I sleep almost every night, and if I miss a night because of schedule, the next day, I am not worth dirt. The other day I went to bed at 7:00 pm and didn’t get up until 7:00 am; it was a delight. I usually don’t do that because I would toss and turn and not sleep, but that evening I was so tired that I slept like a baby. I eat almost every day, and usually, I eat three meals, and I have a weight problem because I love to eat. On our month-long bicycle trip, we showered almost every night, and if we missed one, we felt sticky, smelly, and very uncomfortable; showers were, Oh, such a delight! I have not had a cavity or a filling in my teeth for over 50 years, and I feel “not right” if I don’t brush my teeth daily.

Things we do daily are not necessarily drudgery, mindless repetition, duties, obligations, or legalism. They are often the key to our health and energy, sense of well-being, and joy. We do them regularly and faithfully because the benefits and blessings from those faithful basics are our energy sources.

Our physical life is a visible illustration of our spiritual life. Our physical health is tremendously influenced by our daily disciplines and habits, and our spiritual life and health even more so. Even though many of the disciplines of our physical life are not what I would call a delight, I do them almost every day because the benefits are almost immediately experienced, and the benefits are tremendous. One such discipline is physical exercise. It is a struggle while doing it, but the results are so apparent that I am making goals to do more; I love feeling good and energetic; therefore, I love exercising.

The problem for many is that the faithful practice of the basic spiritual disciplines is not as quickly connected to the benefits and blessings that result from doing them. The Bible is full of blessings promised to the person who faithfully reads, memorizes, and meditates on the Bible, but most are ignorant of them.

1 Peter 2:2
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

Psalms 119:165
Those who love Your law have great peace,
And nothing causes them to stumble.

Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

There are over fifty clearly stated blessings in the Bible promised to the person who faithfully reads, studies, and memorizes it so that they might live it. God’s blessings are conditional, that means that when we experience a blessing from God their is a reason.

James 1:25
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Many born-again Christians are living weak, fruitless, and joyless lives because they are not being faithful to the basic disciplines of the Christian life. According to their theology, the disciplines are just things you are supposed to do, and because we are saved by grace, no big deal if we don’t. They tend to believe that because our salvation is a free gift from God, neither earned nor deserved, that blessings from God are the same. God is our loving heavenly Father who will shower us with blessings, and if something goes wrong, it is the devil’s fault.

And when I say “many,” I really mean “most.”