Want to grow

[Mac22]

I have not been growing in Christ for a few years now. I haven't put him first. I probably pray 3 time a month. I believe I am still saved and he will never leave me. My question is, what can I do to grow closer to him? I want to start small. Everytime I say I am going to change I end up forgetting to pray and so a week will go by and then two weeks. Any ideas or anyone would like to share what they do? Thanks

[Neanias]

The advice I would have for you is this...

Don't trust in men and in what they tell you. A powerless Gospel has no power to save you. Christ wishes to conform you to his image. Look at the high calling of Christ and understand what it is he wants from you.

If you are indeed his, repent, then, of your lack of commitment and turn your heart towards him. I don't say this with judgment, but with love.

A verse that the Lord imprinted on my heart lately says 'Repent and be zealous'. Being lukewarm is not good enough brother, the Lord will indeed spit us out of his mouth if we think we are clothed and fine, and yet we do not love him, know him, or seek him.

Behold your lack, and surrender to him. Work out your salvation in fear and trembling. God is as a father, and he reproves his children. If this is not in your life, fear and seek him. Do not trust in men, the Lord must be you're refuge.

May the Lord lead you in his paths

[Mac22]

Thank you. My thing is I am very busy and I have three young children. I need to remember to pray and read my bible. I go through the day at 100 miles an hour taking care of my family. I know reading the word and staying in prayer helps you

[Neanias]

Ah, having a busy life can make it difficult... There is a way to keep our focus on the Lord in all things... To have our hearts turned to him and to honor him with everything we do!

I'll pray that the Lord would show you how to honor him in the midst of your busy lifestyle

May he bless you with his presence and teach you his ways

[Nyoka]

I too had three young children close together in age and it does keep you very busy so I have much sympathy for you over your struggle to make time for God too. Things I did to help me was I found a christian radio station and had that going all day. Seeing I didn't have time to read the bible I got the bible on audio and played that everytime I sat down for a few minutes. Also I took the bible with me each time I had to go to the bathroom and read one verse each time. I also put scriptures up all over the house so if I didn't have time to read the bible I could read one of those scriptures. I would pick a book, from the bible, I wanted to read and put the verses from that book up everywhere lol. As for prayer I prayed everytime I got a few minutes to spare. God is not looking for long prayers but for sincere prayers so even a short prayer can be a good prayer. God is looking to connect with you in that prayer time so even many short prayers a day will do this. Sometimes all my prayers were just asking God to give me the strength to keep going and He answered them as my children are now well adjusted adults who love God. Also anything I learnt about God I taught my children as I learnt it but not in a sit down teaching session with them but as part of daily life. For example if they had a fight I showed them what God would want them to do instead of fighting - didn't stop the fights but they have told me since it has helped them learn now they are adults. Another thing I did was admit to my children when I got it wrong with what I was teaching them about God as that taught them to own up to their mistakes and that it is okay to admit when your wrong.

Hope this helps

[Al_S]

I have not been growing in Christ for a few years now. I haven't put him first. I probably pray 3 time a month. I believe I am still saved and he will never leave me. My question is, what can I do to grow closer to him? I want to start small. Everytime I say I am going to change I end up forgetting to pray and so a week will go by and then two weeks. Any ideas or anyone would like to share what they do? Thanks

Hi Mac,

Glad you stopped by to ask your question. Rather than provide advice up front, I'd like to ask you a couple questions:

How do you know you are a Christian?

If you died tonight, why would God let you into heaven?

Blessings,

Al

[Mac22]

Because I accepted Jesus and I beleive in him with no doubt. he will never leave me nor forsake me. He's proven that over and over to me. I honestly got really discouraged when I was living the Christian life. I got on my self for the smallest things and condemned myself pretty bad. I eventually gave up. We are not God and can't be perfect. I went to a church that condemned pretty bad as well. It seemed like one sin and you would go to he'll and you were not a Christian! No, that's all wrong.

[Al_S]

Can you explain to me what you mean by you accepted Jesus?

You also say you believe in Jesus. James says even the demons believe and they tremble.

[Mac22]

I came to this site seeking to get closer to him and you tell me I am not saved? Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture? Not to be rude but I mean it's wrong. Bye and God bless

[chad]

If you want to grow, you have to spend more time with God, in prayer, reading the bible and trusting in God. That means allowing God to work in your life daily, trusting in God Daily, praying and reading his word regularly. If you put Christ at the center of each day, you will find growth.

I have not been growing in Christ for a few years now. I haven't put him first. I probably pray 3 time a month. I believe I am still saved and he will never leave me. My question is, what can I do to grow closer to him? I want to start small. Everytime I say I am going to change I end up forgetting to pray and so a week will go by and then two weeks. Any ideas or anyone would like to share what they do? Thanks

[TrustGzus]

Hi Mac22,

Peter tells us . . .

1 Peter 2:2 (NIV)
2*Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

So, let me give you a link that I recommend https://www.navpress.com/images/pdfs/9781576839744.pdf.

Now if you look at it, it might be daunting because it shows four boxes to check off every day. And you're busy. So, I say if you can do the thing daily, great! But if not, ignore the calendar part and read at least one box a day. The fourth column is the toughest and needs the most time. Columns 1-3 take little time. Read one box a day, every day, and you'll read the Bible and get that pure spiritual milk in you and read the whole thing in 1200 days. Since there are about 3652 days in a decade, that means in 10 years you'll read the Bible 3 times. No one will recognize you soon with how much you'll grow.

Pray every day too, but don't let that bog you down. Pray short sentences anytime. Prayer does not have to be super formal. Check out this passage from Nehemiah . . .

Nehemiah 2:1–5 (NIV)
Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem
2 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, ² so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very much afraid, ³ but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

That prayer in verse 4 obviously was pretty short. It was between the time the king asked the question and a moment later when Nehemiah said his answer to the question. It's good to have longer, more formal times of prayer, but that doesn't have to stop you from praying every day. Pray single sentences. Mix it up with adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplications (i.e. requests). Note that those for words begin with the letters A-C-T-S. So you just have to remember the book of ACTS to think of those four things.

I look forward to your progress and growth in Jesus.

Grace & peace to you!

Joe

[Al_S]

I came to this site seeking to get closer to him and you tell me I am not saved? Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture? Not to be rude but I mean it's wrong. Bye and God bless

I'm not telling you you aren't saved. I'm making sure you are secure in your salvation. There's a difference. You tell me you believe in Jesus Christ, God who came down in the flesh and died on a cross to take your sins and mine so that we do not need to go to hell, despite our sins. I don't know about you, but before coming to Christ, I was an idolater, a blasphemer, a murderer, a liar, a thief and an adulterer.

All I'm asking you to do is examine your heart. You tell me you believe in Christ, yet you also said that you don't have any time to spend time with Him in prayer (and I'm assuming you're not reading His word) because you have other commitments as a mom. Have you too placed other gods before your God and Savior? If so, repent! Cry out to God. I'm not trying to put down your duties as a mom, I understand that they are a heavy burden. Look at things from a slightly different perspective. If you only talked with your kids or played with them or hugged them and kissed them once a week, is there evidence of your love? You can pray at anytime, even while you're holding your kids or making dinner if you. Share God's love with your kids during the day by telling Bible stories. Make Christ the focus of your life and I'm certain you'll not only find the time, but you'll learn to love Him and realize He's far more than a request button when things get tough.

I don't say this out of condemnation. I too took my Savior for granted at one point. Did I truly believe in Him--put my full trust in Him? That isn't to say I have a perfect life, or I no longer sin. But I've repented, turned to Him and made Him the focus of my life and through Him, He is making me a better man, stripping away the sins of old and making me new. That's the fruit the bible promises when we believe. Do you see that fruit in your life?

[EaglesWINGS911]

If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord Savior then according to the Word you are saved. First and foremost, realize that it's not about what you can do to change, that change has to come from the inside out. Start out by asking God to show you more of his love and fill you with his love..what does this do? It gives you a passion for God that cannot be boxed into one sunday a week or making sure you meet 15 min of devotion time a day. Get into the word, go into the concordance and look at the verses about love and read those again and again to remind you of God's love for you. He is passionate about you, He has called you his child, his friend, the love of his life. He WANTS to be close to you, wants to bless you and see you prosper. If you feel condemned or guilt about things in your life, read verses that talk about no condemnation and how you are saved by grace-what God did for you, not what you did for God. You are holy in his eyes because you are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, it's not what you did-but his sacrifice for you. When you come to that point where God fills you with his love and you begin to see yourself as you truly are in HIS eyes, you are growing in intimacy with the Heavenly Father. May I recommend a great book? The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge..it really helped me understand more of God's love for me and that without him I would always be missing him. I'll be praying for you!

[Dani H]

What if someone treated you like you're treating Jesus?

What if someone you loved enough to give your life for, "forgot" to talk to you on a regular basis because other things matter more to them?

Salvation isn't just about being saved from hell. It's also about being saved from everything within us that is unlike God and that He didn't put there so that we can be free to have the relationship with God that He intended for us to have, unbroken, right now, right here on earth. Eternal life has already started. So keeping that in mind ... where do you think you stand? How small do you want to start now?

[John 8:32]

1) Devote 30 minutes a day to prayer and organize your life so you can give at least 30 minutes a day.
2) Study the Bible 30 minutes a day (cut out the TV and do it).
3) Fast regularly to see things God's way. A good Bible study would be to take your concordance and look up every passage concerning fasting and study the context.

It takes work, but entering in at the straight gate is not accomlished by slipping on a banana peel.