When we’re working out our beliefs, it matters who we surround ourselves with. It can be too easy to allow our friends to sway our perspective and even draw us away from Christ.
“Some Christians just don’t have that conviction anymore; they squelch the Holy Spirit completely. And so that’s a very confusing thing too. As an unbeliever, that was a very confusing thing for me to see – that people could say one thing and just have no problem doing another thing.”
Patty Houser shares the importance of standing on our convictions and keeping our focus on Christ. Jesus says things are proven right by their fruit.
When we spend time in the Word, our lives reflect the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, self-control, and so on. When we neglect the Word, we’re low on patience, forgiveness, truth, and humility.
Our faith can’t go on autopilot. In her book , Parry writes that we need to actively seek out truth.
“Washing our brains in God’s Word and in prayer really is essential because that is the standard. That is the truth. God revealed Himself to us, and who He is, through His Word, and that is our standard. When we’re not deeply connected to that, it’s so easy to be swayed by the culture.”
There is an irony and sadness when we consider how much access we have to the Word and the high the rate of Biblical illiteracy. We assume since we’re surrounded by biblical materials we’ll understand and remember what truth is.
However our lives are filled with so many different voices and the Biblical voice is rarely the loudest. It’s easy to defer to the one whose voice seems loudest or most powerful in the moment. Patty says we need to change that,
“We’re forgetting that God is the author of life. He’s the author of the world and He’s given us this manual to know how to live and direct our lives. So it’s really vital that we are constantly connected to God and His Word through prayer.”
God is the author of truth – and part of working out your own beliefs means going to the One who owns truth and letting Him shape your convictions and beliefs. Spend some time reading through His Word and journaling. Ask God to show you what beliefs you hold that don’t line up with His Word, and renew your mind to see what the truth really is.
Key Scriptures: 1 Peter 3:15; Matthew 7:21-23
Featured Songs: We Will Not Be Shaken by Bethel; Freedom Song by Christy Nockels; On Our Side by Lincoln Brewster
