As you get out of your car in the Coffee Shop parking lot, you look at your front seat and pick up that Bible you just bought. At first it feels a little strange to be that person carrying a Bible, but you grab it anyway and head inside. As you walk in, you see me at a table chatting over the counter with the barista. We’ve been talking about how she goes to school in the area. I demand my hug (you’ll get used to that, don’t worry.) Then I introduce you to Paige and you join the conversation. A few minutes later she walks our drinks over to the table and says she’ll let us get to talking. I turn to you with a big smile and ask about what you’ve been up to since we last saw each other.

So, did you get a chance to connect with that friend we talked about? (Remember, that person who has a close relationship with Jesus). It’s important to have that person in your life and to keep that conversation going. That person might have told you over 10,000 things about God and his/her relationship with God in that first 10 minute talk. Don’t feel overwhelmed. That person’s just trying to fill you in as quickly as possible.  The truth is that this is a relationship with God, not information that you simply download. Having a friend to share your journey with makes each step along the way that much better.

You’ll find as time goes by, those kinds of friendships are crucial. When you make a decision to follow Christ, the Bible talks about how you were adopted into God’s family. Those people who know Christ also are like brothers and sisters now. That’s why some people use that title in churches, it’s a term of endearment and a statement of fact. Anyway, you share life with your siblings, it’s just how it goes.

God didn’t just give us other people for encouragement, He gave us His Word, the Bible. I see you picked up a Bible since we last talked. What’d you think of that story about the woman at the well? It’s one of my favorites because here you have Jesus, who is fully God, just hanging out and talking with this woman who was a bit of an outcast. I know there are times when I feel like an outcast. Whether its because of something I’ve done or I’m just in a bad mood, at times I feel alone.

One thing about this story, is that when you understand the culture, it makes this woman even more of an outcast.  Two thousand years ago, Jesus being a Jewish man, talking to a Samaritan woman, was a big deal.  People just didn’t do that. Jewish people didn’t hang out with Samaritans.  There was a lot of prejudice. And men didn’t hang out with women the way they do today.  It was a different world back then. Now for a respected teacher to be talking to a lady with a shady reputation (living with a man who wasn’t her husband), that was a huge deal! I bring this up because at times I get down on myself. I feel like I am not worthy and He is God. It’s great to picture Jesus coming to me and starting up a conversation. That’s one of the simple things that I get out of this story.  Jesus meets me where I am and meets my deepest needs.

That reminds me, an important thing to remember when you’re reading is that you want to get something directly out of the Bible. Does that make sense? Let me explain.  When you’re reading God’s Word, anything that inspires you, fires you up, and makes you think are the very things that should come right out of the verse you have read. So, if I were reading that story about the Woman at the Well and thought to myself, “I like apples,” while reading it, I couldn’t say to myself, “Ooooh, that’s from God.” Sure, apples taste good and all, but that didn’t come out of that verse. The verse doesn’t talk about apples! Or If I said, “Jesus doesn’t like water, He says that right here.” Well, that wouldn’t be really what this verse is saying at all. So when you’re reading the Bible, you should ask yourself, “What does this verse say?” Then after reading it again you can ask, “What does that mean to me?”

That’s why God gave us this written Word, so that we could get understanding out of it. God wants to build this relationship with us and he’s given us this book with all different styles of writing as a way to connect with us. If I gave you a book that had many stories about things I’ve done, and some other letters describing how I feel about certain things, even some poems about me, you’d probably know me a whole lot better after reading that book, right?  You can better understand God by reading the Bible.

The Bible has different styles of writing. We read a story out of a gospel last week.  Let’s move over a few books to Romans. That book was a letter from a man named Paul, one of God’s major spokesmen, to a church in Rome. Now, this verse is going to cover a rather heavy concept, but I think once you get this, it’s going to change the way you look at God. I’m so excited already, it gives me chills just thinking about how great God is and what he’s done.  Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Before we meet again, read Romans 5:1-11.
You’re going to want to read it a few times because it’s heavy. As questions come up, write them right there in the margin. You can ask me, or you can even ask that close friend you called the other day. That friend may not have the answer off the top of his/her head, but you can find it together. So, carve out some time to read that verse. Pray before, asking God to make his word clear. Then don’t forget to ask yourself, “What does this verse say?” Then after reading it again you can ask, “What does that mean to me?”

Can we connect again tomorrow?

After we both check our schedules and confirm the time for tomorrow, we pray together. This time you pray a little.  You’re somewhat nervous attempting to talk out loud to God, but by the time you say “Amen” those worries nearly disappear. Before you get in our cars, I call out across the parking lot, “Hey, don’t forget, God meets you where you are.  Awesome, huh?” You nod your head and as you get in the car this time, and put your Bible back on the front seat, it hits you, “I’m loved by the God of the Universe.  He meets me where I am.” You let out a deep exhale and a single thought resonates through your head, “Thank you.”