Growing in Christ: Your Journey of Spiritual Development

Belief begins with a decision to personally examine the ideas of right and wrong. We want to know if there is something higher in the universe than ourselves. It starts with a questions like, "Does what I think about or what I do matter? Is there a God? Why do I feel better when I do good? What is it about people who believe that makes them optimistic, even confident?"

A wise man once said that faith is akin to positive thinking. The first step is choosing to look at life in a constructive way. Ask yourself, "What did I learn from my experiences?" And more importantly, "Did the principles of right and wrong play a role?" Recognizing that good things can come from the not so good that happens in our lives is an important step. It can be the beginning of believing in the good and our own spiritual development.

The power of faith begins when we decide to have complete confidence in God. It says that no matter what happens we trust that God is bigger than anything or anyone else. That faith brings us nearer and nearer to the light of Christ. He is the most powerful thing in the universe and drawing near to Him gives us spiritual power.

We can get to this path everyday through a deliberate decision to please God above all else--to put Him first in our thoughts and keep Him there. It is all too easy to get knocked off that path. Staying on this path requires daily prayer, studying His word each day, repentance, keeping the Sabbath day, good works, and keeping the commandments.