16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God not by following the law, but by trusting in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be made right with God because we trusted in Christ. It is not because we followed the law, because no one can be made right with God by following the law. Galatians 2:16 NCV
Do you know what you believe and why you believe it to be true? Do you realize that what you choose to believe is revealed in how you live your life?
I find it interesting when people devote so much of their precious time (because we know that time cannot be retracted or relived) to activities that really don’t add to their overall life or contribute to the betterment of who they are as a person. After all, don’t we all want to live the best versions of ourselves?
Perhaps I say this now because I feel I’ve lived more than a handful of decades and believe myself to be ‘qualified’ (if I may say that) to just put it out there. In my heart of hearts I’m screaming, “Stop the madness! It’s not going to make things any better.”
All this talk about “being authentic” has left me scratching my head, because quite frankly, I don’t see much evidence of it. It sounds like a good idea. And maybe it would start the ball rolling in the right direction. But after hearing the coined phrase get tossed around like a beach ball for several years, and seeing little progress beyond our most intellectual selves, I’m just not convinced that we’ve decided it would be worth it.
So, if knowing what we believe (whatever that translates into for you) directly impacts the way we make conscious decisions, it is also clear to say that our beliefs will be revealed in the way we live.
Then let me ask you, Friend: “Can you verbalize what you actually believe?” There are no two sides to the truth. There is the truth and then there is the lie (some may wish to soften the blow and use the word, false).
And I caution you to choose your words carefully, as they will obviously declare where your heart and values are well kept.
If you are a Believer in and Follower of Jesus Christ, your testimony can be ‘heard’ in the silence of your lifestyle. There is no greater sermon than the life you live in the day-to-day moment. And what we fail to remember is that it is often the loudest sermon and sadly the only sermon that some folks will come to witness. Many people who choose not to set foot into a place of worship do so based on what they see on display in the here and now.
So, let me take you back to my original question: “Do you know what you believe and why?” Because it truly does matter. Your eternal life matters. This life here as you know it is just a vapor compared t what’s to come. There really is a forever, and you can determine where yours will be spent.
As an adult, you have certain responsibilities that only you can answer to. Getting up in the morning, going to work or school, caring for the raising of children or elderly. You have a choice to either rise and be productive or pull the covers over your sleepy head and let someone else do what needs to be done so that you can lay there safe and sound.
Choices. Free will. Ours to do with responsibly because there are consequences to every action. That’s a rule in both the temporal and eternal realm.
You know me by now to be a woman that is short-fused on people making excuses. Because that, too, is a choice. An excuse is a cowardly way to try to explain why a person willfully chose (but refuses to admit) to do something intentional but got caught and called out on the act they were attempting to conceal. The cover-up is the giveaway. There’s no need to conceal the truth.
I’m asking you to define your beliefs. If it is in Christ, you would have no need to consult a dictionary nor Dr. Google to try to explain your values or truths that you live by. All you would do is talk about your relationship with Jesus. Period. Bottom line: either you have one or you don’t (yet). I’m praying you’ll be open to the idea. Warning: you can’t fake this or pretend. Again, the proof is in the living.
However, if your struggle is in “finding the right words” to impress your listeners, perhaps you’ve not yet encountered the Risen Lord Himself. Beware, the road to Damascus lies open before you.
Let me just put it plainly: Jesus said, “it is finished.” And He meant every bit of those three words. He draws our attention to the fact that He paid it all – our debt to the sinful life we’ve lived, whether we think “it wasn’t all that bad,” or otherwise. And He calls us into a relationship with Him so that we can live a victorious life filled with joy, peace and assurance that can’t be beat by anything the world promises.
Relationship. Isn’t that what we’re really after? The desire to belong and valued for who we are? Who else would have the best comment on that other than the Creator Himself Who designed your best self provides the means for you to live it out? Remember, He really does hold the whole world in His Hands. (Go ahead and sing it if you know it.)
It may sound like a challenge today. However, it is an opportunity to examine where your heart is and to Whom you belong. If you’ve been searching and have questions, I encourage you to send me a message or comment – I want nothing more than for you to live in the knowledge and love of Christ Who deeply loves you. He believes that you were worth dying for.
2 God says,
“At the right time I heard your prayers.
On the day of salvation I helped you.”I tell you that the “right time” is now, and the “day of salvation” is now. 2 Corinthians 6:2 NCV
I love you to Heaven and Back, Girlfriend ~
LindaRJohnson, TitusTwo Visionary
Titus Two 