Maybe it’s just the competitor in me, but I love the challenge that the apostle Peter throws down here:
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
This apostle wants us to have a spiritual growth mindset, to see this year as potentially our best year ever of following Jesus.
In my experience, most of that growth happens through three key disciplines—church, community, and the Bible. Lock down these three holy habits in your schedule and serious change is likely on the way. God will work in you and through you.
1. Church
One of the sweet benefits of church is that you get preached at. Your pastor gets to choose a passage that you didn’t get to pick, meaning that God will have the chance to give you a message he knows you need, one that bluntly opens your eyes to the seriousness of your sin and/or soothes your soul with the constant mercy found in the gospel. So whatever church looked like for you last year, can I challenge you to show up once more each month this year? Put yourself in front of biblical teaching, and let your heavenly Father speak to you.
2. Community
Most of your growth this year will happen among God’s people, and most of their growth this year will happen because of you. The Bible has lots of passages urging you to do life with others—Iron sharpens iron; two are better than one; etc. Here’s my challenge—Live this year in the light of an open, honest, transparent Christian community. No hiding. No secrets. Tell them the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, the inspiring and the embarrassing parts of your life. Plants grow best in the light. You will too.
3. The Bible
Recently, a study conducted of 400,000 Christians revealed that those who engaged with the Bible four or more times a week saw significant life change. Feelings of loneliness dropped 30%, alcoholism dropped 57%, relational issues (especially in marriage) dropped by 40%, pornography and other sexual sins dropped 62%, and feeling spiritually stagnant dropped 60%. Do you have a plan to read the Word of God this year? You could do a chapter of the Bible when you wake up, or read the Time of Grace daily email. We live in a world of
endless options, but don’t let the variety of choices paralyze you. Pick one, even if it’s just a few minutes each day, and let God’s truth light up your life.
A warning, though. The devil will bring out his best weapons—busyness, distraction, procrastination—to stop you from adopting these three habits. He knows they will connect your soul to the gospel moment by moment, keeping you tethered to Jesus’ unfailing love for you and empowering you to live out your faith in ways that build God’s kingdom.
Don’t listen to the enemy. Choose growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. You’ll never regret it.
I’m praying that the Spirit would inspire you to take a step in Jesus’
direction today. May 2026 be a year for you to grow!
—Pastor Mike
Time of Grace is a faithful partner of The Bolick Foundation