What did Jesus mean when he said that he came so that we might have life and life to the fullest? In our Thrive series we are going to look at a number of spiritual habits that can help us to grow our relationship with God. We hear that the Bible is an important part of growing in our faith. Today we look at a way to read scripture slowly, thoughtfully, in such a way that encourages us to dig deep as we read slowly.
In Ezekiel God makes a covenant with Israel, that sounds a lot like wedding vows (because it was meant to be a wedding vow). God promises to transform their (and our) hearts as we follow after him passionately. That part of following God is that it changes us deeply.
In Acts 9 we meet a woman named Dorcas who seems to be living a relatively normal life. Then she passes, and the town begins to turn out in large numbers to remember the simple, everyday ways that this woman served and blessed her community. From a place of gratitude to God, we each are invited to serve and love others out of the overflow of our relationship with God.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus outlines a variety of ways that we are to live out our faith. Part of that is an assumption that to believe in Jesus changes our lives, and how we live. The word for belief in the bible assumes that you both comprehend and agree with something in your mind, and that your knowledge of that transforms your heart, mind, and actions.