Three Simple Ways to Exercise Your Faith in 2017

Posted on Jan 10, 2017 in General |

Well, we are a few days in to 2017! How are those New Year’s Resolutions going? I hope they are going well, but I also know that the next couple weeks are critical for them to make it past the January threshold. Whatever your goals are I hope that they possess two qualities:  consistency and simplicity. I think these qualities are essential for lasting results. Consistency leads to goals becoming our new adopted lifestyle and simplicity helps us to stay focused. When it comes to your New Years Resolutions remember your new year’s KISS: Keep it Simple Stupid is the best advice I ever received!

Simplicity and consistency are also important in our walks with God. I truly hope that you have set some goals for 2017 in your spiritual life. I also hope that God is a part of every goal that you set because God needs to be central in every area of our life. If you would like to grow in your walk with God in 2017, I offer you three simple steps that if you do them consistently (daily) I know it will produce long lasting results.

 

Pray Daily

Earth shattering stuff right? This might not be a new suggestion, but I’m amazed at how many Christians I talk to that tell me they don’t have a daily time of prayer with God. It normally is because they don’t know what to do or where to start. I always encourage people to just start somewhere by adjusting something you already do in your daily routine. For example, if you drive to work and listen to the radio, spend the commercial time in prayer with God. If you like to journal then write out your prayer requests and keep track of them. If you work out, dedicate a set or so to prayer. One set could be asking God to work in an area of your life. Another set could be listening for God’s response. If we want to be close to God we need to consistently communicate.

 

Read the Bible Daily

I know…I just blew your mind with that one! The Bible is a book that is alive in the Christians’ life if we decide to actually open the book and read!  Doing this consistently allows the scriptures to speak to us in times of need. Again the question is “where do I start?” I’d encourage you to start with reading a chapter from the book of Psalm and Proverbs. Did you know that there are thirty-one chapters in the book of Proverbs? Did you know that a lot of months have thirty-one days? That is a Proverb a day! Once you get this habit down add a chapter from another book of the Bible that you want to read. If you are new to the Bible I’d suggest the book of John.  Don’t read Leviticus or Numbers just yet….

 

Serve someone daily.

What we experience in our prayer and bible study times with God needs to overflow into our interactions with others. God offers you opportunities to care for the people around you. Do you take those opportunities? I’d challenge you to look for ways that you can serve your family, coworkers and even people you don’t know. Your faith comes alive as you serve consistently.

 

I’m sorry if this post didn’t blow your mind, but lets be honest: Going to the gym or living on a budget isn’t that mind blowing either. Small acts done consistently over time produce amazing results! A great resource of consistency is the book The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.