Spending a Day with God

Overview
What is good about the Gospel? Is it forgiveness? Freedom from sin? Eternal life in heaven? The gift of the Holy Spirit? Yesand no. These things are all good, of course. But the ultimate good, the best thing about the Gospel, is that we get God Himself. The forgiveness, transformation, and eternal life God promises are intended to bring us into relationship with our Creator. Christ died... to bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18; see also 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Psalm 16.) Because our sin has been forgiven entirely by Jesus sacrifice on our behalf, we are free to live in Gods loving presence every day. But we forget this easily. God never leaves our sidebut we stop paying attention to Him, and stop enjoying a withGod life. Its a good practice, from time to time, to set aside a day to focus on God alone. This practice helps us grab onto our Gospel hope, and, as Paul says, count [ourselves] dead to sin and alive to God! For more from the Bible, look at Psalm 16, 23, 62, 63; Colossians 3:1-4; Acts 17:27-28; Mark 6:31.

For a 3-minute video introduction to this practice, visit www.fbcslo.org/formation

Practicing
Following are suggestions, adapted from Adele Ahlberg Calhouns book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook. These are just ideasthis time with God is for you! Feel free to design your own plan, or just set out on an adventure with no plan. The only real requirement is that you desire time with God. This time is best spent on your own, apart from others. You may need to make arrangements well ahead of time to get the time to yourself. However, a modified form of this could be done with children, though of course that will be a very different experience! It is good for kids to experience dedicated time with God as part of a healthy life. Hour 1 Spend 5-10 minutes in silence, allowing internal noise to die down. Express your feelings and expectations this time. Choose one of the following activitieswhatever your heart desires: Hour 2 Eat a snack with God. Slowly read and listen to the words of a passage from the Gospels (for example, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 7:36-50, or Luke 4:1-13). Put yourself in the story. What is God saying to you? Read the passage several times, and listen. If you are sleepy, take a nap. Spend some time journaling: where do you find love, joy and peace in your life? Where is it absent? Talk with God. Go for a walk and be with God. Look for signs of Gods love in creation. Slowly read a Psalm out loud. Psalm 16, 19, 23, 42, and 51 are great places to begin. Choose one which expresses your heartjoyful, lamenting, angry, afraid. Bring all of yourself into Gods presence. Worship God through song. Listen to some hymns or worship music.

Hour 3 Confession means to say the same as God. Speak the truth about yourself and your relationships to God. Invite God to look intimately at you (use Psalm 139 as a guide). Use these questions to guide your confession: What occupies most of your time and attention? What relationships need attention?

What temptations overwhelm you? What legitimate need are you fulfilling inappropriately? Where do you rationalize, deny and blame?

Pray Davids prayers of confession in Psalm 51 or Psalm 32. Read 1 John 1:9 and remember Gods forgiveness. Say aloud to yourself: Because of Jesus, before a holy and righteous God you stand completely in the clear. You are forgiven. Create a breath prayera short, seven or eight syllable prayer that can be said to the rhythm of your breath. (Example: Abba, I belong to you.) Make this prayer an expression of what your heart needs from God right now.

Hour 4 Take a walk with God in a place you love. Move slowly, lingering, letting yourself experience your surroundings fully. Throughout this time, say your breath prayer. Do something light-hearted that you enjoy. Climb a tree. Build a sand castle. Walk in a creek. Work in your garden. Draw a picture, paint, write a poem, photograph an image that captures something significant to you. If youre not artistic, thats not a problem. The point is to express your heart and mind to God, not to create a masterpiece.

Hour 5 Thank God for making you and living within you. Read Psalm 139 again, replacing the appropriate pronouns with your own name. Pray for the anxieties and sufferings that weigh you down as you return into the world. Name these before the Lord. Then, slowly read the Song of Moses, Exodus 15:1-18. Journal about the time youve spent with God. How has this been different than you expected? What do you want to take back with you? Write down your breath prayer so you can look back on it.