I remember when internet service came to my office. This mid-career pastor wasn\u2019t tech savvy. He dragged his feet. Afraid of something new that he didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or might not understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSign in\u201d was a new concept. It\u2019s required to get online. I clicked on the icon, and I was
surfing the web (do people even say that anymore?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t as scary as I thought it would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSign in\u201d eventually became a helpful way to think of being conscious of God\u2019s presence, alert to His voice, and responsive to His leading. Jesus had another way of saying the same thing, often after telling a parable to the crowds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe who has ears to hear, let him hear\u201d <\/strong>(Mark 4: 9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n That sounds like \u201cSign in\u201d to me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea occurred to me on the way home from being a line judge at a volleyball quad after an evening of mental wandering. \u201cI could have used that time to commune with the Lord,\u201d I scolded myself. I used to do that more often than I was at the time. Got out of the habit, I guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was time to re-establish the habit. I was determined to use this concept for nine weeks: \u201cKeep me signed in.\u201d Some say a new habit can be established in 30 or 40 days, others 6 to 9 weeks. I signed in with the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I needed a fresh perspective to stretch my spirit. God had done amazing things in my heart to remodel me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was time to take it to another level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sign in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Signing in is about hearing how God wants to inform me and shape my mindset, not how I want to inform Him. It\u2019s hard to admit, but, if we\u2019re being honest with ourselves, much praying is informing God of our needs and requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there\u2019s the unspoken pressure, \u201cDon\u2019t just sit there, do something.\u201d Isn\u2019t that how we measure success and effectiveness? Checkmarks on the to-do list. Another project finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus says to us, \u201cDon\u2019t just do something. Sit there.\u201d We wait and give the Spirit room to get a word in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Few need silence more than those least comfortable with it (Paul Anderson. Following Jesus, p. 58).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ouch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There will always be intrusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uninvited pop-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Virus alerts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I signed in to the Spirit. What message is in this \u201cintrusion\u201d for me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n He who has ears to hear…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep me signed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I remember when internet service came to my office. This mid-career pastor wasn\u2019t tech savvy. He dragged his feet. Afraid of something new that he didn\u2019t understand. Or might not understand. \u201cSign in\u201d was a new concept. It\u2019s required to get online. I clicked on the icon, and I wassurfing the web (do people even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t