Reflecting on this past year, I’ve been reminded of several biblical principles that continue to shape how I live. Here are eight that stood out to me:
- Prioritize Prayer and Seek Quiet Time with God
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.- Colossians 4:2 NIV
I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.- Psalm 119:147-148 NIV - Live generously and use earthly wealth to store up treasures in heaven
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverb 11:25 NIV)
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.- Matthew 6:19-21 NIV - Guard your heart from the praise of others
Excessive flattery or praise from people can lead to pride in our lives. The below verse says:
Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised- Proverbs 27:21 NLT - Focus on the work God Entrusted to You—Without Comparing
Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.- Galatians 6:4 NLT
- Be Faithful in the day to day and do everything for the glory of God
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. – Colossians 3:23-24 NIV
- Live a Quiet Life
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.-1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NLT
- Be led by the Spirit daily and crucify the desires of the flesh
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.- Galatians 5:16-26 NLT - Steward your time wisely
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12
Graceful Strides 