Devotionals from my Bible app: A Heart That Follows God (3 John 1:11)

Note before sharing the devotional: this week has been a good challenge. One of my habitual sins has been arguing with someone in my head, always someone I know, and oftentimes someone who either is presently or has recently been causing me issues. Earlier this week, while on the road somewhere, I was at it again, when I felt God point out a change I needed to make, and fast. Ironically, a short while later, I was in the car with one particular individual who I had been arguing with in my head about this, that, and the other, and this car ride provided an opportunity for me to finally hear where this person was coming from regarding the thing that they were sharing. There are still some things I need to work on, and they're not small. Even now as I was writing this section the blog post, I had to address the thoughts directly and repent in the moment.

In my opinion, true Christians are always working on themselves, their thoughts, and their conduct. Whether or not you're in any form of professional therapy, the work is still required of you. And of me. The good news is that, as you submit to God (and actually do it), He will do the heavy lifting of transforming you. But you have to let Him. As do I.

As for creating regular rhythms of spending time with God, I don't have the rhythm down (still), but I have the disciplines - a daily devotional, a daily guided prayer, a daily Bible reading (courtesy of The Bible Recap), and a daily Bible recap video (courtesy of the same).

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11, NKJV

A Heart That Follows God

When we plant apple seeds, we expect an apple tree to grow. It’s the seed and the roots that decide what kind of tree grows in the soil.

Similarly, when we belong to God we expect goodness and righteousness to grow in our lives. It is the fruit of our actions that tells us what kind of seeds we’ve planted.

One of the ways we can identify the work of God in our life is by watching what type of fruit we produce. A sign of a growing and godly life is a heart that desires to live and act in accordance with God’s Word. Only someone who has spent time with God will produce that type of action in their life.

John cautions us to be mindful of what type of fruit our lives produce. When we truly belong to God, and we spend time with Him, our lives will naturally produce goodness and right living.

The goal is not to be prideful about how many good deeds we do, but instead, to cultivate a heart that wants to selflessly do good to others in the name of Jesus. We may not be perfect, but our hearts should desire to follow God.

Take a moment to think about your thoughts and actions over the past week. Do they reflect a heart that has been in a close relationship with God? Think of some steps you can take to create regular rhythms of spending time with God.

https://bible.com/bible/59/3jn.1.11.ESV