Having a vibrant relationship with Jesus{Part 2}

Remember the synonyms of vibrant from Wednesdays post?

Vibrant means lively, vivacious, animated, exciting, energetic, alive, bubbly etc.

Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that our relationship with Jesus is a daily thing. We pray for our food{sometimes}, go to church, say “Praise the LORD”, and read the Bible when we have time. What we don’t realize is when we aren’t getting refreshed daily, we become weak and discouraged.

What happens when we don’t eat daily? We get sick and some people even pass out. The Bible tells us that eating real food isn’t enough! {Matthew 4:4} To stay strong we must be in God’s word (daily)!

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish,

yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16

>Do your devotions{DAILY}

I know for some people this goes without saying. But a lot of people struggle with this{the finger is pointed back at myself!}!

There is no one right and perfect way to do your devotions. Figure out what is right for you, and stick with it!

Some people read their Bibles through in a year, so they just read a portion every day. I did this for several years, but found that it really became a chore, and I wasn’t getting much out of it. {I mean seriously- what do you find in books like Chronicles?} {If this is something that works for you, check out this schedule!}

Others find daily devotional books very helpful. This has worked really well for me! {Like I said, its different for everyone! There is no rule about what way is right.} I am currently going through Jesus Calling{Sarah Young}. {another good one is From My Heart to Yours by Glorianne Gibbs or sign up for a year-long subscription to GLOW(that’s one thing I did for most of last year)}

I really like the devotional book because whatever I read that day sticks in my mind! I actually think about it throughout the day, and usually try to put it in to practice!

>Pray

Prayer is so important! When we pray we acknowledge that God is really there. We are saying that we realize that we need Him. Don’t just pray in hard situations. Pray every single day! Set aside a certain amount of time{I started out with 5 minutes} and get rid of all distractions if you have to. I usually try to do this in the morning, but seriously, do it whenever you have the time- on your lunch break, at night before you go to bed, between classes, etc.

I have used a prayer list before{Here is a good one!} as well as a notebook. Both work really well, but make sure you don’t just read down through it. Pray something specific for each person{and "help them to have a good day" isn’t really gonna work}, pray that they would be more patient, or they would accomplish one of their goals, or that God would really work on their heart about something!

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Make sure you are spending time with God daily! If you have to reorganize your schedule, simplify your life, get up earlier, or give up something, then do it! Believe me, it is entirely worth it!

When you make an effort in your relationship with Jesus, you will see a difference in your everyday life! Not only will you have a better attitude and a more positive outlook on life, but you will also be a LOT Happier! =) Your mindset will be completely different! J