Author: mary

Growth is essential in your faith and walk with the Lord. If you don’t grow and stay stagnant instead, then you will never fully experience the blessings of God. Just like we experience the joy and pain of physical growth throughout our life, we also experience the joy and pain of spiritual growth. This is all a part of the sanctification process.

A new believer is often called “a baby Christian.” This is because they are new in the faith and in need of growth. 1 Corinthians 13:11 says, “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” As children, we had a limited understanding of the world around us. As we grew, we gained reason and wisdom and no longer thought and spoke as a child. Just as this verse says, we grew up and put away childish things. We grow in our spiritual walk the same way. As new Christians, we don’t have a deep knowledge of the Word and who God is. However, through Bible Study, church, and seeking to understand, we grow in wisdom. We put away the childish things of our youth. Some people do not grow out of their childish faith. They cling to a simple understanding and refuse to put away childish things. Is this faith at all? What does that tell you about your relationship with God?

Do you really know God? Do you know Him and His fullness? Would you consider yourself a baby Christian in the faith or have you grown in your faith? Spend some time praying about your Christian walk and how you can grow. Surround yourself with other believers who can encourage you.

One of the best traits that makes God’s love better than any kind of human love is that it is unending. There is no beginning and no end to the love of God. It is vast and wide. Ephesians 3:18 describes His love as wide, long, high, and deep. It goes on to say in verse 19 “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” When you experience the love of Christ, you are made full.

This is all too true when you look at someone’s life that doesn’t know Christ. Oftentimes they have an emptiness and search for their purpose or the meaning of life. They may search in books, religions, or in other people. They will come up empty every time. They don’t understand the love of Christwhich is why they go searching in other places. When they finally find Christ, they are made whole. It is overwhelming how His love washes over them. Their name is immediately written in the book of life and they become a child of God.

God’s love lasts forever. Christians will experience the love of God forever. They will never be plucked from the hand of God. It is impossible to love a human being in that way without the love of God; however, God loves unconditionally and His love is without end.

Life throws some tough trials and tribulations every single day. Cancer diagnosis, loss of a loved one, strained relationships, and other difficult situations can make life unbearable. The only thing that makes those times survivable is love, more specifically, God’s love. It always endures. One definition that Dictionary.com provides for the word endure is “to continue to exist, last.”

Have you ever lost someone you loved or seen how someone reacted after they lost someone. It is as if they do continue to exist for a while. Holidays come and go; seasons come and go. Yet they continue going on, enduring. God gave us the ability to endure through hard times. It is only in His love that we can even endure. He makes it possible. His love gives us hope and gives us peace. We know that He is in control and will get us through anything. He will walk beside us and carry us. Psalm 119:114 says, “You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.” He is our refuge. We can hope in Him. He is a good God who never leaves us.

Do you feel like you are just existing? Just enduring through the next thing? Know that love is enough to carry you through. God’s love will give you the peace that you need to be able to endure and last.

Love always hopes. It hopes for eternity. It hopes through the good times and the bad. Romans 5:5 tells us that hope never disappoints. There are a lot of things in this life that will disappoint and leave you feeling lost and alone. People will fail you. Dreams will eventually leave you feeling empty. There is nothing that is trustworthy in this world except God the Father. He will never leave you feeling empty or alone. Hebrews 13:5 says that He will never leave you nor forsake you.

It can be hard to hold onto hope in this world. When a natural disaster hits and leaves people feeling lost and vulnerable, where is hope? When a loved one dies, where is hope? When a relationship dissipates after years of being close, where is hope? Hope is in the still small voice in the midst of the raging sea. It is in the thousands of memories that surround loved ones after their beloved is gone. It is in the acts of kindness when communities come together. It is in the words of the Father throughout the Bible that comfort those who feel afraid and alone.

Cling to hope when you feel lost and alone. Cling to it when situations seem impossible. Trust that God is always working for your good and knows the outcome. Hope is in the unknown. Hope is in the unthinkable. Hope is in Christ.

Hebrews 11:1 Describes faith as something that we cannot see but yet we still believe it is there. Love never loses faith. Even when it seems like it is impossible, love still believes. When everyone goes against you, Love still believes. When the world needs proof, love still believes. Through everything, love still believes.

What does this type of faith look like in everyday life? First of all, the only type of faith that lasts is godly faith. As people, we tend to put our faith in worldly faith things. We put all of our faith in people, hoping they will not fail us. We put our faith in material things, the next best device or clothing that will make us look a certain way. We put our faith in cars, hoping they will operate how they need to. We even put our faith in material things that remind us of someone. We see many examples of this in the Old Testament. For example, when Moses went on the mountain to talk with God, the Israelites ran to Aaron and asked him to create little gods that they could worship. When we look to the world for our hope, it can be easy to lose faith quickly.

There is nothing in this life that will last that is temporary. Only the eternal will last forever. We must put our hope, trust, and faith in the Lord, knowing that He will always carry us through. When we begin to lose sight, we must fix our eyes on Him once again. Praise God that the Israelites lack of faith in the wilderness was not the end of their story. God continued to love them and sent His Son Jesus to die for them. Not only them, but for every person who chooses to believe in Him!