Ryan Krueger was perfectly content with being complacent in his faith. That is until God called him to raise the bar of faith for his life.

Now, Ryan wants to help other people raise the bars in their own lives.

Ryan is a student pastor at Cross Point Church in Franklin, Tennessee. He tried not to drink alcohol or curse too much in his youth.

But he didn’t want to fully surrender his life to God. Something changed when God began to make Ryan feel uncomfortable in his complacent Christian walk.

“ …Jesus did what he often does to his beloved children, He began making me feel uncomfortable with the way I was living,” Ryan wrote in a recent Live Original blog post. “I found myself no longer being as easily satisfied with the things that used to fulfill me like sports, friends, family, girls, etc”

When Ryan began to dig deeper into his faith, he realized that Jesus wanted him to live an abundant life.

“It wasn’t enough anymore to just be the Christian guy who doesn’t drink and cuss,” he said. “Jesus was calling me out of this low-bar, worldly living and into a much more full and exciting life!”

1. Read the Word of God

Now, Ryan is sharing three practical steps to help others live more of an abundant life. The first is to read the word of God.

“You are probably thinking, well duh, I have heard this my whole life. But have you ever feasted on the Word of God (Matthew 4:4),” he questioned. “Have you invited the Holy Spirit into your time in the Word asking him to illuminate Scripture to you (Psalm 119:18)? Do you meditate on spiritual truths throughout the day (1 Cor. 2:12-13)?”

2. Prayer

Digging deeper into the word has been life changing for Ryan who also encouraged people with his second point which is, “pray.”

“Prayer is our active choice of surrender during the day. It is ‘setting our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Col. 3:2),’” he said. “Prayer gives us eyes to see life from God’s perspective… My life changed forever when reading God’s Word changed from a discipline to a desire. His Words are life to our soul.”

3. Community

Ryan’s final point was about the importance of being in community.

“God never intended for us to “fight the good fight” alone. He gives us each other to encourage, challenge, and comfort one another as we run after Jesus,” he said. “Find a friend who wants to keep you accountable. Find a mentor who will push you to the foot of the cross.”

He went on to add, “find a group you can confess sin, find freedom, and celebrate life’s wins together.”