Some more spiritual disciplines …
3. The Bible. The Bible is the Word of God. It contains his thoughts about life. It is our guidebook for life – how we are meant to live in the kingdom of God here and now (2 Tim.3:16-17). God’s Word is given to us not just to give us ‘information’ but to help bring about a ‘transformation’ in our life. Paul speaks about us being cleansed by ‘the washing of water by the word” (Eph.5:26).
Read, study, memorise and meditate on the Word of God (Ps.1:1-3). Get his thoughts into your heart and mind. Ask God to speak to you as you read. Your goal is to encounter God through his Word. Have an open heart. Desire change and transformation. Determine to be responsive and obedient. Remember it’s not always ‘how much’ you read but ‘how’ you read that makes the biggest difference.
God’s Word is powerful! It can literally change your life! When I choose to ignore God’s Word I remain stuck in my natural habit patterns, deceived by the subtle lies of the enemy and I never enter the fullness of the life God has for me. When I choose to saturate my heart and mind with the Word of God, I am filling my inner world with God’s heart and God’s wisdom for life. As I embrace and then apply God’s Word, it can literally transform me from the inside out.
4. Fellowship. Spend time with other believers. Christianity is not a ‘solo sport’ or ‘do it yourself religion’. It is a community or family of believers following Jesus together. Sometimes it can be easier to be alone but God wants us to enter into the discipline of fellowship. It’s in interacting and relating with other people that we have the potential to grow and change. We can learn a lot just through being with other people – observing and listening to what God is doing in their life (Acts 2:42-47).
We must focus on doing things that build loving and healthy relationships. We must also avoid things that destroy relationships. Jesus’ number one command or instruction to his disciples was that they love each other as he had loved them (Jn.13:34-35). THE measure of our spiritual growth is the indication that we are becoming a more loving person which shows itself in our increasing ability to get along well with other people – even difficult people (1 Cor.13). Our ability to get along with a wide variety of people is not only God’s will for our lives but it is essential for success in life.