Colossians 1:9-14

Whenever you find someone with an extraordinary ability, you will always find "practice" and hard work to be one of the primary keys to that success. Sometimes we spend so much time practicing what we think is important, that we don’t have time for those things that are eternal. Whenever we spend so much time on the temporal that we don’t have time for the eternal ... life is out of balance.

Out of Proportion.

The things we get the most passionate about, are often not the same things that we say are the most important to us?

Christians should practice their faith more passionately, more energetically, and with more dedication than they practice anything else.

Practicing our Faith should be the number-one priority in our lives.

Maximize our spiritual journey:

First,  stop moving away from God.

Second, love others by doing all the good you can do.

Finally, practice our faith with passion and dedication.

No one is a Christian solely by virtue of the things s/he is against, the negatives, the things one does not do.

We grow STRONGER through the regular WORSHIP of God.

God’s Presence and Blessings SATURATE us through PRAYER.

In a small group we GROW DEEPER in our DISCIPLESHIP.

The influence of God grows BROADER through MINISTRY service to others.

The Church of Jesus Christ grows LARGER through EVANGELISM.

Fellowship - The Church grows WARMER through regular times of FELLOWSHIP.

Faithful in STEWARDSHIP -

It’s not about you; it’s not about me! It is all about God.

We are simply STEWARDS of the time, health, resources that God allows us to have.

The point is to do those things that help us grow in our faith and our commitment to God. Keeping these practices helps keep other things from distracting us from God and losing sight of our priorities. These Christian practices help us synchronize what we say are important things with how we actually live our lives and spend our time and our money.

Peter learned, when he walked on water, that it was crucial to keep his eyes on Jesus. Similarly, if we neglect these practices, we will begin to look to other things. But if we practice our faith with passion, seeking to come to know God’s love more and more deeply, we will find that get better and better at keeping our eyes on Jesus in the midst of the storms of life. Practicing these habits of holiness works to allow God into our lives to make us more Christlike.