💖Encouraging Mondays: Building Ourselves Up in Faith
💖 Encouraging Mondays
📅 September 14, 2026
🎯 Building Ourselves Up in Faith
📖Opening Scripture
Jude 1:20–21 (NLT)
“But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
💛 Reflection
Spiritual growth does not happen accidentally.
Our relationship with God is a gift, and our salvation comes through Jesus Christ—not through our ability to earn it. Yet as we grow in our relationship with God, we also have a responsibility to be intentional about nurturing our faith.
Jude gives us several important directions:
Build.
Pray.
Remain.
Wait with expectation.
There is movement in those words.
They describe people who are continuing to grow while remaining completely dependent upon God.
💛 Building Takes Time
Think about what it means to build something.
A strong house is not constructed by placing one brick on the ground and walking away.
There is a foundation.
Then another piece is added.
And another.
And another.
Our faith develops over time too.
Every time we spend time in God’s Word, we are strengthening our foundation.
Every time we pray instead of allowing worry to consume us, we are turning our attention toward God.
Every time we obey God when obedience is difficult, we are learning to trust Him.
Every time we remember how God has carried us through something before, we have another reminder that we can trust Him now.
And every time we recognize that we have gotten off course and turn back toward God, we continue growing.
That does not mean every day will feel like tremendous spiritual progress.
Some seasons of growth are noticeable.
Others are quiet.
Sometimes God is teaching us something new.
Sometimes He is taking something we already know and helping us understand it more deeply.
Sometimes growth looks like moving forward.
And sometimes growth means standing firmly on what God has already taught us when everything around us is trying to pull us away.
💛 Prayer Keeps Us Connected
Jude also reminds us to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is not simply another item on a spiritual checklist.
Prayer is part of our relationship with God.
We bring Him our gratitude.
Our questions.
Our fears.
Our needs.
Our decisions.
Our weaknesses.
Our hopes.
Our concerns for other people.
And sometimes we come before God without knowing exactly what to say.
We do not have to manufacture perfect prayers.
The Holy Spirit helps us as we seek God.
Sometimes our prayers may be long.
Sometimes they may be only a few words.
What matters is that we continue coming to God.
💛 Keep Growing in God’s Love
Spiritual maturity should never lead us to believe that we need God less.
If anything, growth should make us increasingly aware of how much we need Him.
We never graduate from needing God’s Word.
We never outgrow prayer.
We never become so spiritually mature that we no longer need the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
We never reach a point where we have learned everything there is to learn about God.
There is always room to grow.
There are still areas where God can strengthen us.
There are still truths we may understand intellectually that we need to live more consistently.
There are still places where we need greater surrender.
There are still opportunities to deepen our prayer lives.
And there are still opportunities to encourage someone else.
💛 Familiarity Should Not Become Complacency
Sometimes we have heard the Scriptures.
We know the Bible stories.
We know how to pray.
We attend church.
We know Christian language.
And without realizing it, something that once engaged our hearts can become routine.
We can read without really reflecting.
Pray without really engaging.
Listen without applying.
Hear God’s Word without allowing it to challenge us.
That is why intentionality matters.
We can ask ourselves:
Am I simply familiar with the things of God, or am I continuing to grow in my relationship with God?
The goal is not to create another list of spiritual obligations.
It is relationship.
We read God’s Word because we want to know Him.
We pray because we want to communicate with Him.
We worship because He is worthy.
We obey because we trust Him.
We listen because His direction matters.
And when we recognize an area where we have become less intentional, we can begin again.
💛 We Build Each Other Up Too
Our spiritual growth is personal, but it was never intended to become completely isolated.
Jude speaks about building each other up.
We need encouragement.
And we can become encouragers.
Sometimes one Scripture shared at the right moment strengthens someone.
Sometimes a prayer reminds another person that they are not carrying their burden alone.
Sometimes telling someone how God brought us through a difficult season gives them hope while they are walking through theirs.
Sometimes simply showing up matters.
We may never know how God uses something we say, something we share, a prayer we pray, or the way we live to strengthen someone else’s faith.
As we grow, we can help others grow too.
💛 Keep Eternity in View
Jude also points us toward eternal life through Jesus Christ.
That perspective matters.
Our lives are not only about what happens today.
Some things that seem enormous right now will not matter eternally.
And some things we may be tempted to neglect carry much greater significance than we realize.
Our relationship with God matters.
Our faith matters.
Our obedience matters.
Our prayers matter.
How we love people matters.
How we use what God has entrusted to us matters.
So we continue building.
Not anxiously.
Not trying to earn salvation.
Not attempting to prove ourselves worthy of God’s love.
But intentionally.
Prayerfully.
Dependently.
One faithful step at a time.
🙏🏼 Today’s Prayer
Gracious and Faithful LORD,
Thank You for the gift of faith and for continually inviting us into a deeper relationship with You.
Thank You for Your Word, for prayer, and for the Holy Spirit who guides and strengthens us as we grow.
May we remain intentional about spending time with You and learning more about who You are.
Give us a hunger for Your Word and hearts that desire to apply Your truth to our lives.
May our prayer lives continue growing as we bring You our gratitude, our concerns, our decisions, our hopes, and everything that concerns us.
Thank You that we do not have to produce perfect prayers or perfect spiritual growth. Thank You for meeting us as we continue seeking You.
Guard us against becoming so familiar with spiritual routines that our hearts stop being fully engaged.
Show us where greater growth, surrender, obedience, or trust is needed, and may we willingly respond to Your direction.
Thank You also for the people You place around us. May our words, prayers, actions, and testimonies encourage someone else and help strengthen their faith.
Keep our hearts focused on Jesus Christ and the eternal hope we have in You.
May we continue building upon the foundation You have given us, one faithful step at a time.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
🤔💛 Reflection Questions
What am I currently doing intentionally to strengthen my relationship with God?
Is there one area of my spiritual life where God may be calling me to become more intentional?
💛 Living It Out
This week, identify one area of your relationship with God that you would like to strengthen.
Perhaps it is:
Reading and studying God’s Word.
Prayer.
Worship.
Listening quietly before God.
Applying Scripture.
Obedience in an area God has been addressing.
Fellowship with other believers.
Encouraging someone else’s faith.
Choose something specific and manageable.
Then ask:
“LORD, what is one faithful step I can take to strengthen this area of my relationship with You?”
Then take that step.
Not ten steps.
Not an entire spiritual overhaul.
One faithful step.
If you want to strengthen your prayer life, perhaps intentionally spend some time talking with God each day.
If you want to spend more time in Scripture, choose a passage or book of the Bible and begin reading consistently.
If God has been dealing with you about something, respond to what He has already shown you.
If someone comes to mind who may need encouragement, reach out.
At the end of the week, consider what you noticed.
What did God teach you?
Where did you notice growth?
What would you like to continue?
Faith is built over time.
Keep adding another faithful step.
🍎 Temple Care
Intentionality matters in Temple Care too.
Just as spiritual strength develops through repeated practices, many habits that support our physical and emotional well-being develop gradually.
One nourishing meal does not establish an entire lifestyle.
One walk does not create a consistent movement routine.
One good night’s sleep does not correct months of inadequate rest.
But one healthy choice can become the beginning of another.
And another.
And another.
Instead of becoming overwhelmed by everything we believe needs improvement, we can ask:
“What is one healthy practice I can begin strengthening?”
Perhaps it is drinking more water.
Moving our bodies consistently and appropriately.
Eating nourishing foods.
Creating a healthier sleep routine.
Taking appropriate opportunities to rest.
Managing our time differently.
Paying attention to stress.
Keeping needed medical appointments.
Or simply becoming more consistent with something we already know supports our well-being.
Temple Care does not have to become another source of pressure or perfectionism.
Our bodies are entrusted to our care, and we can honor God through ordinary, intentional choices.
We do not have to rebuild everything in one day.
We can begin with one faithful choice.
💛 Encouragement for Today
Do not underestimate what God can develop through consistent faithfulness.
Sometimes we want dramatic spiritual growth.
We want to immediately become stronger.
More disciplined.
More knowledgeable.
More patient.
More trusting.
But much of spiritual growth happens through ordinary moments of choosing God again and again.
Opening the Bible when no one is watching.
Praying when we do not feel particularly spiritual.
Choosing obedience when another option would be easier.
Returning to God when we recognize that we have wandered.
Encouraging someone who needs hope.
Trusting God for another day.
Those moments are building something.
You may not always see the growth immediately.
But keep building.
Keep praying.
Keep remaining in God’s love.
Keep depending upon the Holy Spirit.
Keep encouraging others.
And keep eternity in view.
You do not have to build your entire spiritual life today.
Take the next faithful step with God.
Then continue building from there.
💛 Today’s Proclamation
My faith is being built as I continue walking with God.
I will remain rooted in His Word.
I will pray and depend upon the Holy Spirit.
I will not allow familiarity to become spiritual complacency.
I will remain teachable, willing to grow, surrender, obey, and trust God.
I will encourage others as God gives me opportunities.
I do not have to accomplish everything at once.
I will take the next faithful step.
I will keep building.
I will keep praying.
I will keep growing.
And I will keep my heart focused on Jesus Christ.
💞 Much love for you all!
💞😊 Have a Blessed, Safe, Wonderful Day, Week, and Life!
