Toy Stories: Ken — Responsible vs. Passive - Friday
Today’s Verse
1 Chronicles 16:11
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! (ESV)
Arianne (my wife) and I have officially been together for about 27½ years. We’ve had years and years of dates. Some are more memorable than others. I remember one date where we went up in a hot air balloon. I remember another one where we took a backstage tour of Disney World. I remember a date when I surprised her with tickets to see one of her favorite artists, Dave Barnes. And while those dates were all fun, they’re not the type of dates I continually look forward to.
The date I continually get excited about is our weekly Friday night date. We pick a restaurant (99% of the time, it's the Local Taco on Limestone). We order the same exact thing every time. We people-watch as we eat. And then we walk around the Summit. To any onlookers, it’s a pretty unremarkable date. But I look forward to this night more than any other night of the week. It’s because I love Arianne, and I love spending quality time with her. It doesn’t really matter what we’re doing… as long as we’re doing it together.
As we wrap up this week of devotions and the first week on what God’s design is for a man, it feels appropriate to end on the single most important thing: spending time with our Savior. There are literally thousands of devotional books, books on how to pray, journals and “how to” books on this subject. And although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using a devotional book or a journal to aid in your quiet time, I don’t want you to overthink it. When you boil it down, it’s a lot like my Friday night date with my wife. What we are challenged to do is simply spend time with Jesus. Talk to Him. Listen to Him. Read His Word. Just BE with Jesus.
If you want to know what the ideal man (or woman) looks like? Simply spend time with Jesus. Because He’s it!
APPLICATION
This week, commit to giving Jesus the first part of your day. Open to the Gospel of John and read one chapter each day. Ask Him to show you something you need to see, and write down one takeaway. Keep it simple—just spend time with Him.
PRAYER
Jesus, help me slow down and simply enjoy being with You. Teach me to seek Your presence every day, not just when I need something. Show me how to grow closer to You this week.