How Can I Grow?

by Bishop Felizardo D. Abanto
Taken from Baptist’s Digest Weekly 29, July 27, 2008, p.3

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” —2 Peter 1:5-8

Are you a new believer? Or an old-time Christian? Every Christian needs to grow in his Christian life. To grow, you need to do these things:
1) Be a disciple and not merely a church-goer. A disciple follows Christ obediently every day.
2) Spend time reading the Bible each day, beginning with the New Testament. Meditate on what you have read, asking these three questions:
A) What does this tell me about God? (That would be His personality, character, and attributes.)
B) What is He commanding me to do? What does God want me to do in obedience to Him?
C) What is God promising me? Which promises is the Lord inviting me to claim today?
3) Pray to God in a conversational way (the way you talk to a person). The prayer should be both spontaneous and sincere. Prayer has various aspects including worship, petition, confession, and intercession.

Start a daily discipline of reading the Bible, meditating on it, and praying. Even if it is for fifteen minutes at the beginning, this will be a good start for you.


Author Spotlight
Bishop Felizardo D. Abanto is pastor of Capitol Bible Baptist Church, located at Tanza, Cavite, Philippines, home of CYPA Paper Ministries, publisher of Baptist’s Digest Journal. He has written over 40 articles for BDJ. Visit CBBC’s website at www.capitolbiblebaptist.multiply.com.