Bible, Beliefs and Truth – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 A Weekly Health Devotional

Beliefs and Your Life

About a year ago I was asked a very thought provoking question by my oldest son.  His question was something like this – “What is the single belief you have that has the greatest impact on how you live your life?”

That is a tough question and I had never been asked that or pondered my beliefs in such a way. How would you answer this question? Think about that for a bit before you continue reading. Really now….. pause and think on this for a minute or two.

Okay. Would your response be something like one of the following? God loves me. I am a child of God. Because I treat others like I want to be treated, I am treated well.  I trust God no matter what happens in my life.

Drew, my son, shared his answer to this question with me and for the last year, I have adopted it as my answer.

The Bible is Truth

That is how I answer the question now. The single belief that I have that most impacts on how I live my life is that the Bible is truth.  This belief has profound impact on my life in many, many ways.

Because I believe that the Bile is truth I desire to know what it says so I read it almost daily.  I study it.  I think about it, or meditate on what it says, throughout the day when I can.  Because I understand that what I think about strongly affects my speaking and behavior, I write out and speak affirmations that are based on scripture….. and send them out over Twitter for others to receive. (See the right sidebar on my blog)

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The truths that I read in the Bible give me hope, strength and wisdom for daily living.  Knowing that God inspired men to write the books of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17) helps me know that the Bible contains God’s guidelines on how he wants me to live my life. It teaches me how to handle the stressful circumstances that life throws at me.  It teaches me how to be in relationships with other people, including my wife, my children and my parents and siblings. The Bible gives me principles for taking care of my emotional and physical health.

The Bible also reveals to me how to have a full and abundant life here on this earth and how I can be assured of living eternally – forever and ever – after I die here. (John 3:16 and John 10:10)

Because I believe - I know – that the Bible is truth, I have a deep, deep peace, joy and love in my heart and this motivates me to share what I believe… what I know… with others.

Questions to Reflect On

What is the single belief that you have that most impacts on how you live your life?

Are you being true to that belief?  Are you “living it out?”

Are you sharing this belief with others? If so, what impact is it having on their lives?

Related Resources

Christian Principles that are Health-Promoting

Scriptures Related to Strength, Stress and Health

His Instruction Manual – Our Guidebook for Healthy Living

Bible Scriptures as Affirmations

An Invitation

• I invite you to share your most important belief in the comment section so that others might benefit.
• Forward this post along to others or use the social media buttons below to share.

False Beliefs and Unhealthy Thinking

Last week our church began a 7-part series titled “Be Our Biggest Loser“. The series is about the things we want to lose in our lives – not just extra weight. A few of the topics we will address will be low self esteem, helplessness, anxiety, addictions and bitterness. I had the privilege of presenting the first teaching on “False Beliefs and Destructive Thinking.”

One of the key verses I based the teaching on is

“For as a man thinks within himself, so he is.”  Proverbs 23:7

In the teaching I briefly covered the following topics:

• Satan is the deceiver
• Our defense- the Word of God
• Our identity
• We are all children of God
• The value of meditation and affirmations
• It’s all about the heart

One of the main points I made was the importance of renewing one’s mind according to Romans 12:2.  My appreciation for this scripture is that Paul was not just referring to the process of thinking positive, heavenly thoughts.  He was also encouraging the Romans to embrace the entire gospel. He was urging them to consider what Christ did for them on the cross and for them to live out the new life that they were given to them by Christ.

Based upon the feedback I received afterward, I thought I’d make my five pages of notes I referred to available here as a resource. Included in the notes are 20 relevant scriptures. To read and/or download a copy of the notes, visit the link below.

False Beliefs & Destructive Thinking

Hope that you have an awesome day!

Who is Your Happiness Coach? – Wellness Wednesday

Today’s Wall Street Journal carries an article titled “Thinking Happy Thoughts at Work.” The author’s corresponding blog post uses the following title – “Workplace Blues? Call a Happiness Coach.”

“How would you feel if your employer brought in a happiness coach — a trainer or speaker urging you to practice new behaviors, cheer up and stop stressing out?”  That’s how Sue Shellenberger’s blog post begins.  She writes that trainers and coaches are “drawing on psychological research and ancient religious traditions to teach inner peace, gratitude, kindness and resiliency in the face of adversity” that is so prevalent at the workplace in today’s tough economic times.  Shellenberger writes that coaches are placing an emphasis on the inner happiness of their clients and how they can control their own mood amidst turbulence or misfortune. Some techniques mentioned are writing emails to friends thanking them for something they’ve done, meditating daily to clear your mind, doing something for someone without expecting anything in return and focusing on the process of work rather than the outcome which you can’t control.

It’s true that we all can benefit from applying techniques and activities that will bring us peace, kindness and strength during tough times. Fortunately, God provides us many principles for this in the Bible. Let’s take a look.

What the Bible Says About Happiness and Joy

“Oh, the joys of those who  …. delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 1:1-2

“O LORD Almighty, happy are those who trust in you.” Psalm 84:12

“Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.”  Psalm 89:15

“Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.” Psalm 119:1-2

“As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.” Psalm 119:143

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.”  Philippians 4:6-7

“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise….. then the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9

What You Can Do

Deep inner happiness or joy is what people are looking for. That need is greater than short term happiness which is typically dependent on our circumstances. So how do you come to a place of joy?  Our creator, God, inspired the authors of the Bible to tell us that this kind of deep happiness comes from placing your trust in God and by following his principles or commandments.

Trust and faith in God require a decision deep in your will. It requires you to believe deep in your heart that God is who the Bible tells us he is…. a loving, forgiving, all-knowing, powerful and holy God. When you believe this, it enables you to place your trust in him and to follow his ways.

You can’t know his ways unless you learn them and the best source of this knowledge is the Holy Bible.  The more you read it, the more you can come to an understanding of who God is and what his principles for living are.

The challenge then is to live in accordance to these principles. We might call this obedience. The Bible tells us that if we truly love God we will obey him. (1 John 1:5)  Having a deep love for God and spending time alone with him will enable you to obey him more easily. The scriptures above remind us that it’s through following his principles that we receive deep happiness or joy.

Thinking “healthy” thoughts is also key to maintaining a good attitude and achieving an on-going level of peace. As you renew your mind by thinking more about God and His nature and truth and less about untruths and negative thoughts it will likely improve your day-to-day attitude and corresponding emotions, as well as your disposition on life.  This ought to contribute to a sense of peace and may well impact in a positive way on your emotional and physical health.

So, receive God’s love deep in your heart, get to know him better, place your trust in him, pray to him, think about “things of heaven,” thank God and follow his principles found in the Bible. That’s the pathway to deep joy and inner peace.

I don’t know about you, but God is my Happiness Coach.

Have a terrific day!

Questions About Happiness and Joy to Reflect On

How are you handling the pressures at work or in your home?

Who is your Happiness Coach?

What books or materials are you reading as a source of truth on how to have joy and peace?

Resources Related to Joy and Peace

Article – His Instruction Manual – Our Guidebook for Living

Article – Think Spiritual Thoughts. Renew Your Mind.

Article – Loving God

Blog Posts About Joy

Blog Post – Joy, Well-Being and Health