Aug
06
2010
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.
Feb
05
2010
National Wear Red Day
Heart disease is the number one killer of women and today is National Wear Red Day. This is a campaign by the American Heart Associations to build awareness of the risk of heart disease and to raise funds for research and education on behalf of women everywhere. Many women will wear red today. My wife did. I even encouraged a male client of mine to wear a red tie today.
Heart Disease Risk Factors
The risk factors for heart disease for men and women are pretty commonly understood – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, diabetes, family history, sex, age, stress and excessive alcohol. In that light, the American Heart Association’s recommends these six lifestyle-related steps we all can take for a healthier heart:
- Avoid tobacco smoke
- Monitor high blood pressure
- Eat food low in cholesterol and saturated fats
- Be physically active
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Have regular medical exams
God and Your Heart
The above list is what the medical profession suggests we all do to attend to our “heart health.” I’d suggest that a seventh item belongs on this list - Trust, love and obey God. The heart of the matter, the truth is, that the greatest commandment that God, our Creator, has given us is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as yourself. ” Mark 12:28-31
When we come to the point where we love God from the bottom of our heart, it can change us completely. When we receive his love and forgiveness for all the things we’ve done wrong – all our sins – we can experience his deep love. When we trust him completely we can know real peace. When we make a choice to believe that the Holy Bible is truth and then try deep in our hearts to follow his principles for living found in the Bible, we can experience the full life that he desires for all of us to live. This includes having a healthy spiritual heart as well as a healthy physical heart.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 14:30
I hope you’re wearing red today… but more importantly, I hope you’re deeply in love with God.
Questions to Consider
How much do you love God? Do you trust him? Are you following his commandments out of love for him?
Is your spiritual heart right with God and with others?
Could any unforgiveness, anger or bitterness be having a harmful effect on your physical heart?
Resources for Your Heart
Web Page – Bible Verses About the Heart and Health
Article – Spiritual and Physical Care for Your Heart
Article – Forgiveness: A Spiritual Exercise for a Healthier Heart
Article – Manage Your Stress with God’s Help
Website – Faith-based Toolkit for Heart Health – National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
May
14
2009
These were the affirmations I sent on Twitter during the past week.
If you have a personal relationship with God through Jesus, these are for you as well. Receive them as your own truth. Read them out loud.
Your thoughts and the words you speak can change your life!
Read this post to understand my intent and motive for sending affirmations based on scripture over Twitter.
- I know how much God loves me because His Holy Spirit has filled my heart with His love. Romans 5:5
- I do what is right and good in the Lord’s eyes so all will go well with me. Deuteronomy 6:18
- I am truly a disciple of Jesus because I keep obeying His teachings. John 8:31
- God created everything. It’s for His pleasure that I exist and was created. Revelation 4:11
- With God, everything is possible Matthew 19:26
- Jesus gives me rest when I am weary. He is humble and gentle. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Matthew 11:28-29
- I give thanks to the Lord and proclaim how great He is! Psalm 105:1
- I am strong and courageous! My God goes ahead of me and He will not fail or forsake me. Deuteronomy 31:6
- I myself no longer live but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2:20
- I humble myself under God’s mighty power and in His good time He will honor me. 1 Peter 5:6
- I believe there is one God and He rewards me because I sincerely seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
- I go boldly to God’s throne where I receive His mercy and find grace to help me when I need it. Hebrews 4:16
- When I believed in Christ, God identified me as his own by giving me the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13
- I am a child of God because I have faith in Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:26
- I am strong & steady – enthusiastic about the Lord’s work I am doing. Nothing I do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:58
- As God’s Spirit works within me, I become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more. 2 Corinthians 3:18
- I accept others as God has accepted me so God is glorified. Romans 15:7
- Because I have believed in and accepted Jesus, I’ve been given the right to be called a child of God. John 1:12
- Reading scripture prepares me to be fully equipped for every good thing God wants me to do. 2 Timothy 3:17
- God’s grace has set me free from the law and sin. Romans 6:15
- I have given up my life for Jesus so I have found new life. Luke 9:24
- Since I forgive others I will be forgiven. Luke 6:37
- I am happy because I obey God’s commands and search for Him with all my heart. Psalm 119:2
Follow me on Twitter to receive similar affirmations daily.
Have a terrific day – I’m headed out fishing with two good friends!
Oct
07
2008
It’s a gorgeous fall day in Charlotte and I’ve just come back from a 2 mile run. I had my ipod on and was listening to inspirational Christian music. Prior to that run, I had spent several hours reading the Bible and a book about Christian living(Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper) and had a phone conversation with a leader of a ministry. I had also had a discussion with the head of our church wellness ministry about what the future holds for that ministry in the church.
Later today I will be visiting a mens homeless ministry and will be teaching the Bible study tonight. I am in great anticipation about how God will be present during my time with the men and about what He will do amidst us.
All these circumstances have my heart racing and my mind filled with the great things that God wants to do in the world around me. Earlier today my girlfriend shared with me that USA Today had another article on it’s front page about the impact that the financial crisis is having on the stress of people and the subsequent impact it has on people’s lives. It was another reminder about the need people have for God in their life.
It’s at times like this that my mind races and I want to do so many things and tell so many people about the love of God and of the impact that a personal relationship with the one true God can have on their life. I have spent the better part of the last month preparing a presentation that I will give to a group of financial advisers at the end of this month on the impact of stress on our health and the role that our faith can play amidst this stress. After working for this length of time on a presentation, it all comes together very clearly in my mind about the relevance of faith and God in our life during times of stress like this… and I just want to share it with everybody.
If you don’t currently experience a very personal relationship with God and you haven’t yet experienced the love of Jesus Christ this is certainly a time to begin to do that. The Bible is very clear that God sent his son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that we can experience a full and abundant life here on this earth and for eternity. The main reason that he wants us to live a very full life is so that we can be a reflection of God’s glory to other people who don’t know Him. Ultimately that is our purpose for living — to live life in such a way that brings glory to God.
For those of us that have experienced the love of Christ in a very real way, it’s at times like this that we can make an impact on His kingdom. We need to remember to stay very closely connected to God in ways that are meaningful to us so that we receive wisdom and peace and hope and strength. It is from being very well grounded in these ways that we can then be a light for others that we are in community with, especially those that do not know Christ. It’s in times like we are in that we should stand on the mountain tops lighting the world around us. And it’s at times like this that we need to look for opportunities to share with others what Christ has done in our life. We need to be prepared and look for opportunities to tell other people why we are able to have a calmness about us when so many people are stressed out and seemingly out of control because of the financial crisis that our country is in. The only way we’re going to be able to do this is if we stay closely connected to God day in and day out.
It’s only because I spent quite a bit of time abiding with God this morning that I have received an overwhelming desire … in fact, a passion, to share this encouraging word with you today. It’s a blessing for me to spend the time I did with God today and to be able to take the time to write to you on matters such as this. I hope that you find it encouraging.
Go shine your light brightly!
