And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.  Hebrews 11:6

We fully understand the idea that, for us to get in shape physically, we must work hard.  It takes exercising & eating well.  If we know that getting in shape takes serious effort, how can we think that we can grow in our faith without the same requirements?  Growing in our faith also takes both exercise & eating well! 

A Spiritual Diet

First, we must ingest the word of God.  Romans 10:17 says: ^"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."  For our faith to grow, we must first be constantly in the word.  Without studying out what God has to say about life & what he desires for us, we cannot know how to live.  Just as eating right can be difficult (sometimes VERY difficult), getting into the word on a regular basis can be hard at first, but we have to start somewhere.  Decide today that you will spend time in God's word daily! 

If you have to, read a few paragraphs a day just to get started.  I'd recommend starting with Mark or John.  Both of these books are easy to read & they let you see the heart of Jesus & get to know what he was really like.  Hopefully, within a week or two, you'll be reading a chapter or more at a time.

Flex your Spiritual Muscle

As you start reading, remember that you need to be exercising your spiritual muscles as well.  James 1 says" 9My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ²¹Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

 ²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Just hearing the word isn't enough - you'd never think of just looking at a treadmill hoping to get in shape.  As with exercise equipment, unless you USE what you're learning in the word, you won't see any progress!  James tells us that the word isn't just something to be listened to, it is something that we are to DO.  Some people are concerned that you can't "earn your salvation through works".  That is VERY true, but your salvation should lead you to DO WORKS. (Read James 2 for more on Faith & Deeds)

Start working on your spiritual health, it takes effort but just as with physical exercise, it's easier to do when you have a partner to help you!  Our goal as a church is not to make people feel good or comfortable.  Our goal is to help them BE good by living out God's word.  If you want to be called higher & challenged to be the man or woman God wants you to be, please join us at one of our Bible Talks, Midweek Services, or Sunday Worship Services!