The Core Four

One of the things I’ve been known for as an employee is being the person who my boss has openly stated is the first to ever beg for an evaluation. Here is why I am a big fan of being evaluated. It gives me clear right and left limits, it brings everything into the open and helps me to be the best possible version of myself. That is why, when it comes to spiritual growth, I believe it can be easy for us, as followers of Christ, to get lost in the sauce. What is growth, how exactly do we approach it, and when are we fully grown? With that in mind, there are plenty of places throughout the Bible that give us different examples of lists or standards to measure ourselves against. Today, I’d love to draw your attention to what I have deemed the core four. The four core actions form a framework of spiritual growth. Let’s dive into them! 

1.     Bible Reading

This is something that can seem like an assumed task, but it is certainly a case of the action being more difficult than the concept. We hear it often and know that reading our Bible is good for us, but come on… We are busy, it’s not easy, and who can sit and read these days? That is why it is helpful to understand that there is a difference between finding time and making time. We must not simply find the time when it is convenient for us and works out best occasionally. It is imperative that we make time. The difference between the two lies in the priority of the task hand. I find time to enjoy my hobbies. However, I make time to brush my teeth. While hobbies are great, brushing my teeth is a non-negotiable and needs to be intentionally placed in my schedule. I always recommend to people that reading a proverb a day and a chapter from the Psalms makes for a great habit-building rhythm. There are plenty of great devotional options both in hard copy and online, but the big picture is to pick what works for you and get after it! 

2.     Prayer 

In this area of the core four, I see the most surface-level success. Churches and Christians do a great job of praying to move from one element of a church service to the other or before a mealtime, but when it comes to the heart of the issue, there is a much more powerful and meaningful approach to prayer that Christians should take. Personally, I’ve struggled with prayer mostly because it seems to be the process of doing nothing. I would much rather take an action step to do something, fix something, or make it happen. However, when we pray, we do what we can and ask God to do what ONLY he can. Consider finding a rhythm of prayer that goes deeper than thanking God for your dinner. Spend time focused on praising God for who he is, asking him to work in areas of your life and others, and see what God does! A bonus tip in this area, find a space to write it down. Hard copy seems to be the best way to do this, but digital can suffice as well. This helps us to see the seasons where God changed our hearts, answered prayers, and did things that give us hope for the future!

3.     Worship

You should worship! As a matter of fact, as a human, we are spending time worshiping plenty of things in our daily lives. We spend time giving adoration and appreciation to so many things. There is, however, nothing that deserves our worship more than the one who has created us, knows us by name, and holds the galaxies together. There are two general ways that we do this. The first is in corporate worship. I shared with our church on Sunday that the way we worship can be an encouragement and testimony to people around us at church that are fueled by seeing other people worship! Whether you are young, old, man, or woman, go to church on Sunday and sing loud the praises of God the Father. It is good for you and those around you. The second way that we worship is with our lifestyle. While there is absolutely a need for corporate worship, there is also a need for personal worship. In many ways, I see corporate worship as the overflow of personal worship. When you and I seek the heart of the Father, experience his goodness, and thank him for it personally, we can’t help but worship!  This lifestyle of worship is one that has many different application points, but it is helpful to know that we should see the way we do EVERYTHING as being done for God. That includes the big things and the small things. That includes when people are watching and when they are not. Live a life that brings honor and glory to God almighty!

4.     Serving

Finally, we should serve. We should serve others with reckless abandon. We ought to be looking for ways to serve inside of the church and outside the church. We should be seeking to find ways to use our God-given talents, gifts, and abilities for the good of God and others. This aspect of serving is really at the heart of an issue of stewardship. When we sit back and understand that everything we have is on loan from God and that we have been put in place as managers of the things he has entrusted us, we should naturally seek to manage that well. This means that we seek to take care of those around us and stay sensitive to the way that the holy spirit is leading us into situations where we can serve others. If we are careful and attentive to the way that the spirit leads us, we will not be hurting or lacking ways to use our talents for God’s glory!

While this might not be an all-inclusive list, it does have the potential to put you on a path to an increased impact. I’ll leave you with this. I have heard it said lately that it is better to be consistent than to be occasionally great. Regarding the core four, consider this your formula of things to do consistently good to grow spiritually in a consistent way. If you are faithful to that, I firmly believe you will look back someday and be blessed by the rich legacy of faith you will be leading, all for God’s glory!