A Walking Sanctuary

 
 One of the perks that comes with being a student officer of a university club is access to a nice little office right outside the business department. Its small but cozy and has a computer and a spinny office chair, and I have a shiny key on my key ring that opens the door. Even though I share the office with the other student officers in my organization, I'm usually the only one in the room when I first open the door. Stepping in from the tile hallway, the comfortable, quiet office is always a welcome reprieve from a bustling school day.

     I use my time in the office to answer emails and work on homework, like a good future businesswoman should. When I want to feel like a real professional, I bring a cup of coffee. However, lately I have started adding one more item to my backpack when I head in for my office hours. My Bible.

     Bible time and normal life usually end up being pretty separate. As a Christian, it is crucial that time spent in the prayer closet takes even more priority than time spent in church or corporate worship activities, so setting aside Bible time is one of the most important things you can do...but that's a topic for another blog post. Usually when it's 'Bible time', I grab my copy of My Utmost for His Highest, my prayer journal, and my marked-up, highlighted, dog-chewed Bible and go find a little sanctuary in my room, outside, or in our dorm prayer room. Occasionally, I even brew a cup of tea. 

     Now, let me tell you; that makes for a picture perfect Bible study sesh. A "snap a pic and put that on your Instagram and show the world that you are both holy and Pinterest-worthy" kind-of perfect. Moments like that bless and recharge my soul...and compared to those beautiful, devo-friendly environments that I build, an office room, no matter how homey, seems like a strange choice.

     After all, office time is work time. Desk space is productivity space. Placing a Holy Bible on top of a stack of budgets and test reviews seems to be crossing some sort of line. But the only line it's crossing is the line we've built for ourselves between 'physical life' time and 'spiritual life' time.

     If you're like me and grew up in a faith environment, you have heard endless times not to "compartmentalize" your life. Well, that's because it is important. When you love and serve Jesus, He begins to seep into all the areas of your life...but sometimes it is nice to intentionally bring Him in, too. And that's why I like to plop my Bible on top of my business law textbook.

     Any place can be a temple. Thanks to the God who ripped the veil, we no longer need to be in a special sanctuary to approach the Lord. We can bring Him into every moment. One of the best ways to do this is by letting the way we treat others reflect our faith. Another way is by keeping our heavenly communication channel with the Lord open throughout the day. However, still another is fitting in time between life's daily tasks for a little reflection. 

     Most Christians set aside time at the beginning or end of their day for God...but there is something strangely significant about giving Him the power to interrupt it. Taking a 40 minute break between tasks to read a passage or journal keeps the Lord at the forefront of your mind and brings Him into your day.

     Right before I sat down to write this blog post, I reviewed a 3 page study guide for my first semester exam tomorrow. Now I'm writing about what the Lord is teaching me. It may seem like an abrupt shift; but God is as present now as He was several minutes ago when I was trying to cram my mind with details about general partnerships and tort laws. When you are following the Lord fully, everyday life segues naturally into the so called "devotional time". 

     So I challenge you: stick a Bible in your backpack. You don't need to find a 'temple' before you can approach the Lord; your heart is a temple. Bring the sanctuary with you. And don't miss out on the little interruptions of the holy. 

Finding Holy

this content also appears in a feature on my friend Melissa's blog at http://bibleandtea.blogspot.com/  on June 25th, 2016 under the title 'Cup of Heavenly'

Colossians 2:6-7 –

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus.

I have this phrase printed on a thrift store mug with golden paint marker in my dorm room. One of my favorite things to do is wake up slowly on a Saturday morning and stick that mug under my one-cup coffee maker. I listen to it bubble and brew and drip while I make my bed and throw my hair up in a messy bun. Then I tuck my yoga-pant clad legs up under me in my desk chair, open my Bible, and sip my dark-as-night morning brew. I think about the day ahead, and that quickly, I’ve made a decision.

Without even realizing it, I’ve set the course for my day by the actions I’ve chosen to take, the thoughts that have entered my head, and the thoughts I’ve allowed to stay.

Christianity is not a passive religion. Anything that threatens to change someone’s entire view of the world as dramatically as the sacrifice of Jesus couldn’t possibly slip into a life ‘accidentally’. You don’t accept something as counterintuitive as divine grace by just ‘letting it happen.’ Following Jesus is a choice. It has to be intentional, by its very nature.

The entire concept of salvation is built around a choice. The gift of Jesus’ sacrifice is free (that’s what makes it a gift, right?), and that’s what makes grace amazing. However, one thing is required of us before this gift becomes our own, and that is a choice. Freely offered redemption does us no good unless we choose to accept it. It just sits there, under the tree in its wrapping paper, waiting to be opened.

This is basic and earth-shattering all at once. This is justification. This is the one time act of accepting purpose and salvation and life through Jesus.

But, it doesn’t end there.

Because with justification comes sanctification, and this is where the lifelong process of becoming more like Jesus begins. And it isn’t just a one-time choice.

It’s a daily choice. It means waking up in the morning and saying, “Today, I choose Jesus.” And it means doing the same thing the next day, and the day after that. We have to choose Jesus every day, because if we don’t, a purpose-driven life is not the default. Human nature is the default, and human nature brings with it unlimited dangers – including the trap called passivity.

How do we intentionally make Jesus just as much a part of everyday as a morning cup of coffee? I’ve been learning lately how to find Jesus in every moment of every day. But, Jesus-sighting rarely hit you  in the face like a talking donkey (let’s go back to those days, amirite?) Today, you often only find them if you are actively looking. See, that intentionality thing again!

Here’s the truth: it’s not hard to find the Holy if you are looking. Here’s how I found the Holy today, in a normal 8 hour work day. And let me tell you, if you can find the Holy in a cubicle, you can find it anywhere.

First, I saw my coworkers. Humans are an amazing reflection of God’s glory! Through doing my job processing mission trip forms, I was able to help youth groups get a step closer to ministering to others throughout the country. Jesus had His hand in that, I know it. When I was doing some marketing research, I stumbled across a church website with a Bible verse on the front page that hit me smack in the heart. I ate some M+Ms, which was just heavenly all around. And when I stepped out the front door, it was raining.

Now, it should be known that rain is not my favorite. I like water – properly contained in lakes and rivers and my water bottle. But after hovering at the door to the office for a solid 5 mins, I decided to make a dash for it. 15 seconds into the dash, I made a choice. I stopped dashing, and when I slowed down, I could see the Holy. The air was a little chilly, and the cold raindrops on the skin were taking my breath away, and that rain smell was filling my lungs, and the sun was doing that lens-flare thing that happens when there is a break in the clouds. Many people would have seen rain. I saw God pouring down a refreshing, beautiful drink on the land He created. I had goosebumps, sure, and when I got on the car my ponytail was less than perfect, but for just a bit, I got to breathe in the Holy.

In any situation, you have a choice. God is there; but will you let the situation cloud Him from view, or will you let Him be bigger than your situation? THIS is what it means to choose Jesus every day.

So, I challenge you. Tomorrow when you wake up, take a moment to choose Jesus. Let Him know that you’ve chosen Him (hint: He already knows, because He knows everything, but He really likes the simple faith it takes to tell Him.) Then, live your day with that choice in the forefront of your mind. Find Him in the moments and the problems.

And have some coffee, girl. Because if that isn’t a reflection of the heavenly, I don’t know what is.