What I Believe

I recently told someone something I have said thousands of times and it struck me later how what I said was a lie. 

We were discussing the fact someone we knew was going to be a doctor. 

I remarked that if I had been a doctor I would have to be a surgeon because while blood a guts didn't bother me, I didn't like people. 

I said this with a chuckle and thought it was pithy. I have even said it before, and never thought anything of it. 

What a lie! 

I may not have liked people before surrendering to Christ, but now the love I have for God and the love He sheds in my heart is moving me to love people. 

What happens when we realize we have believed something about ourselves that was not true? 

Does it prompt us to look at what we do believe more closely? It does me. 

So I decided to write out what I do believe. My personal creed if you will. I want to share it with you. 

I believe there is one God, eternal and Holy. 

I believe that God loves us, and has a plan and a purpose for every person. 

I believe that God’s love was proven on the day He sent His son Jesus to earth and again on the day He sacrificed Him on the cross for our sins. 

I believe that there is a divine way to live and it can be summed up like this: love God, love people. 

I believe that there is an active Spirit of God that dwells in us when we accept Christ and as we grow in intimacy with God, the Spirit of God grows in influence over our lives. 

I believe the word is infallible. It is the express heart of God. It is made for our instruction, our correction, and our spiritual education. 

I believe that if God said it, then I have to place His words above my opinions: even if they seem hard for me to live by. 

I believe the church is the body of Christ, made up of people. The actual 2 x 4s and steeple do not matter, the people do. There is nothing holy about a building, Jesus did not die for the wood and shingles. He died for you and me. 

I believe that in Christ we are the redeemed of God, joint heirs with Christ, now adopted into the family of God. Before salvation I was just a creation of God, now with Christ in my life I am a child of God. You cannot be a child without the adoption process of salvation. 

I believe salvation is simply this: 1. Admit there is no way for you to reach God because of sin. 2. Ask God to free you and forgive you of that sin. 3. Ask Jesus to come into your heart. This is salvation. 

I believe we are eternal beings and as such we will move on to either heaven or hell after death. Our destinations depend on our status as a family member. If you are in the Family of God, you go to Heaven, if you have rejected God and opted not to be adopted into His love, your destination is Hell. Your choice. 

I believe there is an enemy; his name is Satan or Lucifer. He is not all powerful, but he is out there. His tricks include three things: pride, lies, and hate. If we learn to humble ourselves before God, live in the truth of His light and walk in His love then there is nothing that can separate us from God, not even a defeated foe. 

I believe that we are called to sow. God’s love is in us, and there are others that need that love. We are called to take the truth of God and share it with the world: sowing into peoples’ lives the love of God so that He can water, increase and harvest the rewards: a bigger family. 

 I believe that God does not change, He is immutable and stays the same. Therefore He still heals, He still fills people with His spirit, He still does miracles and He still has plans for your life. 

I believe that you are reading this for a reason. I believe that this is the time you must examine what you believe and why you believe it. 

There is freedom in knowing that God is there, waiting for you to reach out for Him. He has been waiting for you. 

What do you believe?