Your First 5 Minutes With God

On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.  (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) Meditation I always look forward to the Lord’s Supper because it brings me closer to Christ every time I participate. I started going to my church because it was close to my home, but I kept going to that church because they served Communion every Sunday. It’s much more than a ritual that we do mindlessly on Sundays. I do not take it lightly or without regard for what Jesus did for me. I am thankful and humbled to be in communion with him, but what does that mean? The word communion comes from the Latin, commun...

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. (1 John 1:5-6) Meditation My whole existence was nothing but darkness before Jesus saved me. The way I thought about myself and others was keeping me separated from God. I was totally lost, living only for myself. My wife had asked for a divorce and there was nothing I could do to change her mind. Of course, we were both at fault, but the failure was mine. I was at one of the lowest points in my life. Then, on October 23, 1998, the Holy Spirit softened my heart just enough to hear a message of salvation that I desperately needed. I have been called out of the darkness I was living in and into his light. Not just my Sunday mornings, but my whole 24/7/365 existence. Several times since then I have slipped backwards and tried to live with on...