For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly,
as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Romans 12:3
God has given each person a measure of faith
Another cannot believe for you
They cannot tell you how to believe God
That is where our testimony becomes so important
The word of our testimony of what He has done
This means both the word of God, what He has shown us that He has done
and what Jesus has taught us in each of our lives
And, there may be more that we haven’t thought of,
maybe something that God is showing you right now
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
We can’t really borrow faith
Each of us is given faith
What we do with that gift is up to us
We can ignore it, squelch it, strangle it,
or we can honor it, nurture it and give it the utmost position in our lives
Whenever we read the word of God, which really is God Himself, Jesus:
In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God and the Word was God.
John 1:1
That word is powerful and mighty in the spiritual realm
and it carries over to the earthly realm
When God’s word goes forth, there is no stopping it:
So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth:
it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11
Can others increase your faith?
Not exactly, they can share their faith, share the word of God,
share what Jesus has done in their lives, but the increase comes from God
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:6
Everything in the spiritual realm is done by faith and while we mortals believe,
God does the work, we are just participants
So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth;
but God that giveth the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:7
The soil matters
The soil might be the absorption rate and quality
that allows the seed of the Word to flourish and grow and bear fruit
Are we responsible for our own soil? Perhaps to a degree
The Parable of the Sower:
Mark 4, Luke 8 and Matthew 13 give us metaphors of the soil
that the seeds get planted on: rocky soil, the birds ate the seeds;
the sun scorched some of them; the thorns choked some of them;
and some fell on good ground and grew and yielded fruit
The word of God is full of the richness of God, the teachings of His Spirit
that help us to understand Him and His ways
And He said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Mark 4:9