“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.” (Romans 12:4–6 NKJV)

If you’re serious about becoming a strong and mature believer, you need to be plugged into your church in a meaningful way. Sometimes people treat churches like restaurants—with a consumer mentality. “There’s no reason to go to that church. We just went there two weeks ago. Let’s try another one instead.” But the church is not a restaurant. The church is a family, and you need to be a part of the family.

You also need to engage. Maybe one of the reasons some people feel as though they aren’t getting enough out of church is that they attend intermittently and don’t commit themselves. But if they would settle in and become a part of what God is doing, it would change for them.

If you’ve been attending a church for more than a couple of years, then you ought to be involved in a ministry of some kind. You may not be called to preach, but there are lots of other things to do. There is something for everyone. The Bible tells us, “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them” (Romans 12:4–6 NKJV).

It’s fine to come and be served in the church. But there must come a point when you grow up, spiritually speaking, and decide to start serving. To be more active and less passive in your approach to church. If you do, you’ll find that your church experience changes dramatically for the better. And not just for you, but also for your fellow church members.

Whether you realize it or not, you have something important to contribute to your local body of Christ. God has blessed you with a unique set of skills. If you don’t use them, it’s not fair to Him. It’s not fair to yourself. And it’s not fair to the people in your church who would be blessed by them. You can make a difference in your church, so you should make a difference.

If you want to grow in your relationship with Christ, don’t think of the church as them; think of it as us. Be a part of the family. Take the gifts that God has given you, develop them, and use them for His glory. Church will completely change for you if you stop coming as a spectator and instead join the team.

Reflection question: How can you become more engaged and involved in your church? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

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“Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’

‘We’ll come, too,’ they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.” (John 21:3 NLT)

One way to strengthen your Christian faith is to keep a proper perspective on failure. The Gospels describe two similar encounters between Jesus and His disciples that illustrate the importance of not giving failure the final word.

The first is found in Luke 5:1–11. To get some distance from the crowd that clamored to hear Him, Jesus boarded Peter’s boat and spoke to His followers a short distance from the shore. When He was done, He instructed Peter, who was a fisherman by trade, to head for deep waters to catch some fish. Peter explained to Jesus that he and his companions had been fishing all night but had failed to catch anything. Still, he obeyed the Lord’s command. And when he let down his nets, he caught so many fish that he could barely get them on board.

The second encounter, found in John 21, takes place after Jesus’ resurrection. The Lord had already appeared to some of the disciples. But He had given them no clear marching orders, so some of them went back to what they knew how to do: fish. They had been fishing all night on the Sea of Galilee and hadn’t caught anything.

It was early in the morning, probably still dark, when they saw a figure standing on the shore. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” (verse 5 NLT).

Throughout the Bible, God often asked probing questions when He wanted a confession. In the same way, Jesus was asking His disciples, “Did you catch anything? Have you been successful? Have things gone the way you had hoped they would go? Are you satisfied?”

Jesus knew the answer, of course. So, why did He want them to admit their failure? So that He could bring them to the place where they needed to be.

When they cast the net on the right side of the boat as Jesus told them to, their net became so heavy with fish that they couldn’t pull it in. The Lord was teaching the disciples an important lesson: Failure is often the doorway to real success.

It’s a lesson that believers today need to learn as well. We need to come to a point in our lives where we recognize that what we’re doing isn’t working. We need to say, “Lord, I’m not satisfied with the way my life is going. I’m tired of doing things my way. I want to do things Your way.” If you approach God in that way, He will extend His forgiveness to you. Then He will transform your life in ways you can’t imagine.

If you want to deepen your relationship with the Lord, admit your failures and hand the reins of your life to Him.

Reflection question: What failure or dissatisfaction would you like the Lord to transform in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

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Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. He said to them, ‘The Scriptures declare, “My Temple will be a house of prayer,” but you have turned it into a den of thieves.’” (Luke 19:45–46 NLT)

In our next set of devotions, we’re going to look at ways to “tune up” our spiritual lives—ways to strengthen and mature our relationship with the Lord. And we’re going to start with some early spring cleaning.

My wife, Cathe, and I are polar opposites when it comes to cleaning. My approach can be summed up by the procrastinator’s motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. Cathe’s approach is to constantly clean and organize so that over time, little messes don’t become big ones. Obviously, her approach is the better one.

In Luke 19 we find the story of Jesus’ cleaning the house of God as He went into the temple and drove out the moneychangers. These temple merchants were taking advantage of people and keeping them from God, and this angered Jesus.

This is the second time in Scripture that Jesus cleaned the temple. In John 2:13–17, we read that He used a whip to drive out the moneychangers. Little messes turn into big messes, so Jesus arrived to clean house again.

I believe there is a parallel to our own lives. When we come to Christ initially, we ask for His forgiveness, and He pardons us of all our wrongdoing. In fact, we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (NLT). What a wonderful thing it is to realize that God has forgiven us of all our sin. We are cleansed.

But as time passes, sometimes some of our old sins find their way back into our lives. Maybe they start small. But they don’t stay that way. They begin to grow and take up bigger and bigger parts of our life until they become a serious problem. The longer we wait to address them, the harder the cleanup is.

That’s why we must frequently examine our lives and deal with what we find instead of trying to excuse it. We must ask God to make us aware of things we may not see. We must also find accountability partners who will lovingly confront us when they see things in our lives that go against our Christian faith.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NLT).

The psalmist wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23–24 NLT).

Does your temple need cleansing? Are there some things in your life that shouldn’t be there? Are there some vices, some bad habits that have found their way back into your life? If so, deal with them now.

Don’t let little messes turn into big ones.

Reflection question: What are some little messes that you need to clean up in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.