He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.
—LUKE 16:10
The Christian life is like a diet or a fitness program. Deciding to eat one hamburger will hardly cause me gain weight. My fitness (or lack thereof) results from thousands of small decisions. In the same way, spiritual growth (or the lack of it) results from a repeated cycle of learning, doing, and sharing (or not). Daily habits are the bricks that build the house of your life. I want to share habits that I and many others find helpful in building a Theopraxic life. Two helpful habits are daily Scripture reading and journaling and weekly conversations with an accountability partner.
In my daily personal time in Scripture, I read four to five chapters—a minimum of twenty-five chapters per week. From each day’s reading, I select one to four verses that the Lord particularly impresses upon me. Then I record insights in my journal regarding those few verses, using the acrostic SOAPS:
Scripture (Write the verses)
Observation (Write the main idea or paraphrase the verses)
Application (Determine what the Lord wants me to do or be or change)
Prayer (Write a prayer regarding the application)
Share (Write any person or persons with whom I will share the insight)
In addition, I talk regularly (usually weekly, on the phone or a video call) with an accountability partner. We discuss what the Lord has been showing us, how it has impacted us, whom we have been sharing with, and a whole range of general life accountability questions.
The accountability questions cover broad, ongoing issues related to living a sanctified life. They serve as an early warning system to alert me to areas where I am starting to walk in the flesh rather than in the Spirit. They help me recognize issues of concern before they become habitual or entrenched. Where issues arise, I can confess them to God and to my accountability partner and deal with them before they become major problems (JAMES 5:16).
An accountability partner should be of the same gender as you and committed to growing in his or her relationship with God. There also needs to be a mutual understanding of confidentiality. You can agree together on what passages of Scripture to read each week. During your meeting time, you will go over a set of questions regarding your life since you last met.
The questions I use are similar to those used by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in his famous accountability groups, and by my good friend Neil Cole in his Life Transformation Groups (LTGs).
Here are the questions I use:
1. How have your insights from last week’s reading shaped the way you think and live?
2. With whom did you share your insights from last week, and how was it received?
3. How have you seen God at work?
4. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?
5. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate sexual thoughts?
6. Have you acknowledged God’s ownership in your use of money?
7. Have you coveted anything?
8. Have you hurt someone’s reputation or feelings by your words?
9. Have you been dishonest or exaggerated anything in your words or actions?
10. Have you given in to an addictive (or lazy or undisciplined) behavior?
11. Have you been a slave to clothing, friends, work, or possessions?
12. Have you failed to forgive someone?
13. What worries or anxieties are you facing? Have you complained or grumbled? Have you maintained a thankful heart?
14. Have you been honoring, understanding, and generous in your important relationships?
15. What temptations in thought, word, or action have you faced, and how did you respond?
16. How have you taken opportunities to serve or bless others, especially believers?
17. Have you seen specific answers to prayer?
18. Did you complete the reading for the week?
Sometimes, in areas with low literacy levels, it will be necessary to make adjustments to these daily and weekly patterns. Instead of the list of questions, I ask people to memorize a few passages of Scripture (such as GALATIANS 5:19–23; 1 JOHN 2:15–16; 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4–7; 2 TIMOTHY 3:16–17) and use them as the basis for discussing issues of spiritual accountability. Rather than reading twenty-five or more chapters of Scripture per week, they listen to Scripture on their phones or an audio Bible.
As we discussed in the previous chapter, a large volume of Bible reading is essential to learn practical hermeneutics (i.e., Bible interpretation and application skills). One goal for every disciple of the Lord is to learn to interpret and apply Scripture for themselves. That is impossible without broad exposure to the Bible as a whole.
If you use the 3/3 pattern in your weekly church meetings, you are receiving regular doses of detailed examination of short passages. Using the 3/3 approach with a group of eight people typically takes about three hours to cover around twenty verses. Multi-chapter sessions are just not practical.
No amount of deep digging into brief passages will ever result in a well-rounded toolkit for interpreting Scripture. To pick up on important cues, such as the influence of the genre, clues about the original audience, the impact of context, and skill in comparing and contrasting passages, it is essential to take in large chunks of Scripture. You can learn about these aspects of biblical interpretation by hearing sermons or reading books, but to learn to interpret Scripture well for yourself you need to ingest longer passages. I can assure you that those who write or speak about key insights have done that. Notably, no other person can tell you exactly how the Lord wants you to apply Scripture. That can only come directly from Him. Being saturated with Scripture gives You a better foundation from which to hear Him.
It is certainly possible to consume large chunks of Scripture thoughtlessly, which is why the SOAPS approach is helpful. It helps to maintain a level of focus and an eye toward application as you complete your daily reading. It also provides an opportunity for a brief “deeper dive” each day.
I urge keeping a journal so that you can capture what you hear the Lord teaching you and encouraging you to apply and share with others.
The act of writing will help sink this into your mind. It will also permit you to review the journal from time to time to check for any unfinished commitments. If you have a perfect memory, then you don’t need a journal for this purpose. If you are like the rest of us and want to take seriously what the Lord impresses on you, then you need a journal.
Once you have done what He asked you to do, you never need to look at it again. Until you do what He asked, you need a reminder.
Remember, the ongoing issues and general principles will be dealt with in the accountability meetings. The journal is aimed more at the specific applications you ask the Holy Spirit to highlight in your 3/3 meetings and SOAPS readings.
As much as possible, the application items in the 3/3 process and SOAPS journaling should be framed as specific and observable applications, not principle-based concepts. We want to make a plan of action, not articulate a wish. It is more powerful to make a clear commitment, like “I will help my wife wash the dishes tonight,” than to say, “I should be more considerate of others.”
Initially, this may seem difficult, especially for people who have been Christians for a while. We are used to hearing principle-based applications from sermons and teaching. This is necessary because pastors and teachers need to make generic applications that are applicable to everyone. What we are seeking is instruction from the Lord on how He wants us personally to apply those general principles or concepts in our lives.
This is an essential step in terms of learning to hear His voice and identifying actions for which we can be held accountable.
Lord, help me to be faithful in the little things. Help me to build habits into my life to establish a virtuous cycle of learn, do, share, and repeat. Show me, specifically, what changes You want me to make in my daily and weekly routine.
Read the following questions, then pray and ask God what He wants you to learn and do. Listen quietly.
Review your journal. Are there any past commitments you have not completed? If needed, schedule revised completion dates.
1. Do my daily and weekly habits hold me accountable to grow in faithfulness? Which of the tools in this chapter might be helpful for me to use?
2. What specific actions does God want me to take in response to this chapter? (Note them in your journal and schedule them in your calendar.)
3. With whom (at least one name) does God want me to share what I have learned?
Ask the Lord to enable you to follow through on these commitments and to prepare the hearts of those with whom you intend to share insights.