of the universe. I am not in a knowledge relationship (which I am prone to do so frequently), but I am supposed to be a passionate soldier for Christ that eagerly desires to know God more. I have the “revelation of God” in the Bible that I hold, and it is God’s way of revealing Himself to me. I should not casually open it in a habitual, ritualistic manner to obtain knowledge. Rather, I should consistently read it in a passionate desire to know my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ whom God sent to suffer and die for my sins. I desperately desire to be a Christian that loves Christ, and a man that desires to know God as if I were in a love relationship . . . which I am in. I want to love His word, and be saturated and filled with the truths about Himself that are revealed so clearly throughout the Scriptures. This was an amazing day that has radically reshaped some of my thinking about how I should approach the Scriptures, and I now desire to approach them as the Psalm writer of Psalm 119 . . . in this chapter, the Word of God is exalted and it is clear that the heart of the psalmist desires to know God, to worship him, and to experience a Love Relationship with Him.
Dear Father,
Please let me consistently desire to experience this love relationship with you. Cause my hearts affection to fall on you and help me to know you more through your revealed Word. I love you father, but help me to love you more. In yours Sons name, Amen.
Before I go into what I learned, I must first mention the sovereignty of God and the way in which he answers prayer. Tuesdays are usually the hardest days for me since I am up at 4 am for the Training Center at EVBC that starts at 5am. To top that, I had a presentation that I was supposed to make in the T.C. and then a huge test in my first class at ASU. I wasn’t going to get much sleep, and I knew it would be a super hard day, so I asked my mom the night before if she would pray for me the next day. Little did I know that she would be in continual prayer for me throughout the whole day. She specifically prayed from about 4:30-5:30am and then she kept praying for the rest of the day as she thought of me . . . I am super encouraged by the way my mom is so faithful and sensitive the needs of her kids that she would spend this amount of time in prayer for me . . . truly her prayers were fruitful and effective.
I was incredibly amazed at the fact that God sustained me through the day (I was probably amazed because of my lack of faith in the power of prayer), and then he even gave me the joy of running into Scott Maxwell at ASU. It was at that lunch that my heart become convicted and encouraged at the same time. As I have become more and more aware of my deep passion for serving students, I love to talk with men who have served with student ministries and have gone the road before me. As a previous youth pastor, Scott was able to tell me some key essentials for being involved in ministry. He reminded me that Christians are in a LOVE RELATIONSHIP with the God of the universe. I am not in a knowledge relationship (which I am prone to do so frequently), but I am supposed to be a passionate soldier for Christ that eagerly desires to know God more. I have the “revelation of God” in the Bible that I hold, and it is God’s way of revealing Himself to me. I should not casually open it in a habitual, ritualistic manner to obtain knowledge. Rather, I should consistently read it in a passionate desire to know my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ whom God sent to suffer and die for my sins. I desperately desire to be a Christian that loves Christ, and a man that desires to know God as if I were in a love relationship . . . which I am in. I want to love His word, and be saturated and filled with the truths about Himself that are revealed so clearly throughout the Scriptures. This was an amazing day that has radically reshaped some of my thinking about how I should approach the Scriptures, and I now desire to approach them as the Psalm writer of Psalm 119 . . . in this chapter, the Word of God is exalted and it is clear that the heart of the psalmist desires to know God, to worship him, and to experience a Love Relationship with Him.
Dear Father,
Please let me consistently desire to experience this love relationship with you. Cause my hearts affection to fall on you and help me to know you more through your revealed Word. I love you father, but help me to love you more. In yours Sons name, Amen.
posted by Brent Klontz at 3:33 PM
1 Comments:
Brent - isn't it wonderful how God has mapped out our days before us? How awesome that you were able to sit and talk with this pastor and how you earnestly desire to learn from him. Both of my elders have mentioned how when they were younger, all they wanted to do was soak up what they could from older more mature men in the faith. What a blessing it is to see that you have the same desire to grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord. I'm always praying for you brother. ...Till we meet again =)
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