I have a challenge for you. I've been thinking a lot about this for myself. So this is a challenge for you and for me!
I challenge you to write a list of your beliefs! I have started on this project and I will share some of them with you soon.
Before you move on to lighter content, please read on.
Whether you are content and happy with your life or unhappy and in need of change, this is a project for you.
What do you believe about God? Who is He? What are His attributes (His qualities)? What is His plan for you? What do you believe about Jesus? What about the Holy Spirit?
What do you believe about the Bible? Who wrote it? Is it a history book or story book? Is the Bible true? Is it relevant to our lives today? Does the whole Bible apply to you or just part of it?
What do you believe about yourself? Who are you? What is your purpose? What is your place in this world? What is your role in your family? What are your gifts and talents? What is most important to you in life? What are your values? What are you strengths and weaknesses? What are your hot buttons?
What do you believe about your children? What is their place in this world and in your family? What do you believe about their future? How should they be disciplined and what is the purpose of discipline? What are your children's strengths, weaknesses, talents, and hot buttons?
What do you believe about the world? What about the earth and your relationship to it? Why do bad things happen in the world?
What do you believe about your government? What is your duty to your government? What is the government's duty toward you? What about conflicts around the world?
What do you believe about Israel? What were their sacrifices for?
This may seem like a lot of heavy thinking, but I'm just trying to get your wheels turning. Write a list of all your beliefs, in whatever areas are important to you.
So why is this so important? Why should you spend your precious time on a project like this?
This is life changing, that's why. To actually sit down and think about what you believe and put it in a written form will alter the course of your life. Your beliefs shape your actions.
So whether you are happy and content with life or are unhappy and need a change, this is a project for you. If you need a change, the first step is identifying where you are. If you are happy with life, do you want that same thing for your children? Do you have a plan to teach them your beliefs? Or are you just hoping they will adopt your beliefs?
Did you know that 85% of our teens are leaving the church? Why is that? I believe it's because they don't know why their parents believe what they believe. The parent's beliefs have not been transferred to the child and so there is a void of values inside of them. They will fill that void with whatever values make sense to them, the values of their teachers, their professors, their friends, the media. The problem, as I see it, is that parents are not actively teaching their children. They bring them to church, they lecture them when they don't approve of their behavior, but they aren't teaching them. When you identify what you believe you can make a plan as to how you will teach your children those beliefs.
And if you don't have children, you have influence in someone's life--perhaps a family member, a friend, a coworker--whether younger or older, you have influence over someone's life. Make that influence matter. Make a difference.
Now here is the REAL challenge--WHY do you believe what you believe? Can you find scripture to back up all of your beliefs? Is it okay to have beliefs that you can't find scriptures for?
What if you can't make a list of your beliefs? Check out the book, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren for some starting points.
Now if I have left you too many questions, stay tuned, I will be addressing that shortly.
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