Shot of Jesus

Earlier this week i was thinking of how much time i spend with God.  I realize this phrase i just used seems very egotistical but in fact, it is just the opposite.  I realize that i try and wake up at 4:00 in the morning to experience God in get with him before the world around me wakes up.  That isn't something new that i have been doing actually, I have been waking up on and off at early times because i feel that time alone with God in the morning is the most affective.  I feel that breaking away with my Lord and Savior in the morning sets me up for the rest of the day.  Some times i wake up and think of the best excuses to fall back to sleep.  A prayer and desire of mine is to wake up, no matter the lack of sleep, no matter the excuse, no matter the whatever the Devil and myself can come up with to fall back into a glorious slumber of nothing.

So i have been thinking, i need my morning alone with God or i feel like a can't function.  I feel that something about my day is missing.  What a wonderful feeling you may say... i sometimes enjoy the fact that i feel i can't function unless i have my daily shot of God in the morning.  It makes me excited that i NEED God in the morning or i feel something is missing.  But is that really a fact or a feeling that i should enjoy?  I think all together i hate the way i feel on mornings where i wake up and i feel i have to have some God in my life.  I hate when i wake up and rush the time i am spending with God all because i have run out of my morning.  I hate taking shots of Jesus.

As i quickly spend time with God in the morning, as i read some chapters in the Bible and get in a few seconds of prayer i figure "well that is all i need for today, glad i got that in. Now i can function."  That is pretty much the thought in my head and I HATE IT!  I want to drink deeply of my savior and spend hours with him, and not just in the morning, but throughout the entire day.   In fact this morning was a day off so i was able to sleep in.  I had one of the two Bibles i use in the morning so i wasn't able to read all that i want to yet, but i was able to spend some good time in prayer.  Only a few minutes but it was a time God was changing my heart and understanding for him and his will.  I want all my mornings to be like this.  I know they won't all be morning's where i feel amazing things happening, but i want real time alone with God.

I don't just want a shot of God or a double of Jesus in the morning.  I want the 64 fl. oz. big gulp of them.  I want to read and comprehend and live in the word and prayers that God is giving me.  I want my heart to long after them.  I want this feeling of being incomplete gone on the mornings where i fail to wake up, because I know that God will be with me the entire day, he isn't just going to take a vocation if i miss spending hours with him in the morning... he isn't saying "only five minutes Paul? I mean really, you can do more then that." or "You didn't spend time with me this morning... looks like you are on your own today."

As we believe and accept Christ, we have the power and authority that he gave to his disciples thousands of years ago, and even better then that we have the assurance that he is always with us.

Matthew 28: 18-20 " And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE END OF THE AGE.'" (Caps added - hehe) 

So on these morning's that i sleep in, i can realize and know that God is still with me, with the same power and authority as the day before.  This isn't an excuse to sleep in because i know God is with me, it is an assurance that this weird feeling i get is useless and not something to worry about.  But with everything in me i desire to drink deeply of him and wake up no matter what, so that i can be silent in his presence, so that he can fill more of the day, so that he can give me rest and peace  and understanding.  I want my 64 fl. oz. big gulp of God that is going to transform my mind to his will every day.  I want to be his and give up everything to him.

So, understand that in the morning your Lord and savior desires to get to know you more and more, he longs for you and to be with you.  God wants you to grow in a relationship with him.  As i understand this more and more each day, he turns my heart to hate the shots of him that i used to take, but to instead go for the big gulp every time.

How do you get your fill of God, is it in small shots or in the big gulp container.  I would encourage you to wake up and drink deeply of all that he has to offer you, not so you feel good the rest of the day, but so that he can transform you in ways that you can't get with little shots.  So that he can change your mind to his will and so that you follow him no matter what.

So all that remains of this post is... how do you get your fill of God?