Dear Friends,

I pray that your year is off to a great start.  My wife, Judy, and I have been focusing on the idea of “making the most of the time” (from Ephesians 5:16), and we have enjoyed the discipline of looking at each day as an opportunity to be maximized, while also seeing each day as a blank canvas for God to fill with His purposes, large or small.

As I tie the concept of “making the most of the time” to the concept of roots and fruit in this video, I am drawn back to the dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual.  There is so much physical noise in our world – bank statements and home maintenance issues and new things to acquire, not to mention the noise of the media and the schedules we keep.  In order to access the root issues in my heart and to really make the most of the time that I have today, or even over the course of the rest of my days, I must somehow quiet the noise.

In reality, the spiritual realm is much stronger and greater and more permanent and real than the physical world.  However,  if the physical demands and cares of the world are too numerous, then the spiritual roots that the Holy Spirit plants in my heart will suffer and be incapable of bearing fruit.

I believe that people love money because they are trying to fill a void left by some need in their hearts.  When we take time to nurture our relationship with the Lord and give it proper weight, God’s love for us and our love for God can grow strong and produce fruit that will last far beyond anything the love of money could produce for us.  As you enter into the battle to quiet the physical and magnify the spiritual, consider reading through the book of I John in the New Testament.  It speaks beautifully to the issue of love – God’s love for us, our love for each other, and the fruit of a life rooted in the love of Jesus Christ.

I pray that you experience the joy of “making the most of the time” this year, as you know the love of your Savior more deeply and fully.

Blessings, 

Ron