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In case you ever wondered…

1. I believe God created everything.

2. I believe Jesus is both human & divine.

3. I believe Jesus died in our place for our sin.

4. I believe there is nothing we can do to impress God or to make Him love us more.

5. I believe we are saved by God’s grace by believing in Jesus’s sacrifice.

6. I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.

7. I believe the Bible is the final authority in all matters.

8. I believe in the Holy Spirit.

9. I believe God sends His Spirit to convict people of their sin.

10. I believe God gives His Spirit to those who believe in Him.

11. I believe Jesus is coming back for His followers.

12. I believe the Church will spend eternity with God.

13. I believe God will judge the world through Jesus (Acts 17).

14. I believe the Church is the hope of the world.

15. I believe God’s glory is the greatest thing.

16. I believe God is about being glorified above everything else.

17. I believe the followers of Jesus regularly repent of sin.

18. I believe we should forgive one another in the same way Jesus forgives us.

19. I believe we are called to live holy lives.

20. I believe God is holy.

21. I believe we should care for the poor.

22. I believe truth is not relative.

23. I believe giving is natural for the followers of Jesus.

24. I believe the cost of following Jesus is worth it.

25. I believe worship is really important; it’s more than singing–it’s a heart & mind devoted to the things of God.

26. I believe we should be on guard against religious righteousness.

27. I believe discipleship happens best at home.

28. I believe we are called to share our faith in Jesus with others; the story you are called to share is the story of what God is doing in your life.

29. I believe people who don’t believe in Jesus will spend eternity in Hell.

30. I believe missions happen because worship doesn’t.

31. I believe God humbles the proud and gives grace to the humble.

32. I believe in submitting to one another.

33. I believe in reading the Scripture.

34. I believe in memorizing the Scripture.

35. I believe in taking all of our anxiety to God in prayer.

36. I believe in sharing one another’s burdens.

37. I believe in living life together.

38. I believe the followers of Jesus are new creations.

39. I believe the mission of Jesus is worth any sacrifice.

What do YOU believe?

Joy & Condemnation

Last weekend, the Brook went to the Passion conference in Dallas. Overall, it was a pretty good weekend, and I learned a lot. The thing that stuck with me the most was something that John Piper said. His sermon was on joy. He asked us, “What is the bottom of your joy?” and gave us an illustration; there is a college student who is majoring in psychology and is happy that she did well on an exam. If someone were to ask her, “Why are you happy about that?” she would said, “Because I want to do well in this class.” If someone were to keep asking that same question for each answer that she gave, she would eventually end up with, “Because I like helping people.” According to Piper, if she can’t answer the question “What are you happy about that?” at this point, it is where her joy stops, and she isn’t a Christian. However, if she can go past that and go on to say, “Because that is what God has made me to do and how He’s called me to glorify Him,” she is a Christian. This really got me thinking. Is Christ really the bottom or the foundation of everything that I do? Overall, Piper’s message was wonderful, but it led to a lot of questions and anxiety for me. I kept asking myself questions…

…What if God’s glory isn’t at the bottom of my joy?

…How do I even know what’s at the bottom of my joy?

…How can I change the bottom of my joy?

…Am I really saved if God’s glory isn’t at the bottom of my joy?

On Monday, Scot texted everyone who went to the conference to let either him or Drew know if we wanted to get together to discuss anything from the conference, especially John Piper’s message. Of course, I said I wanted to so we met today. During our conversation about the conference, Scot said I reminded him a lot of himself.

He gave me the following two verses to consider:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 8:1 (ESV)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

I had heard these verses before, but I hadn’t thought about the fact that what I’ve been doing is considered self-condemnation. I have so much anxiety about a lot of things, and I’m so hard on myself  instead of giving my worries to God and letting Him take care of them. That is really something that I need to work on; instead of being upset and dwelling on something, I need to ask God for help and ask Him to work in my life so that His will is done. I have a feeling that is much easier said than done..