All Articles for Growing in Your Faith

Christian college isn't a guarantee that students will keep the faith. A thriving relationship with God doesn't happen simply by immersion.

The first two years of widowhood, God seemed distant and silent. Then I discovered the problem.

One day David and his wife, Meg, realized they wanted their family to see that the world is a more diverse place than what they were experiencing.

People spend hours tweaking their digital persona in a search for significance. Yet is social media the best place to look?

These basic principles will help you and your family understand the biblical reasons for tragedy.

Here’s to giving your best to God—and your family—in the year ahead.

The real unexpected gift wasn’t the money or groceries, but an increase in our faith.

Thanksgiving can be a difficult reminder of the struggles we face, but there is comfort in the promises to come.

Like so many, I groaned at the disparity: Perfect, hilarious TV family. Lurid, devastating real life.

We are completely dependent on our all-powerful God, who generously gives us every gift we possess.

I noted something refreshingly real about Princess Eugenie’s choice of gown. From the front, she showed she was a princess. From the back, she showed she was a person like the rest of us.

Restore your energy and zest for life with these tips.

Achieving success starts with knowing you have your father's approval.

Difficulties should push us toward God's Word, not toward redefining the rules.

God created us with a capacity for awe. Where you look for it will shape the direction of your life.

The way we love sinful people must be patterned after the rugged love God has for us.

Life is no fairy tale of magic formulas, but instead it requires walking by faith.

It is only as my view of Him increases that I will be more able to view my issues with a proper perspective.

Years later, my wife and I realized a new way God had answered our individual prayers before we were married.

Perhaps no other human emotion is so commonly experienced and yet so infrequently exposed.

Here are 10 well-known, easy-to-remember verses to help us keep our hearts trained on God.

When we live a life of constantly reaching for the next big thing, we miss the greatness God is calling us to right here, right now.

How to successfully navigate your family’s journey to a new home.

How long since you’ve had a checkup to assess your spiritual health?

Don't say something permanently painful because you are temporarily ticked off.

If we are totally focused on the material things of this life and this world, we will miss out on most of what life is all about.

As our society and culture become increasingly hostile toward Christianity, here are five spiritual qualities that become especially important.

The story of a man who stood up to intervene for the defenseless.

We need a spiritual workout center to develop our "faith muscles."

There's no gain without pure, hard pain.

Complaining shows a loss of perspective, a failure to remember who is in control.

A man needs to constantly remind himself that his real job is his wife and children.

One of the best ways to protect yourself against immorality is submitting your life to the scrutiny of another person.

The spiritual victory will go to those Christians who are willing to enter enemy territory and engage in warfare.

Ecclesiastes can help us change the way we think about life.

Four suggestions on how to overcome the sin of grumbling and complaining.

Our culture is hostile to Christian faith.

We have a hole in our hearts that only God can fill.

Knowing that God is our Provider helps us to hold our material possessions with an open hand.

Two close calls remind Barbara and me of how God is working in our lives.

Pulling weeds from my flower beds taught me an important spiritual lesson.

If you're ready to go deeper in your spiritual journey, a small group may be just what you need.

Many of us are settling for the sidelines of life—we don’t really want the Lord to give us anything too hard to do.

God has things He can teach us while He's seemingly MIA and we're wandering about or feeling abandoned.

To really experience His peace, we must come to Him with thankful hearts.

A godly vision will be fueled by what could be and what should be.

Twelve ways to respond to God in the wake of natural disasters.

As our family grew, we began to question our comfortable, normal lifestyle. Had God’s gifts replaced God Himself?

How could I invest in others if nobody was investing in me?

God likes us to do things on His terms—which, of course, goes totally against my desire for control.

Many are on a career path, but few seem to be on a character path.

God’s Word gives me a true diagnosis of whom I am.

When marriage is hard and parenting is harder, stand for the truth.

Your past is not the final word. Let your invisible accuser drive you toward God and not away from Him.

Quote by James C. Petty

It is only as my view of Him increases that I will be more able to view my issues with a proper perspective.

Giving thanks is not just for God’s glory—it’s for our good.

List of Christian literature classics that address humility and virtue.

Three steps to take if the Scriptures seem like a dry textbook and you’re no longer sure Jesus is real.

It’s easy to fool ourselves about how our words can hurt others.

If we could handle the messes of life on our own, we’d never have to seek God’s help in managing it.

Because of what Christ has done for us, we are free to enjoy Him, to live for Him, and to confidently trust Him to meet our every need.

When troubles come our way, we can be stressed and upset, or we can trust God.

Four ways to cultivate a mindset that positively influences every aspect of your life.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t turn attention on Himself, but He gives you the power to pursue God's mission in your life.

When life is turned upside down, learn how to turn to God.

When these issues dominate my thoughts, I succumb to selfishness and fear.

Just as I love my husband more as I know him better, my feelings for God grow as I grow in my knowledge of Him.

What kind of pleasures will you give your heart to, and what will you ask of those pleasures?

Many of us pursue moral improvement in a way that is not founded in the centrality of the gospel and the reality of the cross of Christ.

Rather than getting easier, my faith trials become more difficult with time.

Friends launch each other into unknown territory and walk hand in hand where there is no map.

When we stop running from God and earnestly obey Him, our messy lives become the canvas for His incredible glory.

Experiences like this have a way of stripping you bare and forcing you to focus on what's most important to you.

Beware of these three weeds that can choke out your harvest.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that we're in a spiritual race. What kind of runner are you?

Loving God with all your mind helps guard against falling to temptation.

At age five I learned an important lesson on the power of the tongue.

In the darkness and pain of personal cries, we must have the touch of our unseen Father to keep us oriented.

These three steps can help keep our complaints constructive.

Devote this coming year to becoming all God meant you to be and to enjoying Him and the great goodness He has given you.

True joy is founded on truth. It is based on our knowledge of God's goodness to us as revealed in both shallow and deep experiences, and as revealed in his Word.

It is so very easy for us to find our glory in being better than someone else.

If you believe what God’s Word says about you is true, your identity is rooted in something that can’t be changed and can’t go away.

My infertility reminded me of something we all need to learn: the source of true contentment and happiness.

The search for happiness based on our circumstances in life inevitably creates a restlessness and discontent in our souls.

A dangerous encounter on a dark back street opened my eyes again.

When loving gets hard, think on the one true Lover who is continually in pursuit of your heart.

For regular spiritual check-ups, ask yourself these questions.

It never occurred to me to bless the person in this difficult relationship—that thought went against every natural urge within me.

Here are some challenging questions that I've been grappling with.

Regrets are scars of the soul. We carry them around, and sometimes they itch. So we scratch them--we replay our thoughtless deeds and hurtful conversations.

We must spend time on the nonnegotiables so that our lives may glorify God. Each principle is centered on the Lord, bringing the glory to Him alone.

At the heart of goodness is obedience. Test yourself and your family in four key areas.