
What is Intentional Living?
Our life has meaning. We have a purpose. And as followers of Christ, we live differently than those of the world because of the transforming truth of the Gospel message (Galatians 2:20). This transforming truth brings us out of the trespasses of death and into the reality of eternal salvation (Ephesians 2:1-5, Colossians 2:13, Titus 3:3-5, Romans 6:6). Our living, then, should reflect this transformation! As a caterpillar no longer crawls for a living and instead flies as a butterfly, we as Christians are called to live differently when under the faith.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
So now the question begs, “how do we live this new life?”
How do we live intentionally?
Well, the good news is that He has already spoken to us about what and how to follow Him. What better source than the living, spoken, word of our almighty Creator? The very words that created the whole universe guides you through His divinely inspired, inerrant scripture. We must read His Word to know Him more. And in knowing Him more, we will know His will and our call. We come to faith in Jesus through the Gospel message in His Word! So, read your Bible intentionally. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
God, being a gracious, good father to us, has given us heavenly instruction through the Bible. All this to say, we cannot live intentionally if we do not know how to live through the Word. The Word is God. The Word is who He is. The Word is how we know Him intimately. You cannot separate followers of Christ and the Bible.
Bolstering your Living
Understanding that our faith deepens in our understanding of God, and our understanding of God comes from our understanding of Scripture, what must we do?
We must be spiritually disciplined in order to live intentionally.
As any discipline goes, it is something you must do (and have) in order to progress towards your goal. I’d be remiss to not include, well-practiced spiritual disciplines understand that we as Christians do things not necessarily because we were told to do them, but because we have such joy in our God we yearn to obey and please our Father for His glory.
You might know a few spiritual disciplines already. I’ll list them here:
Prayer
Bible Study
Fasting
Meditation
Worship
Service
Confession
Submission
Stewardship
Fellowship
But let’s go with this, spiritual disciplines can be summed up from Joshua 1:7-8.
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."
Read Scripture. Meditate on and pray Scripture. Practice Scripture. Essentially, all spiritual disciplines fall into this. These three practices are the basis for all other spiritual disciplines. Again:
Read Scripture
Meditate on and pray Scripture
Practice Scripture
It is crucial to remember that anyone can do these things. But the key is having the right heart and posture in spiritual disciplines to be like Jesus and to be with Jesus.
Bringing it Together
Being renewed in Christ, intentional living is a must. When you get baptized, you declare to those around you and the world that you are different. You are a citizen of the Heavenly King and follow the commands of this King!
Understand what these commands are by reading Scripture. Furthermore, read with a trusted mentor or your discipler in order to get a better grasp of what God is saying. Meditate and pray on what you’ve read for enlightenment and wisdom. Finally, allow your heart to be molded and practice the goodness He has commanded!
Applicational questions:
How can I be more intentional in my prayer life?
How can I be more intentional in making Bible study/reading a daily routine?
How can I be more intentional in applying Scripture to my everyday life?
How can I be more intentional in my fasting life?
How can I be more intentional in worshiping our Lord outside of church?
How can I be more intentional in utilizing my giftings to glorify God?

Jacob Vang has been a part of Covenant City Church since 2020 where he has taken upon many opportunities in the church to serve and grow. He enjoys engaging in C3's Eldership Track, Bible studies, and discipleship groups where he has fostered a love for teaching and reading God's Truth. Jacob attributes his introduction of the love for the knowledge of Truth to his father who was diligent in studying God's Word.
When he is not communing with the church, you can find Jacob spending time with his beautiful wife and pursuing his career in aviation. And, when he is on a roadtrip, he prefers to listen to John MacArthur sermons more than anything else.
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