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I want to shout out my younger cousin who reads my blog. This post is inspired by and dedicated to her, MJH I love you.

It’s a beautiful thing the student becomes the teacher. Last week I called my cousin as I heard she drove 4-hours from Kansas City to Tulsa to hear Pastor Michael Todd preach. I wanted to hear about her experience and the spiritual thirst that would make one drive up and back in one day to hear a word from God.

As she told me about her love for sharing Christ with her friends, seeing the transformation in their lives, reading her Bible, and journaling. As she spoke, I was reminded that it’s important that we all not only get back to but stick with the basics of spiritual development. Instantly God gave me the visual of a person on a weight-loss journey. They workout and eating right daily. They put in the commitment to see their body transform. Soon their hard work pays off, their waist gets snatched, legs get toned, and they even gain the Michelle Obama arms well all desired.

Diminishing Strength

But as soon as they hit their goals and optimal strength, they start skipping a gym day here and another day there. They eat a piece a pizza today and a donut tomorrow because they believe they have arrived in the land of slim and trim, so a treat every once and while won’t hurt. The only problem is they fall back into old habits and in a few months find themselves back where they started.

The same is true on our Christian journey for many of us we work hard to build time in our schedules to read our bibles daily, journal, pray, and fast regularly. But there comes a point when we hit a level of spiritual maturity that we start to slack off because we believe we’ve arrived or life just seems to get in the way. Either way, today I encourage you to get back to and remain in the basics.

What Are the Basics?

The basics of spiritual growth and maintenance will vary by person but there are a few that I believe are critical.

1. Prayer

2. Worship

3. Reading the Bible

4. Fasting

5. Sharing Christ with Others

When we commit to these activities regularly we stay connected to Christ and truly allow him to Lord over our lives. Take some time this week to reflect and evaluate where you are spiritually and if you’ve drifted from the basics. Let’s finish the year strong in Christ.