We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  2 Corinthians 5:10​

​Remember that day in elementary school when you were first introduced to the game of dodgeball?  I can picture it like it was yesterday!  Standing on the playground at recess, surrounded by gleefully vengeful kids who held large dusty-red rubber balls in front of their bodies like basketballs at a free throw line.  My gullible friends and I, who were chosen to be in the middle of the target field, hopped nervously back and forth, waiting for chaos to erupt. Somebody yelled “Go” and then red balls were flying at me from everywhere. 

Even though the game was in fun, there was an adrenaline rush of nervous energy (and sheer terror) as we dodged and wove, circled and turned amidst the bouncing balls. I can’t remember how long I lasted (not long, I’m sure) before being smacked with a ball that I was sure was over-filled and seemingly brutal in its impact force!  No one even noticed as I retreated to the edges of the circle, and just like that my time in the game was over. 

This memory comes to mind sometimes, when I’m wrestling with thoughts that are worrisome, doubt-filled, or scary. These thoughts, like the red rubber balls, slam against me and knock me down. I’m especially vulnerable when I first wake up in the morning, when everything is still dark and quiet. For a brief moment all is well, like the calm before the storm, and then my mind is bombarded with the concerns I have been holding deep inside.  I weave and dart, trying to avoid the pain of the accusations, imaginations and false realities being hurled by the enemy of my soul; and I exhaust myself; finally retreating into discouragement and defeat.

God tells us in His word that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world (Ephesians 6:12).  We need to seek God as our refuge when the spiritual battles come.  Since those attacks can begin before I'm even fully awake, an early morning time with God might be our best defense. He tells us that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.  His presence causes darkness to flee.  I don’t have to dodge and weave, I only need to make a straight line toward my Protector. 
What better way to take refuge in God, than to immerse myself in the truth of His word.  Let’s use our time with Him every day to let His light fill our hearts and cause darkness to flee.

​For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
​Heb 4:10 (ESV)

Years ago I read a story by Robert Boyd Munger, called My Heart—Christ’s Home; a beautiful allegory of our hearts as rooms where Christ lives; the living room, the study, the hall closet, to name a few.  I was so inspired by this, that I wrote my own story about another room…the foyer. The room where I leave behind the things of the world and prepare to enter into the home of my heart that I share with Him; the room that leads me to my quiet time with Jesus.

Here’s what I imagine:
As I open the door and step into the foyer of my heart, I know that I’m home. I can still hear the noise of the world outside as I shut the door behind me; birds, cars driving down the street, wind in the Japanese Maple outside the door. But, I know that when I move away from the door those distractions will fade. 

Glimpses of the rooms beyond this foyer appear in the corners of my eyes, but not enough of a view to enjoy them yet. I will have to move deeper into the house if I want to experience all that each room has to offer.

While still just inside the door, the skylight above brings in light; a welcoming space for me; a sense of being home. I smell the aroma of dinner in the crockpot and coffee from breakfast; reminders of what I’ve experienced before, and hints of what is to come; the familiar sights, sounds, and feelings of comfort and warmth; The quiet peace of my own space. Anticipation of what’s to come builds as I move further into the house, looking for Jesus.  I breathe in all that this home means to me; its my dwelling place with Jesus, my safe refuge, the place I always return to.  I’m ready to kick off my shoes, sit down, and share my day with Jesus.

Maybe you can see yourself in this foyer when you step inside to meet with Jesus.
 
Food for thought:

What are the “noises from the outside” that threaten to distract you right now? 

Describe the sights and sounds and sweet aroma of God's presence that you experience as you stand in the foyer of your heart. 

How will you find your place of rest in Him today?

You're here to bear fruit, reproduce, lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!" Genesis 9:7
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​​I’ve often thought that if I ever wrote a book about my spiritual journey, the title would be called Passion Fruit.  I think that it is the perfect term to describe what God does in us, through us and beyond us to the world when we live passionately for Him.  First, like the fruit of the same name, God’s Spirit in us is sweet, delicious and full of health benefitting nourishment essentials for optimum growth. The tiny seeds of God’s word burst open with flavor and nutrients when consumed. He is our passionfruit. 

Second, the more we taste His living word and let it fill us, the more passionate for life we become. And passion is the key to producing the best fruit. Wikipedia defines passion as “a compelling desire or enthusiasm for something.”  It is the energy that motivates us to seek God, serve God and let Him transform our lives.  It grows as it is fueled by greater and greater intake of His word and understanding of its meaning for our lives.  Without it, we become lukewarm, empty and unmotivated.  We may have Christ inside us, but we have snuffed out the energy and life of His transforming Spirit.  Only with passion can we produce great fruit.

If we know that the reason we are here on earth is to passionately carry out God’s purpose for us, to bear fruit, to reproduce spiritual generations of devoted followers, and to live bountifully, then we need to keep the fire of that passion stoked!  We need to fill ourselves daily with the seeds of God’s word.  And we need to do it in ways that stimulate our appetite for more. 

Try this:  find a passage of Scripture that describes someone who felt God’s presence deeply and passionately.  Look at David in Psalm 18, or Jeremiah in Jeremiah 20:7-13, or Jacob in Genesis 28:10-17; read the text as though you were that person, experiencing those circumstances and expressing those feelings.  Read the passage out loud.  Pray it to God!  Then write how you feel. Write what you see, what you hear, what you taste, feel and smell.  Write what you wonder, and what you believe.  Ask God to fill you with the same passion that these people had for Him.  Do this daily for 2 weeks.  Then see if the fire of passion for God hasn’t quickened for you.
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When we allow the transforming power of Christ to produce passion in us, we will in turn bear sweet fruit that is good for us, good for the world and good for God’s kingdom here on earth. 

​Growing up, I remember that there was always, always, dessert after dinner.  My mom would come up with a creative presentation on a nightly basis, whether it was jello with whipped cream, or hot apple pie with cheese melted on top!  It didn’t matter what was on the menu for the main course; my sisters and I would always ask, “What’s for dessert?” as my mom prepared whatever we were going to eat. Sometimes, if we were in the kitchen at just the right moment, we even got to sample what was coming out of the oven.  One of my favorites was the little leftover pieces of pie crust that she would sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake until crisp.  I loved those delicious treats!  It makes my mouth water, just thinking of them now!  Knowing that there was dessert on the menu made meal times an adventure; especially when the main course was something less than appealing (like liver and onions, ugh!).

As I’ve learned to savor God’s presence in my quiet times, I’ve come to see His words to me as those sweet and savory treats from my childhood.  I look forward to the flavors that I will uncover as I read and pray and listen for His voice.  It doesn’t matter what’s on the menu, I can always find the sweetness hidden in even the heaviest courses.
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Just like the reward of that delicious dessert after dinner, we can savor the truths that come out of every word of God.  This is what I do:  as I read I look for a word that stirs my spirit; a word that jumps off the page to me.  I set that word aside, saving room for more of it after I’ve finished reading the Scripture God has given me that day.  When I’m ready, I go back to that word and I explore the meaning, the context, and the images that it produces in my mind.  I write about everything I see.  I ask God to show me how He wants that word to transform me, and I listen for His thoughts on the subject.  Or maybe I’ll take the whole verse of Scripture surrounding that word and decorate it with sprinkles of color, imagery and personal art.  As I use my imagination to “see” the verse artistically, I can savor the sweetness of its truth for my own life.
As you seek to find the flavor of God in your journey with Him, try saving room for the “dessert” of His word.  You’ll find that it’s sweeter than honey!

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  Colossians 3:2
 
The one and only time I hiked the La Luz trail with friends— nine miles of steady incline, strewn with rocky patches and crazy switchbacks, leading up to the top of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque—I remember how hard it was, how exhausting, how it tested every muscle in my body.  I remember sometimes having to stop every few feet to catch my breath.  At one point I even got a muscle cramp in my foot that was so painful I thought something would snap!  I wanted so badly to turn back, but I couldn’t. My ride home was at the top of that mountain; a scenic tram ride back down to my waiting car.  If I turned around and gave up, I would have to go back the way I came, a challenging descent over those same rocky outcroppings, using strained-to-the-limit muscles to brace my downward steps. 

My hiking companions encouraged me onward, stopping whenever I needed a break, slowing their own normal pace (they had done this hike many times before) to match my faltering, untrained steps.  In the end, I was so glad I had persevered, because the view at the top was breathtaking!  I could see clearly what had been obscured by the trees and hills before. Other hikers who had climbed ahead of me were there, resting their legs, breathing in the fresh mountain air, and cheering for fellow climbers as they cleared that last hill and approached the summit.  I felt like part of a special club of conquerors as I received the congratulations of others.  I had accomplished something I didn’t think I could do.  And the sight of that waiting tram, my ride home, was wonderful.
 
My journey with Jesus is like that hike up the La Luz trail.  Following His path requires effort, but the summit is so worth the climb.  The early morning wake up calls, the discipline of studying His word and committing it to memory, the hours on my knees seeking His face, the daily surrender to His will even when it hurts; it all brings me closer to the high places with Jesus. Sometimes it seems as though little progress is made.  Sometimes I want to quit.  But quitting, or going backwards, only keeps me in the rocks longer.  It puts more strain on already stretched spiritual muscles.  I might still get home, but I would have missed out on the joy of cresting that summit; of being able to look back over the route I had taken and say that I made it!  Of taking that well-deserved rest at the top with Jesus. And when I reach Him He is always cheering for me, saying “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and rest with Me. The view is great from here.” 

So press on, fellow hiker.  Put one foot in front of the other and make forward progress. Keep your eyes on the summit, where Jesus is.  It’s worth the climb!

​ Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.  Psalm 81:10 
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As a struggler with weight management for most of my adult life, I have tried many of the popular diets out there at one time or another.  I’ve drunk the shakes, cut the carbs, counted the points and consumed the gallons of water; my bookshelves are sprinkled with diet guides, calorie counters and health food cookbooks. And I’ve watched the scale go slowly down, and celebrated the success…for a while.  If you’re like me you know the story; we lose the weight, stop the diet, start back on the junk food and gain the weight again…sigh.  A lifelong battle with self-control.

In the same way, we can struggle with our spiritual “eating habits”.  We can become unhealthy by eating too much of the wrong thing and too little of the right thing.  I came across a quote recently, by one nutritional expert, who said, “Eating large quantities of high-nutrient foods is the secret to optimal health and permanent weight control.”  High-nutrient foods!  That term resonated with me.  When I considered it in light of spiritual nutrition, I realized that the most nutrient-dense food of all is God’s word.  Are we eating the volume we need in order to maintain the health of our soul?

Many of us read God’s word in small bites, like appetizers.  We nibble on a verse here and a verse there; grabbing a daily devotional, perusing a “word for the day” like we are snacking before a meal.  But then we never actually get to the main course.  We close the book and say, “I’ve had my time with God today.  I’m full now.”  And we never get into the rich, deep nutrients of His word. According to one source there are over 31,000 verses in the Bible!  If we were to only read one verse a day, assuming it was a different verse every time, it would take us almost 85 years to read the whole Bible once!

What if we were to consume large quantities of Scripture on a daily basis?  Instead of the large doses of junk food that we consume daily, like gossip magazines, television shows, even the newspaper; we could be filling our hearts and minds with greater portions of God’s word.  And instead of becoming weak and lethargic from our consumption of “empty calories”, we could be growing strong in the truth.

Paul said, in Colossians 3:16, that we are to “let the word of Christ richly dwell” within us.  I can think of no better way to do that than to fill our minds with large quantities of Scripture.  Instead of choosing a verse, choose a whole passage.  Read a chapter at a time.  Better yet, read a whole book of the Bible in one sitting.  Read portions of Scripture out loud.  Let it sink down deep and give the mind time to digest it.  Pray it back to God to gain greater appreciation of the truths within it.  The more we eat of God’s rich, nutritional word, the more we will be satisfied and the healthier we will be.

God often speaks to me through pictures!  In fact, I've discovered that the clarity of His thoughts towards me intensifies as I reflect on the images He brings to my mind.  One memorable example of this is a quiet time I had in John Chapter 3. I came to the part where John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and told his disciples, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  I paused at that statement, and started imagining what it would look like for God to increase in my life, taking more and more room in my heart, as my own worries and fears and awareness of self took a back seat.  I thought of Jesus growing larger in my line of sight, blocking out all other thoughts, and then a memory stirred in my mind.

In a scene from the movie Apollo 13, three astronauts are trying to land their damaged ship back on earth after a catastrophic accident.  Capt  Jim Lovell, played by Tom Hanks, is on the radio, trying to get the critical reentry procedures from Mission Control. The scene is a tense one, with everyone desperately aware that they are running out of time to safely implement a plan.  After peering anxiously out the small window at his side; a view of the earth looming large in the center, Lovell pleads with the team in Houston to act.  In a voice tinged with exhaustion and barely contained tension, he says, "We’re all a little tired up here. The world’s getting awfully big in the window.”

That line, and that image of the earth in the astronaut’s window, gave me a visual picture of my relationship with Jesus.  As I get closer and closer to the things that are most important in my life, they loom larger in my window.  They become all that I see and I order my life around those things.  If the challenges of life are all I focus on, then they take up my whole window.  I see nothing but the problem, and the more I focus on it, the bigger it gets.  I draw closer to the problem and, as it fills my window, it blocks my view of Christ.  On the other hand, if my focus is on Him then He is what fills my view.  What I focus on is what I will see.

I want Jesus to fill my window.  So I made some notes in my journal:  "Keep looking up.  Keep my eyes on Him, even when the world looms large in the window.  Tell Him, 'Lord Jesus, You are completely trustworthy.  I will put my faith in you.'  Make a conscious choice to replace thoughts of self with thoughts of Him.  When He is all that I see, then  I’ll find peace, no matter what the circumstances."