OnFire Encouragement Letter

Sept 9, 2008

I just called a friend of mine I haven’t seen since Shelburne, last June. He moved a few weeks before we did and now he lives about an hour’s drive from Moncton with his family. This past week he started a training course in the city, only a kilometre from where our church is. I called him to see if we might be able to get together for lunch.

We arranged a lunch date later in the week and I’m looking forward to seeing him. We met many times in Shelburne since he was the pastor of another church there. We did a lot of things together, including start a few bands, and we enjoyed each other’s company, so this meeting will be good.

On a similar topic, for supper tonight we invited a friend from our old church on Grand Manan. When we left, she was still in middle school. Now she’s attending college here and we wanted to see how she is doing. It was great to see her and to catch up on the news.

The common element in these two events is not the food. Even though I love to eat, the real treat is meeting face to face with friends. A quick email once in a while is good, but face to face is so much better.

I’ve been thinking about these sorts of relationships this week. With summer and all the changes it has brought for us, I have found it especially hard to maintain my connection with God. Like meeting old friends, I find myself needing to catch up with God.

This morning I made myself an appointment with God. I set my alarm a little early and went downstairs to read my Bible and pray before the day took off, again. This was not “devotions” in the traditional sense. I used to think of Bible reading and prayer in the same way I took my vitamins. I knew it was good for me, but I did it just to get it over with.

It changed when I began to see that God wanted a relationship with me, that it wasn’t much different from getting together with a friend for a meal or for coffee. And so this morning I read a passage and chatted with God about it. I talked about my day ahead, my family, and what is going on at the church. This is a  relationship - coffee with Jesus.

Fall is here now. Its the time of year we gather ourselves and get back into routine. We catch up with friends and get things in order for the rest of the year. As you’re making your routine, I’d encourage you to catch up with God. Set a daily “coffee” appointment, even if you don’t think it was Adam’s favourite drink in the Garden of Eden. Turn good intentions into reality this year. And instead of equating Bible reading and prayer with taking vitamins, think of it as a meeting with an old friend.

Hope this helps. Be OnFire.

Troy

OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. To subscribe or reply, email him at onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com