#projectC61920 Day 3: Spiritual Character
Grace and peace!
Today's focus is going to be on setting up spiritual habits that will eventually become our spiritual disciplines, and of course, resulting in aspects of our spiritual character. As with any area of life that we want to develop, we must set up good habits and remain dedicated to those habits in order for them to become easier and more natural.
What would you say if I told you that we already have an accountability partner and a coach in our spiritual walk? Jesus is running this race with us! He already ran the race ahead of us to show us how to do it. Now He runs beside us to encourage us and love us. And in the days to come, He will stand behind us as we lean on him for our only hope for righteousness. It's hard to find such a person in any human on the earth today.
So let's start with some of the more obvious spiritual habits that we can develop:
1. Get in the Word. You can't know truth if you don't hear it or read it. And the only infallible source of that is the Scripture. Listening to a sermon or worship music once or even a few times a week is not enough. You can read all the diet manuals that you want, but if you never actually go on a diet, it won't do you any good. You can all the exercise books you want, but if you don't ever actually do the exercises, you're just wasting time. Go to the source. Eat the meat, drink the milk (1 Cor. 3:2).
2. Meditate on the word. Memorize it. Internalize it. Apply it to your life. It's amazing how you will find the word coming alive in your own life as you observe and remember it. What you fill your mind with is what your life will begin to be filled with. Find verses that provide promises for struggles in your life currently. Find verses the inspire you. These are love letters directly from God to you. Cling to them and own them. Make sure you have someone holding you accountable for the verses that you're memorizing.
3. Pray. Pray. Pray. Prayer is a conversation with God. How can you expect to have a relationship with someone that you never talk to? Be honest with Him. Be real with Him. Tell Him you're honest fears, doubts, struggles, and frustrations. Tell Him when you're happy. Tell Him when you're sad. He'll listen, I promise you. Don't be concerned with using fancy King James version words either. When was the last time you had a conversation with someone that you really trust and love that you talked to in that way? God wants to get to know you, not King James. Also, keep in mind that no one's prayers are perfect. There's no magical combination of words that you can use that is going to get God to change who He is or what he wants to do, and that's not really why we should pray anyway. Just be open and honest with Him, just like you should be in any other relationship and life.
4. Commit to a daily time in Scripture and prayer. Make a personal commitment. Write it down. Have your accountability partner hold you to your commitments. Set reminders on your phone, calendar, or my personal favorite: sticky notes on your steering wheel. Whatever helps you remember and compels you to stay committed, go with that.
Remember that disciplines come from good habits. Habits come from commitments exercised over time. Stick with it!
#walkwithme
1. Get in the Word. You can't know truth if you don't hear it or read it. And the only infallible source of that is the Scripture. Listening to a sermon or worship music once or even a few times a week is not enough. You can read all the diet manuals that you want, but if you never actually go on a diet, it won't do you any good. You can all the exercise books you want, but if you don't ever actually do the exercises, you're just wasting time. Go to the source. Eat the meat, drink the milk (1 Cor. 3:2).
2. Meditate on the word. Memorize it. Internalize it. Apply it to your life. It's amazing how you will find the word coming alive in your own life as you observe and remember it. What you fill your mind with is what your life will begin to be filled with. Find verses that provide promises for struggles in your life currently. Find verses the inspire you. These are love letters directly from God to you. Cling to them and own them. Make sure you have someone holding you accountable for the verses that you're memorizing.
3. Pray. Pray. Pray. Prayer is a conversation with God. How can you expect to have a relationship with someone that you never talk to? Be honest with Him. Be real with Him. Tell Him you're honest fears, doubts, struggles, and frustrations. Tell Him when you're happy. Tell Him when you're sad. He'll listen, I promise you. Don't be concerned with using fancy King James version words either. When was the last time you had a conversation with someone that you really trust and love that you talked to in that way? God wants to get to know you, not King James. Also, keep in mind that no one's prayers are perfect. There's no magical combination of words that you can use that is going to get God to change who He is or what he wants to do, and that's not really why we should pray anyway. Just be open and honest with Him, just like you should be in any other relationship and life.
4. Commit to a daily time in Scripture and prayer. Make a personal commitment. Write it down. Have your accountability partner hold you to your commitments. Set reminders on your phone, calendar, or my personal favorite: sticky notes on your steering wheel. Whatever helps you remember and compels you to stay committed, go with that.
Remember that disciplines come from good habits. Habits come from commitments exercised over time. Stick with it!
#walkwithme
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