Discover why connecting with God matters and what makes this journey different.
Welcome! And thank you for choosing to go on this journey with me.
I'm so encouraged that you want to stay connected with God! I'm trusting God to work in your life - and that gives me confidence that you will be successful! As the Apostle Paul told the Philippian church, "It is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose."
But I know first-hand that connecting with God isn't easy.
I remember when I was in seminary, studying for an M.Div. degree, actively involved in campus ministry at Harvard, and constantly surrounded by Christians, sermons, and Bible studies, sometimes I didn't feel like having a personal devotion. Some days, I felt over-saturated with Biblical teaching and unable to spend any more time with God.
When I was recovering from the trauma of spiritual abuse at RZIM, my heart was numb and broken. As I reconsidered what I believed, who I was, and what I wanted to do with my life, my trust in God felt tentative and shaky. I didn't know if reading the Bible would be healing or a step backward.
**Does any of this sound familiar to you?**
Though struggling is part of life, I know we can break through to experience transformative daily devotionals.
But here's the honest truth: we can't change if we aren't willing to try something new.
So, please give this program your best effort for the next week. If you do, you will start to consistently connect with God. Over the next few lessons, I will give you everything you need to start.
Before the first practical lesson comes, it's critical that you answer a very important question:
**Why do I want to connect with God every day?**
I can't over-emphasize the importance of this question. Pausing to answer this question is like putting gas in your car (or perhaps charging the battery).
We often fail at changing ourselves. To overcome all the barriers to doing something new, we need to know why the cost of staying the same is higher than the cost of changing.
What happens if you drift away from God? What could happen if you connected with God every day?
A hunch isn't enough. It's so important to write your answer down. Then, we can look at our answers and remind ourselves to keep going when it's especially hard.
To get you started, here are five of the top reasons that I hear for why someone wants to connect with God every day:
It's much easier to connect to God when you're connected to other Christians.
Finally, take a moment to recognize that God is already at work in your life! That's why you signed up for this course!
Here's the prayer I am praying for you:
*For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love, and to know Christ's love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us - to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen* (Ephesians 3:14-21).
Take a moment to meditate on these life-changing words.
See? You've already had a devotional today! And we're just getting started!
Why do you want to connect with God every day? Write down your personal answer.
What has kept you from having consistent devotions in the past?
What difference would it make if you connected with God daily for the next year?
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