Spiritual Priorities: Faith, Family, and Friendship

During the Holiday season, it is easy to become frenzied and frantic! In the midst of the world convincing us we need to hit every sale and try every treat we can lose focus and abandon doing well spiritually.

The goal of this study is to help us use the “unlimited resources” and tools God gives us daily, in order to make God a priority… amidst kids on vacation, out of town family, crowds, and the holiday bustle!

Jesus has the power of God, by which he has given us everything we need to live and to serve God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus called us by his glory and goodness…With these gifts you can share in God’s nature, and the world will not ruin you with its evil desires.5 Because you have these blessings, do your best to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; 6 and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add patience; and to your patience, add service for God; 7 and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love. 8 If all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you to be useful and productive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:3-8 (NCV)

God gives us all we need to do well spiritually. We are never without; it’s our choice to utilize the tools and gifts he gives us to make doing well spiritually a priority.

• Faith- “Add to your faith” – Choose a book of the bible to read each week during the holidays until the end of the year. Reading chapters of the Bible helps us to overcome the “noise” of the world with more scriptures and increasing our faith.

“Do your best to add these things to your lives”

• Friends- “service to God.” Serving others helps us to remember God because putting others first (as Jesus did) kills self -consumption. When we are consumed with ourselves we stop thinking about God.
• Reach out to friends and have people in your home. This is exercising your faith and it is expressed in love for others. This kills selfishness, idleness, and allows you to serve and have impact on others.
• Family – “kindness to your brothers and sisters in Christ.”
• Plan to spend time with other families. Plan ahead and spend time with other families during the holidays. Isolation makes us ineffective and unproductive. Do something with another family that helps you do well spiritually (meals together, getting your kids together, serving the community together).

Prayer Ideas

• Start a new prayer journal.
• Create a playlist of music that provokes thought in your quiet times and sparks creativity in your prayer times.
• For moms of young kids, do a “prayer swap”.  Take your baby to another mom while you pray, then do the same for her!
• For young moms – do a “prayer duo”. Moms prayer group with baby bundled in stroller and go prayer walking together.