"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  - Romans 10:17
We gain power and maturity in our spiritual life as the Spirit of God illuminates the Word of God on a daily basis.
Make God's Word a priority in our life.

what's at the center of your life?

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  This is the first and greatest commandment.  - Matthew 22:37-38
God wants to be at the center of your life.  He doesn't want to be on the edge of your life, and he doesn't want to be just a segment of your life.  The God of the universe -- the God who made you and loves you -- wants to be the hub of your heart and the axis of your existence.
God wants to have a love relationship with you.  Anything besides God at the center of your life is an idol.
When God's not at the center of your life, you start to worry and stress out; you get fearful.  These are the warning lights that God is no longer the nucleus of your heart.
In contrast, how can you tell when your life is centered on God?  You're at peace.  You stop worrying.
Ask yourself this: "What's going to be the center of my life for the rest of my life?"
It's the most important thing you will ever have to decide.

love is a choice

If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  - 1 Corinthians 13:2
Love is not a feeling.  Love is a choice.  Love is an action.  Even when you don't feel like it, you can choose to show love anyway.
Acting in love when you don't feel like it is actually a greater expression of love than when you do feel like it.  Love is getting up in the middle of the night to help a sick kid after you've already had a long day and gone to bed late.  Love is being patient with your spouse when they're irritable.  Love is giving a person what they need, not what they deserve.
It's easier to act your way into a feeling than feel your way into an action.  If you act lovingly,  eventually the feelings will follow.  That's important to remember when you are trying to love people who seem unlovable.  
When you love despite your feelings, that's called loving by faith.  And it doesn't just change the other person.  It changes you, too, and makes you more like Jesus.
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five reasons to serve god

"Whatever you did for one to the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me". - Matthew 25:40

How do you serve God? By serving others.  When you do something that makes someone else's life better in some way, you're serving God. 

Here are five things the Bible says about serving God:
Serving is one of your life's purposes: Mark 8:35 says, "Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live."   Until you learn how to serve, you're not really living--you're just existing.

Serving makes you more like Jesus. "Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).  If you don't learn how to serve others, then you will never grow to spiritual maturity.

Serving is the highest use of your time.  The Bible says, "Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).    If you want to make impact and leave a legacy, then serve God by serving others.  Your service to the Lord is never wasted.

Serving is the secret to greatness.  Matthew 20:26 says, "If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others."   True greatness comes from servanthood, not from living for yourself. The greatest leaders are those who serve the most.

Serving will be rewarded in heaven.  Jesus said in Colossians 3:24, "You will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ your are serving."    Your real boss, Jesus, will reward you one day for everything you've done for him.   That's a guarantee!

If your enthusiasm for serving God could use a boost, then remember how God wants you to serve--not out of guilt, duty, or pressure but out of gratitude for what he's done for you.  Gratitude is the best motivation to serve.