Daily Devotional

Here are a few things that help me grow spiritually, and I hope they can help you, too.

1. Connect with other Christians
 
Hebrews 10:25 “...not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

I remember when I went away to college. I was raised in a great church, great preaching, outstanding youth group, and lots of opportunities to connect with other Christians. Now I was heading off to college with no connections to any church. In order to continue growing spiritually, I knew I needed to find a good church. Every church I tried seemed to fall short because it was different from the great church I grew up in. I had a mentor who pushed me hard to find a church. Every time he saw me, “Have you found a church yet?” I’d say, “Not yet.” He said, “What’s the problem?” I said, “No church can be as good as my home church so why go?” He said, “You have to go to church because you cannot grow spiritually if you are not connected to other Christians.” And he said, “You will not find a church like your home church, but that doesn’t mean the new church is bad. Give it a try. Start going regularly to the same church a minimum of four consecutive Sundays. And see what God does.” So, I found another church. I went every Sunday. I made connections with Christians both old and young. And I fell in love with them. It was important for my spiritual growth, to know I could make the transition to a new church.
 
2. Study the Bible 

2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

One of the hardest things for me about having my quiet time in God’s Word is remembering to do it every day. I love the Bible, but often I’d get up in the morning, get busy with my day, and forget to open the Bible. I remember when my home church got on board with the One Year Bible initiative. The One Year Bible is a Bible reading plan that gives you an Old Testament reading, a New Testament reading, a Psalm and a Proverb to read every day of the year. And if you keep up, you will read through the entire Bible in one year (hence the name). My church got One Year Bibles for everyone in our church. They even personalized them with a picture of our church on the front, and a word from our pastor inside the cover. As soon as I heard that there was a Bible reading for every day of the year, I was in. I needed the accountability of knowing that if I don’t read even one day, I’m going to get behind, and I hated being behind. So it was perfect for me to develop the daily routine of having a quiet time with the Lord.
 
3. Pray every day
 
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing;”

When I was a young Christian and just starting to get serious about my faith, I had some questions about prayer. I remember hearing a Christian speaker say, “When you pray you need to get up early in the morning, go into your room alone and spend at least an hour praying to the Lord.” Now there were a number of problems for me in this, not the least of which, I hate sitting still, and I hate mornings. But I tried it. And for the first two or three days, it went well. Then it started to wane. I wasn’t getting up early enough, so an hour dropped to 45 minutes, then to half an hour. Then even less. When the amount of time I was spending dropped, I beat myself up. I’d say, “I guess I don’t love the Lord enough, I guess I’m not really serious about my faith, I guess I am not disciplined enough.” But when I read the verse “pray without ceasing”, I thought, “If the only time I pray is for one hour each morning, that’s not praying without ceasing.” So I decided to try something new. I decided to have my prayer time each morning on my run. It changed prayer for me. I listen to worship music on my headphones. I pray through my prayer list. I confess my sins to the Lord. I spend time lifting up the name of Christ. And it just flows. Then, I think about these requests throughout the day, while I drive, while I’m at the office, even in the evenings. “Pray without ceasing” helped revolutionize my prayer life.
 
4. Show love to others
 
John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

I grew up going to a solid Bible-preaching evangelical church. I experienced the joy that comes through close relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ. As a young person attending public school, my parents taught me, “Brian, get to know your non-Christian classmates at school, but make sure your best friends are Christians from church.” I never forgot that. I knew the church was a special place to build relationships, but I never experienced the care that comes until my mom got sick with appendicitis. When she went to the hospital, my parents’ Sunday School class rallied and we had meals coming like you would not believe. The joke later was, “Mom, you’ve gotta get sick more often…we’ve never eaten better!” As I built relationships with non-Christians I realized how amazed they were when they saw the Body of Christ in action. The care and love that’s offered. The fun and laughter when we’re together. And when they’d ask me about it, I’d say, “We’re followers of Christ. He changed us. And we have a connection that makes us feel like we’re family!” And that’s something they didn’t have.
 
5. Obey God’s Word
 
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

I never understood how obeying my heavenly Father’s commands showed my love for Him until I became a parent. I absolutely love hearing my kids tell me they love me. Usually those words come out at a time when we have just given them a gift they really wanted, or took them to their favorite restaurant. But even when that’s the case, as a father, I love hearing them say the words, “I love you Dad.” But when I became a Dad I realized that the words mean nothing without obedience. If my daughter nuzzled up next to me and said “I love you Dad.” And then the next day, when I asked her to clean her room she responded, “NO!” I wouldn’t feel love at that moment. If I asked her to help dry dishes and she just blew me off, I wouldn’t feel love at that moment. Just like parents feel love when their children obey. Our heavenly Father feels love when we obey Him. Isn’t it amazing how that works?

This list is not exhaustive. And I’m sure many of you have other ways the Lord has helped you grow spiritually. It can be different for all of us. The important thing is that it is happening.

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc.  LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.