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What Does It Mean to Have Time Alone with God? · First15 Devotional

• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: This week, we'll spend time breaking down the individual components of First Fistine by sharing God's desire for each of them.
• 0:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: The majority of First Fistine is dedicated to encountering God and learning about his character.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: But every now and then we will cover some teaching and tools that will help in pursuing God to greater depths.
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: this week we will get back to the basics and learn some spiritual disciplines that will help us encounter him in deeper, more transformative ways.
• 0:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the first 15 podcast.
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Our Scripture for today comes from Psalm 27 verse 8, Scripture says, You have said, seek my face.
• 1:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: My heart says to you, your face Lord, do I seek?
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: We all have a hunger to know why we're here.
• 1:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: We all possess an insatiable desire for love, passion, and purpose.
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you've had a relationship with God for years.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you're still trying to figure out if God even exists, or if He is noable.
• 1:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Wherever you are in your journey with God, know this, God longs to satisfy your hunger.
• 1:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: He knows everything about you.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's counted every hair on your head and thinks about you more than the grains of sand.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he loves you more than you could ever comprehend.
• 2:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: So great is his steadfast love for you that he has a perfect plan for every one of your days.
• 2:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: He longs to transform your thoughts, emotions and actions with his loving kindness, that your life may be filled with passion, purpose, satisfaction, and the wonderful piece of his presence.
• 2:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: We all require transformation.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: We all need the freedom and healing that comes from relationship with our creator.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: And we serve a God of miraculous transformation.
• 2:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Scripture says in Genesis 2 verse 7, God formed a man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life.
• 3:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Psalm 139, 13 states that God made you together in your mother's womb.
• 3:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: You are fearfully and wonderfully made for relationship with your Heavenly Father.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Your Heavenly Father belongs to bring about miraculous transformation every day of your life so that you would be increasingly marked by the powerful work of His presence.
• 3:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: So how does God desire to bring about transformation?
• 3:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: What are his perfect plans for filling your days with passion, purpose, and love?
• 3:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: God's main avenue for transformation is through spending time alone with him every day.
• 3:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: No matter where you are in your relationship with God, time spent in the presence of your creator, receiving a tangible revelation of his steadfast love, will be the catalyst to living a life transformed.
• 4:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Just as a candle must be ignited with a flame to burn.
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: So you must continuously encounter the fire of God's love to live a transformed joy-filled life.
• 4:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: He is the only constant source that you have.
• 4:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: You will only find lasting satisfaction through his nearness.
• 4:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Nothing else will supply all you need to live the life you truly desire.
• 4:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's what 1st 15 is all about.
• 4:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: 1st 15 was created to give you a practical resource to meet with God every day.
• 4:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: No matter how busy you are, you can set aside 15 minutes to connect with your creator and sustainer.
• 5:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: God longs to meet with you.
• 5:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: He waits patiently to spend time with you.
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Think of that, the creator of the universe of all things wonderful and good is patiently waiting right now to spend time with you.
• 5:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: The choice of how you will spend this year is entirely up to you.
• 5:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: I pray that you would be filled with the longing and strength to spend time with your heavenly Father.
• 5:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: I pray that this resource is helpful in connecting you to the Father that your longings would be fully satisfied in meeting with him.
• 5:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: God is a limitless ocean of grace and help, and all that's necessary to receive from Him is some time, open hands, and an open heart.
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: God calls you His beloved, and longs for you to know to greater depths, the breadth, and length, and height, and depth of His great love for you.
• 6:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: spend some time in guided prayer, receiving the love of God.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Answer the call to seek His face as David did in Psalm 27, saying, your face, Lord, do I seek?
• 7:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: As we begin, take some time to ask God how he feels about you.
• 7:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: God still speaks today, Jesus is still alive and at work through the Holy Spirit.
• 7:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Spirit loves to speak to us.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: He loves to reveal God's heart.
• 7:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: God is not silent.
• 7:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Simply make space to listen.
• 7:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: And don't be frustrated if it's difficult at first.
• 7:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listening to God can take time.
• 7:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: you are on a path to deeper relationship with him, just as it takes time to truly get to know someone.
• 7:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: It will take time for you to get to know the Holy Spirit, but it is time spent investing in eternity.
• 8:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Psalm 139 verses 17 and 18 says, How precious to me are your thoughts, O God?
• 8:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: How vast is the sum of them?
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
• 8:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: I awake, and I am still with you.
• 8:39
  [UNKNOWN]: Thank you.
• 9:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: and next.
• 9:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Write down or reflect on how you feel in God's presence.
• 9:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: What senses did you get about his heart?
• 9:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Writing down what God says helps in stewarding what he is so faithful to reveal.
• 9:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: He may wish to keep a journal close by to record what God is showing you so you can read back,
• 10:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: And last, ask the Holy Spirit to give you the desire, self-control, and faithfulness to spend time each day in his presence, developing your relationship with God.
• 10:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Galatians 5 vs 22 and 23 says, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
• 11:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: The best way to consistently encounter the transformative love of God is to set aside time early each morning that you'll never miss.
• 11:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: Creating a habit can often be difficult, but there is no greater pursuit than a deeper relationship with God.
• 11:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: The time you spend with God is of eternal value.
• 11:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: Pick a time you can consistently meet with him.
• 11:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: Before you go to sleep, ask God to give you grace and desire to wake up and encounter him.
• 11:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: The more you do it, the easier it will become.
• 12:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: And as you grow in the knowledge of God and his goodness, time spent with him will become your favorite time of the day.
• 12:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: May your day be marked by his transcendent peace, intangible
• 12:18
  [UNKNOWN]: you
• 12:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you're having a great new year so far.
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Josh Miller with first 15.
• 12:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: I just want to congratulate you on starting your year with some space set aside to meet with God.
• 12:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: No resolution could be more important than creating space every day for God to fill.
• 12:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: As we start this new year, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single day connecting with God and I'd also encourage you to head over to first15.org and subscribe to the email version of this devotional as well.
• 13:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: It can be an additional reminder to take that time to connect with God each day.
• 13:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Have a wonderful rest of your day and may God bless you as you see Kim.