To Keep Our Faith Strong, We Need to Do 6 Personal Checks.
Because I thought I was an expert on Christianity, I wrote this piece. Instead, think of it as my way of putting my own twist on the eternal command to encourage one another in Hebrews 3:13.
Perhaps you've noticed that more and more darkness is creeping into our society. In our society, addiction has spread from Tik Tok to video games to the acceptance of marijuana. In sex trafficking rings, our children are taken away from us. Our tweens are bombarded by gender identity confusion. Eastern religions and mysticism are competing for our spiritual attention.
When we live in a world like ours, true biblical faith could fall out of our hands as quickly as the name of a friend we just met.
Then, can we be honest? People of all faiths should read this, not just people who are just starting out in their faith. For example, I can't imagine giving up on Jesus after all he's done, with salvation taking the top spot. But the Bible tells me to look at my faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). Even if you've been walking with the Lord for a long time, let's keep an eye on our faith and make sure it's healthy.
As Paul said, "Be careful not to fall if you think you are strong" (1 Corinthians 10:12, NLT).
Here are six ways to keep our faith in Jesus even when things try to shake it.
1. God is on your side.
Does this sound like something you've heard before? It's to say that we put God first. When things go wrong or change quickly, this commitment is put to the test.
It's possible that you've prayed hard for the promotion at work, but your coworker got it instead. Asked God to heal a friend or family member, but the person has died. Life happens, and it takes away your hope.
No matter what, always go with God.
God is still good even when things don't go the way you want them to. Why did God let certain things happen? Rail against God if it helps, but you know what? God is still good.
His love can't change (Psalm 102:27, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). He's always been good.
Then why do we have to deal with not meeting our expectations? In order to get the best answer, ask God and be ready to hear what He says. God is the only one who knows the truth about every hope that has been broken.
"God is pure light." None of him will have any dark parts at all (1 John 1:5, TPT).
2. Eat the Word every day.
There is a lot to do. :) However, the Bible is the one book that we can't leave out of our daily schedule because it's important. Just a few minutes in its pages can set the tone of your day and change your mood. I'm not sure where to start. Google "Bible reading plans." Then, choose one. Angry about not getting much out of it? Here are some ideas.
Bible reading is a habit that will grow on you the more you do it.
You can also ask God to give you an insatiable desire for God's Word, and you can do both. This kind of prayer is one that God likes, so it will be answered.
As the psalmist says, "Each [God's] commandment is right" (Psalm 119:128, NLT). Make a promise to ask God about them. Because the Bible is God's word, you can ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what you don't understand. After a long time, the Lord answered some of my questions about Him.
3. Stop giving in to Spiritual scams.
Mediums. Psychics. People who read Tarot cards. Witches and warlocks. Horoscopes. These are places and people that Christians don't need to think about or try to do.
Why?
Because a bigger person lives inside of you all the time. There's a man called the Holy Spirit, and he used his power to raise Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11).
Is there anything the Holy Spirit can't do for me? He was able to raise Jesus from the dead in one second.
When you're curious about the future, ask the Resident God inside of you what to expect (John 14:26, John 16:13). As a member of the Godhead, he has more wisdom and knowledge than anyone who looks into spiritual realities without consulting God, which is what psychics do, because they don't talk to God at all.
4. Become a member of a Church
One of my clients has a weird work schedule. As a result, she alternates between seeing me via telehealth and meeting with me in person. Her favorite chair was the brown tufted chair in the corner. Every time she came to work, she would sink into it. She would touch the leather surface and breathe deeply.
She seems to be having a great time in my office.
How can worshiping God in His house be any less important if my client is so moved by meeting me?
There's a reason Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to stop meeting together. Even after you accept Christ, it's hard to deal with life's problems on your own. This is why you need to go to a church near you.
COVID is next.
This is a good time to pray about whether or not you want to go back to church in person, if you haven't already.
streaming an online church service doesn't mean that other churchgoers will be able to find out about your name. Galatians 6:2 says that we should help each other bear our burdens, but it's almost impossible when the people who are supposed to help you don't even know you exist, let alone what you're going through.
There's no better way to get a sense of God's presence than to see the faith of the people around you or to hear the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). Being in a group of people who believe in the same thing is how our own faith gets renewed (Romans 1:11-12).
5. Disregard the mistakes of other Christians.
If so, have you heard about it? In this case, it could be people in your own group of friends and also high-profile, well-known Christians. News about ministers who slept with someone other than their spouse, stole money from church funds, or changed their religious beliefs might be interesting to you, too!
I know people who were discouraged when a well-known Christian apologist was found out to be a serial sexual abuser. If their faith was real now that they thought their teacher had a double life.
Because they're so confused, but here's the thing: This isn't a bad thing. Christians, even prominent leaders, can be tempted to do things they don't want to do. Because if the shepherd is hit, the sheep will run away. People who are more visible might even be more tempted to embrace sin (Zechariah 13:7, Matthew 26:31).
Anyone we've put on a pedestal needs to come down to earth. Our faith won't be hurt even if they fall.
6. View Sexual Sin as Dangerous.
When we do bad things and don't try to change, we get farther away from God (Isaiah 59:2, Psalm 66:18). In this sense, sexual sins are like any other sins.
This is different from other types of sin: "Whoever commits adultery against their own body commits adultery against their own soul"
How does being sexually pure help us to keep our faith safe from being lost?
Your body is a house for the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of you and was given to you by God (1 Corinthians 6:19, NIV). Having sexual relations outside marriage, which is God’s protective plan for humanity, means we’re accumulating debris within our vessels.
As a result, the Holy Spirit will become less sensitive to us. This makes it more easy to sin, which will then start the cycle all over again.
The last words
So that no one will become hardened against God. That's the main reason why we should encourage each other (NLT). In this verse, we can become hardened when we fall for the lies of sin.
But this also means we should be careful when a brother or sister in Christ tells us to do something. If their criticism is about something we've done that doesn't line up with biblical values, how about trying to ask God about what they say? If what they said is true, let's be humble and change our lives to fit what they said.
As we get closer to Jesus' return, let's keep cheering each other on as we grow closer to that day (Hebrews 10:25).