How much time, money and effort do we spend on the way we look on the outside? On having the right clothes, cool hair etc. We spend hours outside in the sun trying to get our tan just right…
But what about working on our inside?
“God is light (1 John 1:5)… He is an all consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29)…”
Our spirit man (or heart) get’s ‘tanned’ by God’s light when we spend time with Him...
How can we work on our God tan? By spending time with God through:
1. Prayer
2. Worship
3. Reading the Bible
4. Fasting
(you can fast anything you like – Food, TV, Facebook, chocolate, coffee… It’s a great way to draw near to God and let Him know you are serious about Him!)
What does this God tan look like? The Bible says that from spending time with God and letting Him mould and shape us we will start to grow the fruit of the spirit on the inside – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control… (Galatians 5:22)
We don’t gain these attributes by trying hard or working it out ourselves in our own strength… The Bible clearly says that these are the fruit or the product of the Spirit of God… Have you ever found that you talk or act like your best friends? You like the same music or similar movies? It’s just like that with the Holy Spirit - by spending more time with Him we’ll become more like Him!
So grab your Bible and a note pad, put some worship music through a pair of headphones and go for a walk… Go up on a mountain, sit at the beach, at a river or under the stars… Spend time alone – just you and Jesus…
David spent years worshipping God and He became a King… Paul prayed ‘more than all of you’ and wrote two thirds of the New Testament, Jesus was always taking time aside to pray – even all night and He was the Savior of the world… When Moses spent forty days on the mountain with God he came back with a pretty great tan – his face was glowing (Exodus 34)! What can God do with your life if you will give Him your time?
Just as the sun leaves an imprint on the skin, people will always notice the difference if you’ve been spending time in God’s presence – You’ll be acting, thinking and behaving just like Jesus…
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 10:19AM 
