Scriptures offer pathway to a stronger faith
Gold. Silver. Diamonds. Faith?
Yes, of all the precious things in short supply these days, genuine faith in Christ deserves a place near the top of the list.
Jesus told his disciples that in the days preceding his return, faith in him will be scarce: “… when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).
It seems we live in such a time. People of faith increasingly are mocked and caricatured as extremists.
To take a stand for truth on the moral issues of our day – gay marriage, abortion, the erosion of traditional family values – is no longer seen as honorable. Today, a person of faith is seen more and more as someone to laugh at.
Centuries ago, the same thing troubled the prophet Jeremiah, who lamented that his countryman were so compromised and sinful that they’d forgotten how to blush.
We, too, live in serious, exciting times. Now, more than ever, Christians have a need to stoke the fire of their faith in Jesus.
He is the way to forgiveness of sin. He is the one truth in a world that argues whether truth even exists. He is the key to life itself.
Weak, waning faith is the offspring of a Christian’s marriage to the world. And it plagues every believer in one form or another, present company included.
Happily, the Scriptures point to a ready remedy for faith in need of revival.
Does your faith, and the life it produces, need a jump-start? Stop listening to the messages of the world around you and consider what your Bible tells you:
“Ask the Lord to bolster your faith and protect you from doubt. Faith is divinely given to those who seek it from its source – God himself: “For by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Rest assured that God desires our faith to grow, and he delights in giving his children what they seek with a pure heart. Prayer is the very breath of Christian living.
“Immerse yourself in the Scriptures. Truth is not the result of asking a lot of well-meaning people what they think about something. Nor is it the result of compromising with every new idea that comes along for the sake of tolerance.
Truth is spelled out in fairly plain words in the Scriptures: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
“Maintain meaningful relationships with other Christians. Our faith blooms in communion with others who love and follow Jesus.
We will starve spiritually if we isolate ourselves from the church, for whatever reason: “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 11:24-25).
“Keep your eyes on Christ and not on your circumstances: “Set your mind in things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).
“Take out the garbage. Sin builds barriers between us and God, and other Christians.
It destroys relationships and robs us of an effective witness in the world: “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. … If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:6-7).
A strong and growing faith in Christ energizes us, giving our lives purpose and direction. Faith may well be in short supply in the world, but it need not be that way with us.
Hebrews 12:1-2 puts it this way: “Therefore … let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.”