Faith, Joyful Life

Growing Your Faith

Michele Kearns

Over the years people have emailed or commented that they wish they had my faith. Well, my faith has been pretty weak. Oh I’ve understood John 3:16 since I was a kid.

 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 (KJV)

But it wasn’t until after Joe passed that I started working on growing my faith. The path has been long with many twists and turns, ups and downs and darkness along the way.

Sure I went to church before he passed but you can’t grow your faith just by going to church and hearing a sermon. You have to do the work.

This article list seven New Year’s Resolutions for growing your faith. While they are all good resolutions, there are 7 of them. That is a lot to keep. So I recommend working on just two – read the Bible and pray.

Reading

There are many different versions of the Bible the New Living Translation (NLT) and the New International Version (NIV) are good ones to start with if you are new. If you’ve been a long time Christian, you may want to read the King James Version (KJV).

Praying

Don’t know what to pray? Pray the Psalms. A lot of them are filled with anguish (Psalm 77) but by the end, the Psalmist is filled with hope. Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance and Psalm 23 is comfort and reassurance for soothing your soul. Here is one list of prayers.

Serving and Giving

Now if you already have daily prayer and Bible reading habit, then work on the remaining five resolutions. Just remember that serving does not mean serving only at church but in your daily life. How do you serve your co-workers, your customers, and your family?

Giving does not mean only money. It also means giving of your time and your talents. You can give a homemade quit to an engaged couple or crochet a throw for someone in a nursing home. There are many ways to live out a giving life.

May you find a time of day that works for both daily Bible reading and praying so that your faith maybe built up.

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Bio: Michele Kearns is the founder and HUG© (Hope Unites Globally) Award-Winner of JoyReturns. She shares her adventures hoping to inspire widows to move through grief and rebuild their lives. Michele is the amateur photographer behind the blog OgleOhio.com.