Anyone can grow in their faith by doing the right things consistently. Three problems exist, however, that can prevent you from growing in your faith.
Faith Problem 1: You don’t understand Christian faith.
Many people equate faith with going to heaven. Their sole purpose for believing in Jesus Christ is so they don’t go to hell when they die. This belief is not Christian faith or discipleship.
The promise of eternal life is a result of discipleship. Heaven isn’t the reason for the discipleship.
Christianity is about following Jesus Christ. The Christian faith is about believing in Jesus as the Son of God. It is also about believing Jesus and how he taught us to live as people of faith. This is where many people stumble. They believe in Jesus but not enough to do what Jesus says.
Jesus teaches more about how to live your life than he does any promise of eternal life. Even when he did, he said things about changing your life. When you start following the teachings of Jesus and doing what Jesus told you to do, you can’t help but grow in your faith. Jesus designed it that way.
Faith Problem 2: You don’t spend enough time with God.
Your faith will be impeded if you do not spend time with God. There are a variety of ways to spend time with God. You can spend time with God through prayer, reading scripture, reading devotions, or meditating and thinking about the things of God. Anything that focuses your mind on God.
You can spend time with God by spending time with others discussing the things of God. If you really want to take your faith to the next level, spend time with others discussing the things of God while you do the things of God.
Faith Problem 3: You don’t understand your relationship with the world.
Jesus taught that we are to seek the Kingdom of God first, not the world. You cannot serve the world and God. You must choose one or the other.
The difficulty is we are dependent upon so much in the world. So how do you keep the world in its place?
Ask yourself these three questions before you make a decision about anything:
- Why am I doing this?
- What does this do for the Kingdom of God?
- Will this help me to live out my purpose in the Kingdom of God?
When you live your life on purpose for the Kingdom and less for personal pleasure or gain, your entire perspective on faith changes.
If you will avoid these three faith problems, your faith can and will grow.
