- Carolyn Elson
Three Means To a Strong Faith
Updated: Sep 17, 2020
The goal of any Christian is to have and maintain a strong faith. The question is, how do we do that? We are getting ready to wrap up the subject of faith this month. Let’s look at three ways to maintain a strong faith. Here we go:
Strong Faith Starts with Trusting the Right Source
Look at what Acts 4:10-12 (NLT) has to say. “For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
We must make sure that we are placing our faith in the right source, the only source, Jesus Christ. Peter is speaking, and when he refers to Jesus as the cornerstone, what he is saying is just like a cornerstone is the base for a building, Jesus is the base. We build our faith on Jesus; we place our trust in Jesus. If you haven’t done that, I would encourage you to stop here. Please contact me at carolyn@carolynelson.com, I would love to tell you more about the gospel of Christ.
Strong Faith Comes Through Growth
1 Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”… The word grow in this verse means to enlarge. We want to enlarge our faith in Christ. We can do this in a few ways.
Reading the Bible regularly. Here are a few websites that have Bible reading plans. https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/ and https://first5.org/.
Attending a bible believing church regularly.
Joining a Bible study or a homegroup through a church.
Being personally discipled.
Strong Faith Comes Through Testing
Yes, I know it’s not our favorite subject, but hang in there with me. Let’s look at two verses in 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT)
“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
Trials do serve a purpose. Our verse indicates that there can be many of them. The reason we face trials is so that our faith can be tested or proved. Proved to be strong and steadfast. If we can remain faithful to God, the verse says that it will bring us praise, glory, and honor on the Day of the Lord. It will be well worth it.
So we have learned about faith this month. Faith is an inward conviction that what God says is true. Just a small amount of faith is all we need, and doubt can steal our faith. We saw wonderful examples of faith last week in people who lived their faith out. Having a strong faith is possible if you take the necessary steps to make it strong.
Shining the Light Brighter – Here is where you can dig deeper to help you learn more and apply God’s word to your life.
Faith is personal. It is something no one else can choose for you. You can place faith in a lot of things, but faith in Jesus Christ is the only path for salvation.
What next steps do you need to make on your journey of faith? Do you need to grow, or get more serious about your faith? Decide on what those steps are from the suggestions listed in this devotion.
Do you have a story you would like to share? Leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.