The Minimum Daily Adult Requirement

I decided to start positing some of my daily devotions from the past year. They came from the book "Quiet Moments Alone with God" By: Emilie Barnes. Some really stood out to me and I decided to share.


Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:4-9 / Key Verse: Ephesians 2:8-9

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.

A couple of years ago I had a young college student ask me "How much beer can I drink as Christian?" Others have asked: How long should I read my bible each day? How long should I pray each day? How much money do I have to give to the church? Do I have to sing in the choir to be a good christian? How many times a week must I be in church? Do I have to_____,_____,_____,? on and on we go. We all want to know what the "minimum daily adult requirement" is for being a christian. What do we really have to do, day by day to get by? Sue Gregg and I have written a lot of cookbooks dealing with God-given principles for a balanced life-style regarding food. The American consumer is very sophisticated when it comes to reading labels. Some even have small calculators with them as they stroll the aisle with shopping carts under tow. They can tell you unit costs,what kind of sugar is being used, what the derivative of the fat content is, how many calories, how much sodium, what is the nutritional information per serving, and yes, even the percentages of the minimum daily adult requirement. If we want to know about the daily requirements in regard to our food, should we not also be concerned about this in our christian walk? Of course! It only makes sense that we would definitely want to know how long christians pray, how long they read their bible, how much money they should put in the offering plate, how many church activities they participate in each week, etc. Paul addresses these very basic questions in Ephesians. He very clearly states,"for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast"(verses 8-9). Christ has freed us from this bondage of minimum daily adult requirements! It is not of works, but of grace. You might ask, "Do I do nothing as a Christian? Aren't there some requirements?" The Scriptures challenge us to be like Christ. If I am to grow as unto the lord, I need to study to see what he did and how he did it. For example, I find him studying the law. I see him meeting with other believers. I see him praying regularly. I see him serving others around him in need. I see him giving to those in need. Christ did not do them because he was told to do them. He did them because he wanted to do them. Seek from the holy spirit what your minimum daily adult requirement is. It is different for every one of us.

Father God, help me not to worry about how long or how often. Put a strong desire in my soul to spend time with you today in prayer and study. Let time stand still and let me forget all about my watch and schedule.--Amen


I really liked this daily devotional, because I think so many times we get caught up in how long we should pray or how many times a week to be at church that we lose sight of what is important. I plan to continue to post devotionals and stories that spoke to me, I hope you can get something from them the way I did!

Be Blessed!!