Month: January 2026

A key to spiritual growth

January 2, 2026

Here is a recent devotion from The Word for Today…

Bible reading; the key to spiritual growth (1)

Friday 2nd January 2026

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.” Joshua 1:8 NKJV

God gave Joshua a big job: conquer the Promised Land and divide it up among the twelve tribes of Israel. He also gave him the key to success: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” God didn’t command Joshua to seek a spiritual experience or a personal revelation. He told him to meditate on the Scriptures.

Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson wrote a book called Move. They wanted to find the key factors for spiritual growth, so they surveyed the congregations of one thousand churches. Here’s what they found: “Nothing has a greater impact on spiritual growth than reflection on Scripture. If churches could only do one thing to help people at all levels of spiritual maturity grow in their relationship with Christ, their choice is clear. They would inspire, encourage, and equip their people to read the Bible.” You don’t grow in Christ simply because you’re busy in church; it happens automatically when you read and trust God’s Word. So engage with your Bible. Meditate on it day and night. Think and rethink on it. Let it be your guide. Make it your go-to book for questions. Let it be the ultimate authority in your life. Peter puts it this way: “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2 NKJV).

S.H.A.P.E. Up Spiritually in 2026

January 1, 2026

At the start of each year a lot of people set goals to get in shape physically. They want to lose some weight and tone up their bodies.

In 2026 why not set the goal to shape up spiritually? 1 Timothy 4:8 NLT tells us that, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

Today I want to use the letters of S.H.A.P.E. to give us some Bible verses to remind us to stay in spiritual shape in 2026.

S – Seek the Lord with all of your heart

Isaiah 55:6 NLT – Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.

H – Hold on to the promises of God

Hebrews 10:23 NLT – Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

A – Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you

Galatians 5:16 NLT – So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

P – Present yourself as a living sacrifice

Romans 12:1 NLT – And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

E – Explain your faith to others

1 Peter 3:15 NLT – Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

Remember staying in physical shape is important. We need to be good stewards of the bodies God has given us. After all we use our bodies to do God’s work physically. But spiritual training has benefits in this life and the life to come.

Let us stay in shape spiritually in 2026.