365 – I resolve to… Grow and Live My Faith Always

#faithbites #faithjourney grow

Forward

Before we get started, you may be wondering why no celebration for 1 year of #faithbites and for my completing my goal of a scripture a day for a whole year. While I did start sharing scripture on 1/1/18, I missed 1/4 and did two on 1/5. So on 1/5 I will celebrate a full 365 days of scripture. For those playing along at home, the first time I called this #faithbites was 1/27/18. And now, onto faithbites…

Beginning

This is the last in the series of I resolve to do something and this is the most important one yet: My Faith. I don’t have a snappy story or something that proves I need to grow my faith, but I do know that God moments happen all the time.

Yesterday our heat went out. We called an emergency repair person out to fix it. After looking at it he decided our thermostat had died and we needed a new one. Who would have known that we bought one a couple weeks ago on a sale from our electric company. I just hadn’t had time to install it yet. There was no motivation for me to buy one back then only that I wanted one and there was a sale on them. But guess what? It was needed after all. To me, those moments, while some may say are coincidences, I think is God’s presence.

I struggle with my faith everyday wondering why bad things happen to my family and friends. Why the world is in such chaos. I look at the stories in the Bible and the miracles God has performed and wonder if they really were miracles. At the same time, I can’t explain how much goodness he has given me. That is why I chose to believe and grow my faith.

Scripture

• But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen – 2 Peter 3:18
• So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. … 1 Peter 2:1-5
• For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. – Hebrews 5:12-14

Reflection

The people who I know that are most knowledgeable in their faith tell me they never stop learning. Each time they read a bible verse, they get something new out of it. They are deep in prayer, deep in action, and deep in living their #faithjourney.

I probably will question my faith until the day I die. Like in Hebrews, I will always be a child needing milk and not solid food as I cannot understand God. I keep grouping through my faith and the experiences God has given me.

My prayer is that through #faithbites, I continue to grow and by sharing my #faithjourney that hopefully it helps you on your journey.

Before we close tonight and to end 2018, I want to share my baptism verse as it’s fitting for spiritual growth and starting a new year.

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. – Jeremiah 33:3

Charge

Whatever your faith journey has been. Whatever your past has been. Take this time to rededicate yourself to growing in spirit. This can be anything from attending a house of worship to daily devotions to reading His word to praying to just sharing your journey with others.

Lord, thank you for the faith you have given me. Give me the strength to keep growing, sharing, and living your word. Provide me your strength as I get past hypocrisy and search always for the spiritual milk you provide.