More Than a Relationship

Fellowship with God

He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. – Mark 3:14-15

“When Jesus called his disciples, the Bible says that he did so for the purpose of sending them out to preach and to have the authority to drive out demons. These would later be the apostles who would carry on Jesus’ work when Jesus left this earth. But notice the first calling that was on their lives. The Gospel of Mark says that Jesus appointed them ‘that they might be with him.’ And we have the same calling on our own lives. As born-again Christians, we have a relationship with our heavenly Father; we are his children. But God loves us so much that he wants to have more than a relationship. He wants to have fellowship with us. Imagine! Almighty God wants us to spend time with him, talking with him, worshiping him, loving and adoring him, sharing with him our burdens, listening for what he wants to tell us through his Word and through the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts.” – Pastor Cymbala

  1. How would you define a calling on one’s life as a believer in Christ?
  2. How does our calling differ from our relationship with God?
  3. What does God’s wanting to spend time with us tell us about how God feels about us?
  4. What are the ways that we spend time with God?
  5. What are the things that work against our spending time with God, and how can we overcome these obstacles?