Essential Spiritual PracticesSample

What Are Your Motives?

Have you ever wanted to grow closer to Jesus, but you’ve been unsure where to start? Maybe you’ve tried reading your Bible but got overwhelmed by everything going on inside. Or maybe you had a great YouVersion streak but missed a day and felt defeated. It’s even possible that you’ve followed Jesus for a long time, but something still feels like it’s missing.

We’re told in the Bible that Jesus wants a relationship with us, but it’s not always easy to know how to grow that relationship. Over the next few days, we’ll be looking at practical ways you can start growing closer to Him.

But before we get into the “how” of following Jesus, we need to take a step back and understand the “why.”

If you’ve been around the church for any amount of time, then you’ve probably been told to read the Bible and pray—to practice spiritual disciplines. These are good things that you should do, but they’re best when you do them with the right motives.

Instead of thinking about spiritual disciplines as a restrictive list of rules, let’s view them as ongoing things we practice. A spiritual practice can be any activity that helps us bring our thoughts, feelings, motivations, and actions into alignment with Jesus’ way of living.

The goal of following Jesus isn’t to check boxes off a to-do list. This might help you gain information about Him, but it will rarely transform your life. Instead, the goal is to know Jesus more—know His character, His attitude, His truth, and His grace.

And the best way to know about Him is by spending time with Him. Sometimes this might include your reading your Bible or praying to Him, but what if there’s more? What if following Jesus could be something you do throughout your day, week, month, and entire life?

It’s possible. And it’s not as difficult as you might think.

Challenge: Consider the habits, routines, and activities that you already have in your life. How could you use these to grow closer to Jesus?

You’ll love the You’ve Heard It Said podcast season that goes with this Bible Plan. Find accompanying episodes anywhere you listen to podcasts. Learn more about the podcast today.