Nuts and Bolts of Growing in Faith

So I write a lot of theological and principle stuff, but today I want to hit some nuts and bolts type stuff. Stuff that works in everyday life. I was asked once if I have ever seen God and my answer was "yes". The person asked was a little taken back, wondering where and how I saw God. I told him that God is seen in the person of Jesus. That Jesus said when we've seen Him, we've seen the Father. I've seen Jesus in His body, the church. The church is the visible incarnational representative of Christ on the earth. When you see the church, you see Jesus.

To get closer to God, we get closer to the church. I'm not talking about being at every event and hanging out in the building whenever the doors are open. Those are fine, but being closer to the join means getting close to His people. There are some things you need to do. First, you gotta be there and worship with, study with and celebrate with the people. It may be a small group, Sunday School, mission opportunity or a Sunday morning worship service. You need to be there with the people. Second, you need to contribute. Talk to people, pray, and sing, and serve, and work, and be open and sharing. Get to know people, find mature Christians and talk with them, spend time with them and learn from them.

When the Pastor preaches on Sunday, pay attention. Listen and take notes and follow along in your Bible. Talk to your family and friends about the message. Meditate on it and let it get into your heart. Spend time reading the passage that was preached from. Spend time in your Bible reading and studying and understanding what it really says. Find some tools like commentaries and study Bibles.

We grow muscles by using them. We grow faith by using it. We pray and read scripture and attend worship, but there are things we can do that really will cause great growth. Evangelism and sharing your faith will do amazing things for your faith. When you begin to share with others what God is doing in and through you, it will bless you more than you can imagine. It's simple as just telling people that God is good because He loves you. Tell someone today that God is good. Tell them that Jesus loves them.

Nuts and bolts, practical. Fall in love with the church, love people, learn all you can and share it with others. If you do these things, I guarantee your spiritual life will become the most fulfilling part of your life.