Give Me Jesus
In the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise,
In the morning when I rise,
Give me Jesus.  Give me Jesus, give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world, you can have all this world,
Give me Jesus.
Lyrics by Fernando Ortega

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where He prayed. [Mark 1: 35]

Whitney Hopler in his article “Practice Jesus’ Habits” writes that all of us have habits - regularly repeated behaviors that shape our lives, for better or for worse. He continues by telling us that the best habits to incorporate into our lives are those of Jesus.  We can learn much from what Jesus taught, but even more from what He did.

Hopler’s article outlines several habits of Jesus that we should emulate, three of them can be learned from the verse above.  First, withdraw from everyday noise and demands on a daily basis to spend some time with God, to connect with Him and recharge your emotional and spiritual batteries.  Second, pray regularly; don't wait until you feel like doing so.  Third, focus on encountering God to praise Him for who He is; thank Him for what He has done; confess your sin and surrender your mind, will, and emotions to Him by offering Him your total life.

Just as the song begins – in the morning when I rise – so should we begin our day.  The thought that all we need is Jesus could get us through a good portion of our day in this world.  Jesus knew that all He needed was His Father, He had studied and knew the word of God. He prayed and listened constantly and knew that God’s will in His life was the only thing that mattered – even the wrath of God that brought Jesus to the cross for our sins.  Remember in the morning when you rise ALL you need is Jesus.

-c anderson

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