Live As We Believe

            I have spent some time thinking about a very simple subject that has troubled me from time to time.  The subject that has grabbed some of my mental energy is simply the question of why so often our beliefs don’t show up in our actions.  Why don’t we live as we believe?  We say we believe one thing or take something for fact, yet the very things we do often show that we don’t carry that belief into our everyday lives.  Asking that question has led me to ask myself many others and I would like to share some of them with you.  The format will be simple.  I will share a belief and then the incongruent action that betrays that belief for a Christian in a question format.  I would encourage you to maybe write a few of your own and I would love to hear them.  You can put it in my mailbox in the church office or email me at pastormatttosten@aol.com.  So here are some of the ones I have been chewing on at one time or another.  Take a look and send me some of your own. 

If we believe Jesus has given us eternity, why are we so impatient?

If we believe Jesus had to die in order to wash away my sins, why do we take our own sin so lightly?

If we believe we will one day get new bodies, why do we obsess over our bodies now?

If we believe that change starts with us, why do we insist on starting with everyone else?

If we believe that every life is precious, why do we treat so many people around us as though they don’t matter?

If we believe the Word of God can give us spiritual food, then why do we find ourselves so spiritually malnourished?

If we believe God will take care of us, why do we worry so?

If we believe we have victory in Jesus, why do we carry a posture of defeat?

If we believe our health struggles will one day not be an issue that will need to be discussed, why do we find it so often as the center of our discussions now?

If we believe God is all we need, why are we never satisfied?

If we believe God owns all things, why do we insist on calling so much stuff “mine”?

If we believe our spouse should give us their best, why don’t we give that to them?

If we believe prayer is so important, why do we often treat it only as a mealtime ritual or a way to start a Christian meeting?

If we believe that all things fall under the dominion of God, why are we so territorial?

If we believe we are to love our enemies, why do we often think our personal adversaries don’t qualify under that command?

If we believe God is a God of abundance, why do we focus so much on scarcity?

If we believe that a world without Jesus is lost and dying, why are we surprisde by the condition of our world?

If we believe that Christ is the ruler of His church, then why are power struggles so common in churches?

If we believe that listening is more important than speaking, then why do we only feel satisfied if we are heard?

If we believe that God is involved in our lives, why are we so shocked when we see evidence of His work?

If we believe time is more precious than even money, why do we waste both in such abundance?

If we believe God delights in our cheerful generosity, why do we delight in our miserly cheapness?

If we believe that Christians are all on the same team, then why are we jealous of other churches’ successes?

If we believe we have nothing to fear, why is fear a determining factor in so much of what we do?

If we believe we don’t have all the answers, why do we have an opinion on everything?

If we believe that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength, why do we live in the shadows of our own self doubt?

Chew on those and give me some to chew on too.  If it works out I will share your contributions in an upcoming newsletter.  Let us challenge one another to truly live as we believe.

 
Trier Ridge Community Church 
7501 Hessen Cassel Road ,
Fort Wayne, IN. 46816
 260 447 1994