Where Do I Start? (Part 2)
3/04/2009 | Author: RCW
I already said that I occasionally have people inquire of me -- either as a new believer or for another new believer -- where they should start to begin growing. I already said in my previous post what my first bit of advice would be.

My next bit of advice would be this:
  • Start a journal. You can write anything in it. Prayers, goals, recording the events of your day, experiences, scriptures, quotes, poems, lists, or anything you think belongs in it that relates to your spiritual life, etc.


  • Also, as you begin reading the Bible, tackle the topic(s) that you find most intriguing, most important, most urgent in your own life. As a new believer (or as an "old" one!), if you think of a question you have about the Bible or about faith, or about Christianity, write it down in your journal and record the date by it. Then, make it your resolution to hunt and pursue the answer. Become relentless in your pursuit of the truth. Chase after understanding. The book of Proverbs instructs us to do so. (See Prov. 4:7 among many others) How do you find the answer? Here are some simple suggestions:


    • Pray. You just can't underestimate the power of prayer. Jesus Himself says this: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?" [I imagine this would have been humorous to those listening...and brace yourself: Jesus may have even chuckled as He said it!]. He continues, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!" (Mt. 7:7-11 NIV). Elsewhere He tells his disciples (and by extension us as well) that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth (John 16:13).

    • Ask someone you know to be a person who studies their Bible, loves God, and loves others. Maybe that is your pastor, maybe that is a friend or Bible teacher. Maybe you need to email a Bible professor or search out a Christian book on the topic.

    • Keep reading and praying. Jesus was teaching about prayer one time and used a story to communicate the importance of persistence in our prayer. Imagine that...God wants us to continually come to Him in prayer even when we don't get our answer immediately. The story by the way can be found in Luke 18:1-8 or you can just click here to read it.

    • Study. This is tough to stomach in our culture. We want answers with no searching, results with no effort, secret formulas and quick fixes at no cost. Sometimes growing in our faith and pursuing Christ does not accommodate our laziness. Thankfully, there are some great Bible study aids online. You can access a few by clicking here, here, or here.

    • If after all this, for some unknown reason you still can't find an answer to your question, you can email me or you can go find your answer here (though not everyone has the flexibility to do this last one).

    How pleasing it must be to God when we seek to know Him and understand His ways. All human knowledge points to Him, the knowledge giver. For as Paul says, "in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). I too am still on that journey...the journey of discovery and the pursuit of truth. After a while, we are always hit with the realization that Ultimate Truth (with a capital "T") is a person, namely Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega.


To be continued...


-RCW
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