After much thought and prayer I decided to become what I believe. To be honest, making that decision was relatively easy. The confusion came at what happens next. How will my life change, and what will that process look like? And where do I begin?
I struggled with this for some time, until finally God gently gave me a slap to the back of the head and I realized what that first step had to be. In order to become what I believe, I had to know exactly what I did believe. I had to go way beyond a simple "I believe in God" statement. I had to dig down deep to the very core of my belief system and find out what was there. Only then would I know what I had to become in order to match up with those core beliefs.
I entitled this blog posting "A Dangerous Process". Here is the reason I did that. Honest, no-holds barred self-evaluation, can be very dangerous in its revelation. You may not like what you come up with. I would even venture to say that (gulp) some of us, once our true beliefs are exposed, would have a hard time returning to our church the following Sunday. Hopefully, that won't be the case. In fact , if it should be the case, that may be all the more reason to go.
So, how does one go about discovering what their core beliefs are? The obvious answer would be that the process will be different for each of us. The only common denominator is the purpose behind it. Other than that, God is the man at the wheel and there is no telling where He will take us.
I'm going to pause here a moment and share with you my definition of a core belief. For me a core belief is something that is such a part of who I am, and such a vital part of my personal values, that it could never change, regardless of my circumstances. Once I came to that conclusion, it narrowed things down. A lot.
So, I began a list. A list of unchangeable and non-negotiable beliefs. I will share my list at a later date. I don't want to influence you should you decide to try this. I set one rule for myself as I compiled my list. Once something was put on the list it could never be taken off. Additions could be made to the list at any time, but deletions are not allowed. Once I set that parameter,the list took a lot more thought.
First one on my list was "I believe the Word of God to be complete and inerrant." This will never change for me. My whole belief system is based on that statement. What about you? Do you dare begin this Dangerous Process? I hope so. Start a list…I dare you. More on this list and where to go from there in part 3.
I struggled with this for some time, until finally God gently gave me a slap to the back of the head and I realized what that first step had to be. In order to become what I believe, I had to know exactly what I did believe. I had to go way beyond a simple "I believe in God" statement. I had to dig down deep to the very core of my belief system and find out what was there. Only then would I know what I had to become in order to match up with those core beliefs.
I entitled this blog posting "A Dangerous Process". Here is the reason I did that. Honest, no-holds barred self-evaluation, can be very dangerous in its revelation. You may not like what you come up with. I would even venture to say that (gulp) some of us, once our true beliefs are exposed, would have a hard time returning to our church the following Sunday. Hopefully, that won't be the case. In fact , if it should be the case, that may be all the more reason to go.
So, how does one go about discovering what their core beliefs are? The obvious answer would be that the process will be different for each of us. The only common denominator is the purpose behind it. Other than that, God is the man at the wheel and there is no telling where He will take us.
I'm going to pause here a moment and share with you my definition of a core belief. For me a core belief is something that is such a part of who I am, and such a vital part of my personal values, that it could never change, regardless of my circumstances. Once I came to that conclusion, it narrowed things down. A lot.
So, I began a list. A list of unchangeable and non-negotiable beliefs. I will share my list at a later date. I don't want to influence you should you decide to try this. I set one rule for myself as I compiled my list. Once something was put on the list it could never be taken off. Additions could be made to the list at any time, but deletions are not allowed. Once I set that parameter,the list took a lot more thought.
First one on my list was "I believe the Word of God to be complete and inerrant." This will never change for me. My whole belief system is based on that statement. What about you? Do you dare begin this Dangerous Process? I hope so. Start a list…I dare you. More on this list and where to go from there in part 3.
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