the Christian Life is a life lived __________ Jesus
To Follow Him is to BE WITH Him
The math of Prayer
Christianity is a relationship
Relationships are made of time spent together
Time spent with the Lord is Prayer
Prayer, then, is essential to Christianity
Our best relationships
Line up everyone you know in a room. Put them on a spectrum.
-- At one end of the room are your enemies
-- Then Strangers
-- Then acquaintances
-- Then narrow friends (folks with whom you do a few things, but not many things)
-- Then broader, deeper friends (people with whom you do a variety of things)
-- Finally, at the other, Far end of the room, there are the people nearest and dearest to you (the ones who know you best and love you most)
Now Jesus walks into the Room. Where would you put him?
We are invited to have our best relationship with the Lord!
Whoever wants less in a relationship is the one who gets what they want. THe Lord always wants more with you. You can always be closer; you can always go deeper.
Psalm 23
The Psalmist wrote about the Lord in the third person. The Psalm turns to second person, though, in the valley of the shadow of death.
When life gets hard or painful is often when our relationship with the Lord gets especially personal.
The Psalmist says, "I will fear no evil for You are With Me."
THat His promise and our comfort: He is with us, and we can always be with him.
So THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS A LIFE LIVED __________ JESUS