Our Daily Bread - Spiritual Life BasicsSample

II. What Does it Mean to Be Born Again?

Experiencing salvation should not be viewed as an event that occurs as a point-in-time but as a point-of-beginning. Once salvation is part of our lives we are called to grow in that salvation in which we become more like Jesus.

For example, in the same way babies are not meant to stay small and helpless, neither are we to remain in a state of neediness and immaturity as new believers in God’s family.

Think back to a time when you were about ten years old. Do you remember how much you wanted to be “grown up”? How you wanted to be able to drive or to do the other things that older kids could do? That longing is what we sometimes feel spiritually as well. We don’t want to remain as spiritual children. We want to grow up. As we learn to know and please our Father, we want to have the responsibilities of a family member. And just as growing up physically takes nourishment, exercise, learning, and time, so our development as Christians is a process as well.

The process of becoming more and more like Jesus in our attitudes, characteristics, thinking, and actions is called spiritual formation.

Spiritual formation, also known as spiritual growth or discipleship, is not an isolated event within believers’ lives but is connected to every aspect of daily living.

For example, our health, family relationships, finances, occupation, social issues, and death are all aspects of living that should be affected by our spiritual identity in Christ.

The spiritual life should overflow and affect everything we do. In addition, as believers, our spiritual walk with God is part of the grand story of the Bible since we are His representatives, or ambassadors, at this point in time to serve as witnesses of the life-changing power of salvation.

It’s important to understand that the readings that make up this devotional are more than mere academic exercises. You can certainly complete all of the objectives and learn more about the spiritual life, but that misses the primary purpose, which is to develop as followers of God and grow in our relationship with Him (1 John 1:3). In the end it’s not enough to simply believe in Jesus; we are called to so much more. We are called to live, act, and think like Jesus.

III. How Do We Start Growing in Christ?

A whole new world opens up before us once we are born into God’s family and know that we will live forever with Him. We want to explore our new spiritual life as we begin to grow up as God’s children. Just as an appetite is a sign of health for a baby, an appetite for the things of God is a sign of spiritual health.

In order to experience the fruitful life of growth in Christ, we will examine four areas of spiritual communication. God speaks to us through His Word (2 Timothy 3:16). We speak to God through prayer (Philippians 4:6-7). We speak to other believers about Christ (Hebrews 10:24-25), and we speak to unbelievers about Christ (Romans 1:16). As we grow in these four areas, we will experience spiritual changes that make us more like Christ (Romans 8:28-29).

The apostle Paul described it this way: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV).

This spiritual transformation will take place not because we are trying harder. It will happen because we are in a place where God, in His love and grace, can work within us as we consistently surrender our selves, our wills, and our time to Him.