Encounter Jesus

Use your social media connections to worship! With every post, tweet or update and include “#EJChallenge” 

Today, I went for a run and spent some time with Jesus. I love running with Jesus. About two miles into the run, I felt an overwhelming need to declare my desire to follow the path that my Father had set before me. As I ran, I said out loud, "My will is to do the will of my Father who sent me!"

As I drew closer to God during this run, His Spirit began to speak in my heart. That was the beginning of the "EJ Challenge." It is simple. We spend a lot of time focused on our lives, our circumstances, our challenges, our victories, our families and a bunch of other stuff. Yet, we spend relatively little time praising the source of life itself. We commit to healthy diets and exercise to transform our bodies and promote health, yet often neglect those things that promote spiritual health. I'm not talking about discipline or structure. I'm talking about setting your mind. Col 3:2 - "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." (NASU)

Here is the challenge. We are fast approaching Easter. During this season, we will celebrate the victory that Jesus secured for us; completely redeeming us and rescuing us from sin and death. So, between now and Easter, let's celebrate a long, full season of worship. Let's get the world-wide bride of Christ involved. I challenge you to use every form of social media that you are involved with to praise and celebrate Jesus, the one true God! Do not post anything about your circumstance or situation. Don't tweet or post updates on kids or family. Don't post prayer requests... after all, our Father already knows what you need. Simply praise God. Worship the Father. Celebrate Jesus. Seek more of the Spirit. Worship!!! Every post. Every tweet. Every update.

Don't be tempted to talk about what God has done to get you ahead. Don't promote your business. Don't promote yourself. Don't brag about your kids. No jokes, funny pictures, or cute sayings. Just worship! With every post, tweet or update and include “#EJChallenge” so that we can see what is happening everywhere. Make this a world-wide movement. If you are taking the "EJ Challenge," challenge your friends and family to do the same. Send them to this blog so they can understand what is behind this movement.

I am not looking for notoriety and am not promoting anything. I just want to use every opportunity to encourage every disciple of Jesus to celebrate and worship our wonderful, gracious God!

 #EJChallenge

How would you describe the experience of being drawn into deeper relationship with someone? It involves soft, intangible things that lead to increased intimacy, trust, meaning and importance. However, explaining how this actually happens can be difficult… especially when describing a relationship with Jesus.

At the heart of #encounterJesus is a desire to be drawn into deeper relationship with Jesus. Individually, we want to get as close to God as we can. We want to hear his voice routinely, to be led by his Spirit, so that every action has meaning and purpose. We want to continually know and experience the multiple dimensions of God’s heart. Just as important, we want to help anyone that has a similar desire to draw close to Jesus.

It is very difficult to describe #encounterJesus when asked. I don’t think we even fully understand what this movement is or will become. The easiest way to describe it is by explaining it is as indefinable and indescribable as God himself. Often, we explain #encounterJesus by describing what it is NOT. It is not a traditional church service. It is not a worship service, yet it is full of worship. It is not a prayer meeting, but there is much prayer before, during and after. It is not a discussion group, yet discussion often occurs. It is not directly linked to any one church body as it is a kingdom movement. Each event will likely be unique and different.

The best way to understand #encounterJesus is to experience it firsthand and multiple times. In fact, you can do this right now. It does not require a meeting or special event. Simply pray and ask Jesus to draw you closer. Ask the Spirit to bring healing to your deepest wounds and to speak to you to teach, guide, and direct you. Ask our Father to show you his true heart. Explain to God that you want to personally #encounterJesus. 

Join us as we seek deeper relationship with our beautiful Savior. He is our beloved and we are excited to watch as he calls his beloved closer. Accept what he is offering… deeper relationship and greater intimacy!