53: Three Essentials to “Enjoying Jesus” with David Mathis

The now-famous Quaker author Richard Foster wrote a well-know book Celebration of Discipline to discuss the things that we can do to engage with God and grow in our faith. However, our guest on this episode of the podcast has a different perspective on how we grow in our faith. Our interviewee David Mathis points to grace as the means for growth in faith. Grace is abundantly available to us each day, and it us by the grace of God that we enjoy Jesus. There are a variety of things we can strive to do everyday to enjoy Jesus, but so often as many of us seek those “things” we end up falling into legalism. Enjoying Jesus is not about doing something, but rather it’s about engaging with His grace. There are three seemingly unremarkable principles that can shape and strengthen our Christian life: 1) Hearing His voice. 2) Having His ear. 3) Belonging to His body. In his recent book, Habits of Grace, David Mathis talks about the importance of listening to God’s voice, speaking to him in prayer, and joining together with his people as the church. Though seemingly normal and routine, the everyday “habits of grace” that we cultivate each day in our lives give us access to these God-designed channels through which his love and power flow; and it is by engaging with these habits that we can truly know and enjoy Jesus. – Get a copy of David Mathis’ book: Habits of Grace – Follow David Mathis on Twitter: @davidcmathis – Check out the great ministry of Desiring God