Come, Follow Me: New Testament 2023 (June 5–11)

For the past few months, I’ve been learning how to eat well. By tracking what I eat, I’ve become more conscientious of my daily food choices and the calorie cost of every bite. I haven’t missed a day of tracking and learning about the complex relationship of food, mood, and environment. Replacing old habits with new ones has been small and slow, but I’ve gained patience and grace, knowing I’m going in the right direction. 

Because of this experience, these words of Dallas Willard, a Christian scholar, stand out to me: 

“The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds. This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in thus ‘practicing the presence of God’ is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him. In the early time of our ‘practicing’ we may well be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. 

But these are habits–not the law of gravity–and can be broken. A new, grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us. Soon our minds will return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north. If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the pole star of our inward beings.” 

Could I be as conscientious and intentional in my goal of becoming a beloved disciple of Christ throughout the day as I have been in learning about food? Could listening to the Comforter become as natural and necessary as daily nutrition? 

I’m confident the answer is yes, especially with the promise of Jesus to his beloved followers, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).

Are you making progress in the grace-filled habit of keeping God before you mind?