Growth in Christ

Here are some tips for how to grow more in your walk with Christ:

1. Read God's word daily

There is no verse that says you have to read the Bible every day.  But, "Remain in me and I will remain in you."  "I am the vine, you are the branches.  Apart from me you can do nothing." 

Also Psalm 1:

"Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
    Nor stands in the path of sinners,
    Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree
    Planted by the rivers of water,
    That brings forth its fruit in its season,
    Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper." 

Meditate on God's law day and night, read his Word.  I find it best to write verses on notecards and tape them up all over the house.  Or blogging helps me stay in the Word more.  Also it's good to keep a journal where you write out your thoughts about what you learn about God's word each day. 

2.  Be Thankful

God does not like it when we complain.  "Do everything without complaining or arguing."  Think about it, if you get great things for your kids do you want to hear them complain?  When you do everything you can to make their lives great?  It's the same with God, he wants to hear us being thankful for all that he does for us.  The more you are thankful, the more he will bless you. :) 

3. Be Mentored by one or many older people or people who have been Christian longer :)

It is so important to be mentored.  I cannot even count all the mentors I have had over the years and I am so thankful for all of them! :)  Nothing will improve your walk with God more than finding someone to mentor you.  "As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another."  Amen?  Sharpening though can sometimes be hard.  If you think of how swords used to be sharpened, it is by hitting them against each other.  Sparks fly.  It's intense.  Sometimes relationships are like that, but that is how we become more sharp.  Trails increase our patience and endurance.  So even if you've been burned by people in the past, don't give up.  Get in community.  Get sharpened by other Christians.  Overall if you respect and honor them they will respect and honor you. :)

4. Always remember that God is God and you are not. :)

You cannot control anything ultimately.  This is why we need to always pray about things.  Take your hands off the steering wheel and let Jesus drive your life.  You will be a lot less stressed if you would do this.  It would also bring you more joy to always keep in mind that God's got it.  He will take care of everything.  "He's got the whole world in his hands" remember?  And he has YOU in his hands and everything you worry about or get sad about.  He's got it all covered.  So let go and let God.  Amen. :)

5. Be Still

This is very hard in our always busy modern day world.  But we need to take time to just sit still for a time.  In college we had an assignment to sit still in silence for an hour.  We had to do this three times and write about how it went for us.  It helped me a lot I think and I am perfectly ok with sitting in silence now and doing nothing. :)  It is very relaxing. :) 

6.  Take time to Rest

Don't always try to do something or get something done.  Carve time out of your day to just chill.  This will help you with stress levels and feeling overwhelmed.  Be nice to yourself. lol :)  Just relax sometimes.  Don't demand so much of yourself.  God wants you to rest, because he wants you to be happy.  And more rest will make you more happy. :) 

7.  Take a Sabbath every week

This is one of the ten commandments but for some reason it's the most overlooked command from God.  If you think about it, to not take a Sabbath is prideful because it's saying, "I am in control of my life and getting everything taken care of, not God."  I have been pretty faithful about having a Sabbath my whole life.  I always have a day on the weekend where I don't do anything.  It really makes you a lot more productive the other 6 days also.  Well you can't do nothing for a day, but don't do anything that would stress you out.  Rock Harbor did a series on this and they suggested that you try to not even have to drive anywhere for that day.  Have left overs so you don't have to cook anything.  And just let God minister to you on that day, one day of the week. :)  And he will bless you with more peace and joy throughout your week.  Try it!  :)

8.  Don't ask God "Why" or "How" but rather when, where, who etc.

When Job asked God why repeatedly about why he was suffering God did not answer him.  He simply said basically that Job was in no position to be asking him, God, the RULER of the universe, to explain himself.  God does not owe us an explanation for anything, because he's God.  "His ways are higher than our ways."  He knows what he's doing.  We need to not question his plans for us.  We also need to not ask how about anything because that shows a hesitation in obeying him.  Just obey him when he tells you to do something.  Ask him rather who he wants you to minister to, where he wants to use you, when he wants to use you etc.  Those questions he will be very happy to answer anytime! lol :)

9.  Ask God always what you can be a part of

God has plans to use you.  You just have to ask him where and when.  :) 

10. Invest in People

"There are only two things that are eternal; God's Word and people." :) 

God wants to use us to reach the world.  We are his ambassadors to the world!  We are called to be his hands and feet to anyone we come in contact with.  Amen!  God bless! :)