GROWTH
29th Oct 2025
Something strange happened to me a few days ago: I heard my phone ping, opened it, and found myself watching a video of myself! I recognised the jumper I was wearing, and intrigued, I listened to the message I had recorded a long time ago. I was amazed by the content and how relevant it was to me at that moment!
The thrust of what I was saying involved crying out for increased faith in order to receive from God the things asked for in prayer. So Charles & I listened to the message again and have been crying out to God to increase our faith. (The message is on YouTube - “Increase our Faith” - on Charles & Joyce)
2 Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” In The Message, the word ‘knowledge’ is replaced by ‘understanding’.
Many years ago, I was ministering in a church in Sweden, and as I looked over the congregation, I found myself seeing a collection of skeletal people sitting in the pews. I blinked and looked again to see well-dressed, normal individuals. I felt God tell me that He had shown me what He saw: undernourished, starving people.
Later, as people responded during the prayer time, many expressed deep needs. I found myself asking, "Are you feeding yourself with God’s Word?" “Are you spending time with Jesus?” To which many answered "No."
These were people who knew Jesus, but were not allowing Him to feed and nourish them. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
I want to grow in grace, in faith, in knowing and understanding Jesus. How? By receiving God’s mercy, compassion and all that He alone can give to enable the growth that is needed.
by Joyce Sibthorpe
