Welcome to Coffee with Christ.  I’m your host, Nikol Jones.  

My favorite time of the day is early in the morning when I sit down and have coffee with Christ.  Yes.  It sounds cheesy and weird, but it has been a life changing experience for me. I covered my experience with it in the Intro if you want to go back and listen. 

Basically, I started to apply everyday, ordinary relationship tools to my relationship with God, and that meant sitting down and having a cup of coffee and listening. 

I don’t do it every day, but on the best days, I do.  So, I thought it would be interesting to help you do the same. 

Maybe for you it isn’t sitting in your favorite chair and drinking a cup of coffee. 

Maybe you’re driving down the road or getting ready for bed.  Maybe you’re listening on your commute in to work, while you’re cleaning the house, or getting dressed for the day. 

Wherever your are and whatever you are doing, I hope this becomes part of your routine and part of how you come to know God just a little bit better than you did the day before. 

First, we’ll start with a few minutes of silence.  The key word is minutes – not seconds, so, prepare yourself accordingly. 

This will help you slow down and settle in;to clear the cluttered thoughts from your head;and to just breathe. 

Then, I’ll ask you some questions to get your conversation with God started. 

After a few more minutes of quiet, I’ll read a passage of scripture.  Since this podcast is just beginning, it makes since for us to start in the beginning of the Bible:  Genesis. 

I love the New Living Translation, so that is what I’ll use.  It is more conversational and uses common English which is helpful.

You can follow along in your Bible, but my hope is that you’ll just listen.  That’s actually how God’s people heard it when it was brand new. 

If you’re not driving or operating heavy machinery, you might want to grab a pen and a notebook to keep track of things that jump out at you.  Listen for words that repeat and reflect on those.  If you need more time to think about something you heard, hit the pause button and take your time. 

At the end, I’ll guide you through some questions to help you ponder the passage more.    

Since this time is for you and God to get to know each other, I won’t share my thoughts or insights with you.  If there is something I want to share, I’ll post it on my blog, coffeewithchrist.org.  If/when that happens, I’ll let you know and put a link in the show notes, so you can access it quickly, but this is YOUR time to listen to God’s Word and to what His Spirit might be stirring inside you. 

I truly believe, God’s Word changes people.  It changes them verse by verse and chapter by chapter.  It is a magnificent and marvelous thing – these ancient words that are written for us and have stood the test of time. 

So, let’s get started by being still. 

 

Tell God what is on your heart today. Has he called you to do something? Are you struggling with fear? What keeps you up at night? 

Use these next few minutes to listen as God brings things to mind.  Jot them down or confess them aloud. 

 

As I read, listen carefully to what God is doing.  What does this teach you about who He is?   

Genesis 1 New Living Translation (NLT)

The Account of Creation

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[a] 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”

And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.

6 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8 God

Welcome To Coffee with Christ.  I’m your host, Nikol Jones.   Finding time to read the Bible is hard.  We are so busy these days whether it is with work, family, friends, kids, extracurricular activities, or all the “To Dos” of ordinary life.  It is hard to sit down and read the Bible let alone …

Welcome To Coffee with Christ.  I’m your host, Nikol Jones.  

Finding time to read the Bible is hard.  We are so busy these days whether it is with work, family, friends, kids, extracurricular activities, or all the “To Dos” of ordinary life. 

It is hard to sit down and read the Bible let alone process what you read or hear what God has to say to you. 

If you’ve been in church for a while or you hang out around church-y people, you’ve probably heard the term “relationship with Christ.”  It’s a weird phrase if you haven’t grown up around it.  It’s also a weird phrase even if you have.  I mean, what does having a relationship with Christ even mean? 

Most people think it is going to church on Sundays

Maybe participating in a Bible Study if you’re really serious

or reading a devotional book. 

And prayer.  We can’t forget about prayer.  Some people love it; others find it  confusing and frightening.  But we all seem to manage it when something is desperately wrong.

All of these things are GOOD things.  They are building blocks for faith – every single one of them.  But they are not relationship.

Relationships are two way streets.  Think of how you interact with a friend.  What do you do? 

You call them; you text them; you listen or read their response. 

On the best days, you make time on your calendar to be with them.  Maybe you go to a coffee shop to catch up on their day or week or every how long it has been since you last talked.

You share what is important to you.And they share what is important to them. 

You listen.You learn.And this is how we love. 

About 10 years ago, I decided to test out things I’d do with my friends (like catching up at a coffee shop) with my relationship with God.  So, even though I’m not a morning person – I got up early one morning.  I poured myself a cup of coffee even though at the time I wasn’t a coffee drinker.  I sat in my favorite living room chair; and as silly and foolish as I felt, I invited God for coffee and said out loud, “Good morning, Lord.  How are you?” 

Then, I listened. 

I listened to the clock ticking.I listened to my dog snoring.I listened to all the thoughts running through my mind about how stupid this was.

But I sat there – in the silence – and listened long enough to get through that first cup of coffee.  I didn’t pick up my bible until I finished.

God didn’t speak to my heart that day, but as I kept inviting him over and listening, eventually He did. 

And so, coffee with Christ was born.  I have a blog (coffeewithchrist.org) where you can read what God teaches me in my time with him. 

But I thought it would be fun to created a podcast where I can guide you through a similar process. 

It is a time for you to sit back, enjoy a cup of coffee (or your favorite drink) and listen.  I’ll go ahead and warn you – when  you’re sitting alone in the silence, it will be awkward.  But we will push through that together. 

Then, I’ll read from the Bible and ask some questions.  You can follow along in your bible but you don’t have to.  You can just listen to God’s word being read aloud.  That’s actually how God’s people heard it when it was new. 

I won’t offer insight or discuss what we just read.  There will be gaps between questions to give  you time to think.

If you like it, I hope you’ll tune in regularly and pass it along to your friends. 

So, are you ready?  We’ll get started in our next episode.