"You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.  I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Oh Lord, make me dwell in safety." 
          Psalm 4:7-8

Last night, my wife and I hosted our home team as we have done every Tuesday since the beginning of February.  Tonight was a little special for me.  As I posted months back, I read the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  We have been following the accompanying study to his book in our home team this session and it has been really cool to see our group participating and growing in their walks with Jesus Christ.

Tonight was especially enlightening to me as we dug down to the heart of loving our Savior and God.  We talked about loving Him in a way that rivals that of our most intimate relationships here on earth.  It made me look deep into my relationship with Him and wonder:  How much effort am I putting into our relationship?

We asked a lot of questions tonight. What was it like to pursue that person in your past or present who you would do anything to spend time with?  What did you give up in life to spend that extra 15 minutes with your special someone?  Was a 3 hour drive, one way, worth seeing that person for only 30 minutes?  Seeing that person in the flesh was amazing, but how does not seeing Jesus physically affect how we interact with Him? 

Relatable questions, all of them, but pondersome nonetheless.  I had to ask myself some other questions:  when I was chasing my wife in college, what did I do that would seem crazy just to get a kiss or spend 5 minutes with her?  What did I give up for her that might have been important because I just wanted to spend time with her?  (Quick Story:  I once drove 28 hours straight from Tucson AZ to Auburn AL just to spend 2 days with my fiance before some military training.  I have a $200 speeding ticket from a Louisiana cop to prove it!  Now, would I do that again to spend 2 days with my Savior?)

Let me ask those questions again and replace "my wife" with "my Savior."  When I was chasing my Savior in the past, what did I do that would seem crazy just to spend 15 minutes with Him?  What did I give up for my Savior that might have been important because I just wanted to spend time with Him?

Fast forward to today:  What am I giving up to spend time with my Savior, Jesus Christ?  What is more important than my relationship with Jesus Christ?  Then we threw out the challenge:  conciously spend more time with Christ this week than we do with that special someone (spouse, kids, friends, coworkers, etc.). Whether it's 1 minute or 1 hour more, make the effort.  Don't do it because it's forced, but do it because it is what we yearn for and desire.  We were not just talking about doing things for Christ like church, or service or, worship.  We were talking about connection and letting responsibilities go just to spend time with Him.

Sherk the responsibilites for once and open up your mind and Bible.  What will it be like?  I bet it's like no other experience on earth and I want it!

Take these responsibilities and ..............,
Freak