It is that time of year! As Christmas finishes up and a New Year is on the horizon, we do a lot of reflecting. We start thinking about how we can have a better year next year.
Why not plan and work on goals for growing your faith? People are in the habit of making a resolution for goals around finances, health or even bucket list items… but what about their faith?
Isn’t your relationship with Jesus, your eternity, more important to plan and grow than going to the gym or skipping desserts? Can growing your faith be at least one thing on the list of goals you have for the year?
Here are 6 things you can start doing to take steps to improve your faith journey. Think of these as the basic Christian habits that you can adopt. Making these habits real in your life will change your life and potentially change the life of the people around you too.
One important disclaimer for any new Christians out there, and a reminder for anyone who has been a believer for a while, these are not checkmarks for how to earn your salvation or get a fast pass to heaven. You already have that if you sincerely accepted Jesus as your savior. This isn’t a magical list of things to do to earn anything or prove anything to anyone. These are things you can do to grow your belief and be more connected to Jesus in your heart, mind and daily living. These are personal and between you and Jesus but they are also things that other Christians are doing so there is plenty of support out there and people cheering for you to succeed.
So buckle up cause here we go.
- Reading
- The Bible – this is the way. It is the only way we have to know what God’s plan is for us, to know who Jesus is and how to live a Christian life.
- If anyone listening is unsure if they are saved, unsure of their belief this is a great place to start to help you understand. The events in scripture tell us about God, who he is, who Jesus is and how he lived and loved others. It is our source for instructions on being created human, the power of God, how to avoid the enemy’s tactics in order to live well and the intentional plan to live forever in heaven. It is kind of a big deal. Bottom line… every Christian needs to read the Bible.
- Figure out how to start reading every day. Renew your mind daily with God’s word.
- Romans 12:2 (ESV) – Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
- Matthew 22:37 (ESV) – And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
- Make reading the Bible your life-multivitamin.
- Look for about reading the Bible at goodnewsatwork.com/reading as well as podcasts on this topic that has all kinds of ideas on how to integrate this habit in to your daily routine.
- Learning
- So once your start reading the Bible you are going to realize pretty quick that well… it’s complicated and at times hard to understand and sometimes hard to remember. That is why the next big thing you can do is start learning how to understand it so you know how to apply it to your life.
- Learning comes in many forms including having someone teach you like a pastor in a church or using some references to help you understand the context of the authors and cultures like a commentary or a study guide.
- Every Christian has to take the initiative to make the Bible a living and breathing resource that they can rely on. We don’t become closer to Jesus by just sitting at home on the couch. It requires intentional acts to move in that direction.
- There is plenty of help available to you if you are willing to go after it. Be sure to look at goodnewsatwork.com/learn, or on podcasts on this topic, to get specific tips or ideas on how to read, learn and understand the Bible. There is even a free bonus on memorizing scripture that you won’t want to miss.
- Serving
- There is no particular order to these goal ideas but I do recommend picking a few items. Once you start reading and understanding the Bible you will see that we are encouraged to serve one another. We are all given gifts and talents from God and He wants use to use them as part of the church body. Each person has something they bring to the group that God can use for His purposes. Gifts help us contribute and help others .
- 1 Peter 4:10 ESV – As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
- Mark 10:45 (ESV) – For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve
- Even Jesus said he came to serve and that should he is our role model. Every Christian should be serving others in some capacity. You can learn what your Spiritual Gifts are using several free online tests. A list of them are available at goodnewsatwork.com/serve and you can download a free bonus with all sorts of ideas for how your can serve.
- There is no particular order to these goal ideas but I do recommend picking a few items. Once you start reading and understanding the Bible you will see that we are encouraged to serve one another. We are all given gifts and talents from God and He wants use to use them as part of the church body. Each person has something they bring to the group that God can use for His purposes. Gifts help us contribute and help others .
- Praying
- One of the best ways to have a great a relationship with anyone is to have great communication with them. The next item on the list is praying which is essentially communicating with Jesus. The more you talk to him the better the relationship. The better the relationship, the better you will be able to function in the world. We all need prayer and Jesus tells us to do it a lot in the Bible.
- Philippians 4:6 (ESV) – do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
- Romans 12:12 (ESV) – Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
- Mark 11:24 (ESV) – Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
- Praying gives us an opportunity to talk to our creator who knows about our situation, knows our desires and knows what we are struggling with. He has the power to change our situation but often His power and love change us in our situation instead.
- Prayer allows us to be connected to Jesus and there is peace and comfort in that.
- All Christians need to be praying every day and all the time. Check out the blog at goodnewsatwork.com/prayer or listen to the podcasts to learn more about developing a prayer habit and learn ways to integrate this important action into your daily life.
- One of the best ways to have a great a relationship with anyone is to have great communication with them. The next item on the list is praying which is essentially communicating with Jesus. The more you talk to him the better the relationship. The better the relationship, the better you will be able to function in the world. We all need prayer and Jesus tells us to do it a lot in the Bible.
- Community
- Time to get off the couch! Attending services every Sunday is just the tip of the iceberg. Developing deeper relationships with people that are like minded can be powerful.
- Not only are church communities known for having wonderful food opportunities in social gatherings, they also produce lifelong friendships and a network of people that all love Jesus.
- This community helps you learn and understand. They pray for you and they become part of your support system when challenges come your way. Every Christian needs a Christian community.
- Hebrews 10:25 (ESV) – not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
- Sharing
- And just for you, we have a 6th bonus habit you can develop. As you grow and learn during your faith journey, your belief with increase, your relationship with Jesus will grow stronger and you will want to start telling others about your experience.
- Sharing the Good News of Jesus can happen in many ways but Jesus made it very clear that he wants us to do this. We are called to make disciples.
- Matthew 28:19 (ESV) – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
- All Christians should be demonstrating or talking about Jesus.
There you have it! 6 habits you should be doing to grow your faith. This may not represent all the things you can do but it is certainly a great place to start. And starting is the most important action you can take. Talk to your Christian friends about what ideas they have or how they take intention actions to grow their faith. This isn’t an exact formula so you have to figure out what works best for you and Jesus knowing the the goal is growth and drawing close to Him.
Take a moment and ask God through prayer how you might apply what you just heard and Get ready to change your life.
There is a dedicated podcast on each of these 6 subjects where we can go deeper and review some practical ways to set goals or develop habits around each topic. Be sure to check them out. If you want these 6 items we just went through sent to you in email, along with all kinds of other helpful tips on developing Christian habits, be sure to subscribe to our Good Newsletter on our website at www.goodnewsatwork.com/subscribe.
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