{"id":37069,"date":"2013-02-09T18:50:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-10T00:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=37069"},"modified":"2021-08-02T18:54:43","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T23:54:43","slug":"how-can-i-strengthen-my-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-strengthen-my-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"How can I strengthen my faith?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

My faith is really low, and I feel empty. I pray as often as I can but I haven’t been going to church for quite some time, but I’m going to start going this coming Sunday. My questions are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. How do I strengthen my faith and form a strong relationship with God?<\/li>\n
  2. I have been watching and hearing from friends about their “evidence” as to why Jesus is not God. I have been a Christian all of my life, but my faith now is low, especially since I turned 19. All of my friends are wondering away from the faith. Please show me\u00a0explicit\u00a0<\/em>evidence from the Bible that states that Jesus is God.<\/li>\n
  3. I was wondering, since Christianity is like a branch of Judaism why aren’t we just Jews that believe in Christ (or are we)? i.e. Why don’t we go to church on a Saturday instead of a Sunday since I cannot find a place that says to change the day of the Sabbath?<\/li>\n
  4. I know it’s supposed to be my own personal responsibility but can you please give me any tips (if there are any) on how to read the Bible efficiently and how to keep a consistent schedule?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I hope you see my questions and find the answers. I\u00a0 know you are busy and would like to thank you for even making a website that allows people all around to see other questions you have answered and give people the opportunity to ask questions.<\/p>\n

    May God bless you.<\/p>\n\t

    Answer:<\/h2>\n

    “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God<\/em>” (Romans 10:17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    If you wish to get physically stronger, you can’t accomplish it by starving yourself. Your body needs food to maintain itself and strengthen itself. The same is true spiritually. You have put yourself on a starvation diet and then wonder why your faith is getting weaker.<\/p>\n

    “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth<\/em>” (II Timothy 2:15).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Attendance at a faithful church that teaches the Scriptures accurately is essential for your spiritual growth. Yes, you can study on your own, but you will tend to stagnate because the only ideas you will hear are your own. “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend<\/em>” (Proverbs 27:17). Attending church services and Bible studies exposes you to ideas you had not thought of before, causing you to dig into the word of God and to grow.<\/p>\n

    “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth<\/em>” (John 1:1-3, 14).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    See\u00a0Jesus Is God<\/a>\u00a0for more on this topic. The only way you can conclude that Jesus is not God is to deny that the Bible is God’s word.<\/p>\n

    Christianity is not a branch of Judaism. It is the replacement of Judaism. “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another — to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God<\/em>” (Romans 7:4).<\/p>\n

    “He takes away the first that He may establish the second<\/em>” (Hebrews 10:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\t

    Response:<\/h2>\n

    Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I shall look through the links and feed my faith. Thank you once again and may God bless you.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Question: My faith is really low, and I feel empty. I pray as often as I can but I haven’t been going to church for quite some time, but I’m going to start going this coming Sunday. My questions are: How do I strengthen my faith and form a strong relationship with God? I have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[913,49,383],"class_list":["post-37069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-bible-study","tag-faith","tag-growth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":84634,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-dont-i-feel-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":37069,"position":0},"title":"Why don’t I feel faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have a question that I really have not been able to find answers to, and I do not dare to talk to anyone about it. Several years ago, I started going to a church because I was really convinced that God was sending me to do it.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31868,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if-i-say-you-cant-prove-god-is-real\/","url_meta":{"origin":37069,"position":1},"title":"What if I say you can’t prove God is real?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If religion (Catholicism) is the absolute truth, then how come when questions are asked about it no one can ever answer with facts, only faith and belief? Basically, if I say \"you can't prove God is real\", you can only prove it with faith and belief, no facts. Why\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49530,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-think-i-have-sufficient-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":37069,"position":2},"title":"I don’t think I have sufficient faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello Brother, I came across your website over a year ago and have found it to be sound and very helpful. I am a member of the body of Christ, the church of Christ. I am 21 years old and have been a Christian for many years and have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94555,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-truth-about-god-and-science\/","url_meta":{"origin":37069,"position":3},"title":"The Truth About God and Science","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Buddy Payne interviewed by Andy Diestelkamp via InLight Media Are faith and science in conflict? Does science disprove God? And can you believe in both Christianity and modern science without compromising your faith? In this long-form interview, we sit down with Dr. Buddy Payne, a Harvard-educated science professor, to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Video"","block_context":{"text":"Video","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/video\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19072,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-prove-he-existed-before-but-not-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":37069,"position":4},"title":"Why did God prove He existed before but not now?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My son has come to me asking questions about the church. He is a member of the church but has fallen away. His asking questions is a crack in the door I don't want to miss out on. He's asking why did God allow proof that He existed then,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50872,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/faith-is-the-evidence\/","url_meta":{"origin":37069,"position":5},"title":"Faith is the Evidence","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Doy Moyer \"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen\" (Hebrews 11:1, NASB). Some translations say that faith is the \"evidence\" of things not seen (KJV, NKJV). What does this mean? We often point out that faith is not blind. Because of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37069\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}