Bible Love Notes: Get Ready for a Year of Greater Maturity, Dear Christians

Dear Christians, let's look for new ways to grow in the new year. This 1-minute devotion will inspire you to do this.

No matter how and when we come to the Lord, we need to embrace our faith fully. Paul explains it this way:

“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13

What does it mean to “work out” our salvation? It means we do things that lead to maturity.

For example, regular fellowship, Bible study, and prayer. It also means we take our sins seriously, repenting and seeking God’s help to obey His loving commands (1 John 1:8-10; James 1:22).

So before the New Year comes, let’s take time to think about areas of our spiritual life that need improvement.

💙Are you regularly reading God’s Word? As Christians, we need to regularly separate ourselves from other distractions so we can read and study Scripture (2 Timothy 2:15).

💙Are you daily spending time in prayer? Christians need to be seeking God throughout the day, and we need to be praying beyond our personal needs (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We need to remember the suffering church, our church and political leaders, and others in need (1 Timothy 2:1-2; Hebrews 13:3).

💙Are you attending a Bible-believing church that accurately teaches God’s Word (Ephesians 4:11-16)? That’s so important!

💙Are you part of a Christian small group or Bible study? We all need fellowship to stay on track (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Look through the resources below and take some time this week to consider ways you can make 2023 a year of greater growth in the Lord.