“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive His approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 NLT)
The Christian life demands effort and discipline if we ever desire to be effective in our witness for the Lord Jesus. Laziness is not rewarded by the Lord. Too often our immaturity and ineffectiveness as a believer is caused by our neglect to establish the godly disciplines that every child of God should cultivate.
Reading and studying God’s Word, the Bible; spending meaningful and prolonged time in prayer; finding our place in a church family with whom we can learn, serve, and find fellowship in a small group; learning to steward the resources the Lord provides, and developing the habit of sharing our faith on a regular basis are but a few of what I believe the Bible outlines as bare minimum requirements for a genuine lover of the Lord Jesus.
To say a pray and believe that’s the sum of our commitment to Christ is not only ludicrous, but also blasphemous. It’s like believing I’m a carpenter because I can drive a nail, or I’m a doctor because I know how to apply a band aid.
We whine when God doesn’t answer our prayers when our “prays” consist primarily of our orders to heaven to give us what we want. Prayer is a means of aligning ourselves with the desires of heaven; an avenue of opportunity to get to know our heavenly Father better and to walk with Him more intimately.
Before anything else Christianity is a relationship. Being born again as a believer in the Lord Jesus is to enter into a family, the family of God, which bears responsibilities as well as privileges. Yes, of course, as an infant believer we need nurture, care and instruction, but there comes a point when we move beyond our infancy and begin to grow and mature as a Jesus follower.
Craig Groeschel challenges us when he writes: “An undisciplined life never leads to progress.” Do you want to grow in your faith, in your effectiveness as a child of God? Then you must discipline yourself to allow that to happen. “But how?” you may ask. By establishing foundational habits on which you will not compromise.
As difficult as it may be, and I think of the unrelenting needs of small children, even young moms and dads must develop time to be alone with God and His Word. When my kids were small, I used to take my Bible in the bathroom with me and read while, uh, while I was in there. 😊 Whatever works for you, but my guess is the hardest battle many will face today isn’t with finding quietness from their children, but from their phones and electronic devices.
One solution is to get a Bible app that not only includes different versions of the Bible, but many options for devotional materials. The YouVersion app is available and is an app I use nearly every day to read my Bible or to find helpful information that will uplift and encourage me in my walk with the Lord.
There are so many resources available to help us learn and grow, we are literally without excuse if we sincerely want to grow in our faith. As important as attending a strong, Bible-believing and teaching church is, it’s not enough. It takes our individual effort to make progress in our walk with the Lord.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 