In my last blog post, I looked at four life areas that have the potential to weaken your faith in Jesus, especially as you reach the older years of your life: health, relationships, reduced productivity, and change. I could have addressed many other areas that impact all Christians, no matter what generation: lifestyle choices, world philosophies, consumer mentality, emotional trauma that tempts us to discount God’s involvement in our lives, and addictions to our cravings and desires.
But the Bible mentions many times in various ways the solution I offered—stand firm. Stay anchored to Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Stay faithful to the end.
The Need for Faith Training
When we hear sermons about holding fast to our faith, we often hear an often-repeated list: read your bible, go to church, and pray. This is good advice. Yet, as I read the book of Hebrews, the book that is the treatise for holding firm to your faith, I find it gives a detailed list of how to resist what I call “Faith Drift.”
In fact, the outline of Hebrews is similar to the Apostle Paul’s other letters in the New Testament. The bulk of the letters give teaching on Christian doctrine. Then, the final few chapters will start with the word, “Therefore.” Paul basically says, if all these things are true about the faith we claim, this is then how you will live.
It’s not enough to know the doctrine. We need to live the doctrine.
It’s not enough to nod our heads when we hear overarching statements like “Stand firm.” We need practical, everyday life hacks on how to keep our faith strong. Paul delivers all of that in the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 1-10:18 give a compelling case for why Jewish Christians need to cling tight to their newfound faith. Then, at Hebrews 10:19, Paul pivots with that wonderful word, “Therefore.” The rest of the book gives examples of other people who have stayed faithful and a brain dump of actions you and I can take to sustain the muscle tone of our faith in Christ.
As I studied Hebrews 10-13, I had trouble deciding how much to put in this article. I can’t cover everything, so I invite you to read these chapters for yourself. Grab a notepad and write down each practical application Paul gives. Group Paul’s directives into several generalized categories.
Here are the three active ways I compiled that will help you and me avoid faith drift in our daily lives:
Stay alert
Satan would love to entangle you any way possible. As the master of deception, he can be so subtle. In fact, 2 Corinthians 11:14 compares him to an angel of light. He will make good look evil and evil acceptable. He loves to mix his duplicity with just enough truth to make us hesitate. Then he goes in for the kill with the guilt trips and emotional buzz words. And, just as he draws us toward worldly thinking, he introduces strange teachings into the church community that leave us confused and shaken.
Hebrews 13:9 says, “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.” Colossians 2:8 says, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
How do we do that?
Learn to think critically. Test everything you hear. Yes, read the Bible—know what it says and balance everything the Bible says. I love this quote from President Ronald Regan: “Trust but verify.” That is wise advise in this age when we don’t always have all the facts we need to make rational judgements. The best place to verify truth is in the pages of Scripture.
Stay connected
Paul’s encouragement to stay connected starts back in Hebrews 10 where he says in verse 25, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Then he gives real-world advice in chapter 13 that shows that building community is active, not passive. Relationship strength won’t happen in once a week worship services. You’ll stay strong in your faith when you activity do life with other believers. Here are a few of the author’s suggestions:
- Love each other like family. (v. 1)
- Invite people, even those not close to you into your home (v. 3)
- Take care of the marginalized and those being mistreated because they believe in Jesus. Get deeply and personally involved. (v.3)
- Take care of your church leaders. Get involved in their lives. Respect them. Submit to their authority. Use their lives as a model for how to live your life (vs. 7,17).
Do good.
Hebrews 13:16 says,
“And do not forget to do good and to share with others for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
As I read news report of those who have joined in protests against social injustice, I’ve thought, “What would be the impact in our world if each of those protesters used the same energy and financial resources to do good: to get involved and do the very things they are demanding that the government, billionaires, or others should do.” One of the best ways the church can represent Christ is to reach out to the hungry and homeless, to take care of each other when catastrophe strikes. But we need not limit doing good to only social justice projects. Doing good can include such things as:
- Forgiving wrong
- Overlooking offenses
- Refusing to argue.
- Speaking words of peace instead of contention
- Sacrificing our time to listen to heartache
- Sowing seeds of peace and joy by sharing positive outlooks on social media
You strengthen your own faith when you wake up in the morning and ask the Lord, “What good can I do in your name today?” Realizing that you have something to contribute to others will keep you mind off the worries of the world and your own cravings for personal satisfaction.
How will you keep your faith strong today?
Choose one of these three areas. What is one specific things you can do to keep your faith in Jesus strong and tethered today? Pick one. Be specific. Make it personal. Make it practical. Then do it again tomorrow. As you practice these acts of godliness every day, your mind and emotions won’t stray to the ways of the world and you’ll find yourself standing more firmly on the solid rock of God’s truth.
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