He jokingly claimed Apple was listening to his sermons. (If they weren’t, they should have been!) How else could Apple create the feature of Facetime for the iPhone? For years, Pastor John had been talking about Facetime but not in the way we might expect.
During my time at Fuller Seminary, I was required to do an internship. I had the incredible opportunity to intern with a church plant, Epicentre, under the leadership of Pastor John Lo and Pastor Lawrence Huey. The two years I spent at that church equipped me in ways I probably don’t fully realize. One of the many things I gleaned from my time there was how to do Facetime.
The term Facetime came from Exodus 33. In this chapter, we read about Moses, who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, setting up a special tent where he would meet with God. During these times, Moses would grow in his relationship with God, gain leadership tips, and get God’s directions for Israel. Exodus 33:11 describes it as “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend...” For God’s relationship with Moses to be described as friendship shows just how rich it was. This type of relationship requires purposed time, as we see with Moses setting up the tent to meet with God. God honors Moses’ intentionality by speaking to him face to face. From this, the idea Facetime with God was developed.
Facetime included many things that I had done during my quiet time with God—the Bible, prayer, journaling—but one aspect of Facetime that was new to me was daily worship. I loved to worship corporately with other believers at church or conferences or small groups. What would it be like to worship on my own (via iTunes then, Spotify now) without beautiful voices to drown out my own screech of a joyful noise? What I discovered in this new habit was how vital this daily worship was. Worship allowed me to focus my heart on who God is. Worship quieted my mind, so I could hear God speak. Worship rejuvenated my soul and impacted how I interacted with others.
I wasn’t the same after worship.
Isn’t that how our time with God should be? So many times I can go through the motions without opening my heart to God and to transformation. Worship breaks that cycle. Sometimes it takes a shift in perspective or doing something new during our time with God that can breathe new life into our relationship with God. As I spend time with God face to face, my prayer is that God would speak to me as one speaks to a friend.
Movement Step: Reflect on your “Facetime” with God. Are you spending quality, daily time with God? Do you need to pause and to plan? Is there someone who can encourage you to grow in this area?
