Convictions
In a previous post, I talked about beliefs, experiences, and convictions. In summary, a belief and an experience together produce a conviction. (BELIEF + EXPERIENCE = CONVICTION)
The church as a whole is full of a lot of people that have a lot of beliefs. Actually, the world (Christians and non-Christians alike) is full of people that have beliefs. However, I am realizing that beliefs are their own don't make any impact on the world. What truly impacts the world is convictions. People that not only believe certain things but have personally experienced the power and importance of those beliefs and are convinced that this belief is accurate.
This whole notion has made me stop and think? Is the reason the church isn't making an impact is because we believe a lot but haven't experienced a lot. We believe in healing; however, we haven't first-hand experienced the healing power of Jesus. We believe in God, but we haven't personally experienced Him. We believe in miracles, yet we haven't ever seen one.
Do you understand what I'm saying?? We need to experience what we believe in if we expect to make an impact on anyone. We must develop deep convictions about who God is, who we are, and what He wants to accomplish in and through us in this region if we truly expect to see our dreams become a reality.
The disciples believed in Jesus and experienced Him. Their experience became even more dramatic when the promised Holy Spirit came upon them in Acts 2. Their belief was accompanied with a powerful experience that created a conviction that would change the world. All of us that believe in Jesus because of the impact and conviction of 11 men.
Beliefs don't create change in us or impact on anyone else. Convictions do. It's time to get ahold of some deep convictions that will produce radical and dramatic change in us and in our region.
Beliefs, Experiences, & Convictions
I have had several people either comment on my post about my class or made comments in person. So, with that said, I thought I would write a bit more about what's going on there.
The one thing that has really been good from the textbook we've been reading is the notion of beliefs, experiences, and convictions. (By the way, the book is The Adventure of Worship by Gerrit Gustafson. You can order on Amazon if you like.)
Beliefs are just that - the things that we belief. Experiences are just that - things that we personally experience in life. DUHH! But the key is how they go together. Many times, people have beliefs and experiences separately. But the amazing thing about the two of these together is that the form a conviction.
BELIEF + EXPERIENCE = CONVICTION
You can have beliefs and experiences separately. Separately, they produce nothing. However, together they produce a conviction. Convictions are those things that we not only believe in, but are also those things that we are convinced of because we have personally experienced them.
As you think about your own life, what do you really believe in and what are you convinced of? The only difference between the two is the experience that produces the conviction. We need both!
In my next post, I'll explain what a conviction produces vs. what a belief produces.
Ridiculously Random Thoughts
It's Sunday night and lots of thoughts . . . .
- What about that earthquake on Friday??? Selah had a dream about an earthquake the same night that it happened. Is my kid prophetic??
- This weather is incredible. If I could move somewhere where this is as cold as it gets in the winter, I would be in HEAVEN!
- It was good to be back in Gary leading worship today at Living Stone s - Gary. That's still my favorite sound system to lead worship with - the monitor system is great. You can hear everything so clearly.
- I ordered my Ultimate Ears custom monitors last week. It should be a couple of weeks before they're made but I can't wait!!
- I started Twittering. Twittering is a very short form of blogging answering the question, "What are you doing now."
- Did I say how much I love this weather?
- I really want to see Expelled.
- Charlene's Dell computer died. Well, I'm not sure if it's completely dead but it's not looking pretty. I'm going to take it to the office tomorrow and try to at least get our MS Money data file off of the hard drive. The girl needs to get a Mac!
- Mother's Day is coming. Any good ideas for the girls and I to get Charlene? Last year we got her a nice photo book from Apple that we created. Looking for something original . . .
- Looked at the south side of the house today, and we're definitely do for a major paint job on the exterior. Anyone interested in a fun experience painting with me??
- I wonder if the violent weekend in Chicago has anything to do with the full moon? What a great place for the next great revival. John just did an amazing post about the moon.
Worship As a Lifestyle
It's Sunday night and lots of thoughts . . . .
- What about that earthquake on Friday??? Selah had a dream about an earthquake the same night that it happened. Is my kid prophetic??
- This weather is incredible. If I could move somewhere where this is as cold as it gets in the winter, I would be in HEAVEN!
- It was good to be back in Gary leading worship today at Living Stone s - Gary. That's still my favorite sound system to lead worship with - the monitor system is great. You can hear everything so clearly.
- I ordered my Ultimate Ears custom monitors last week. It should be a couple of weeks before they're made but I can't wait!!
- I started Twittering. Twittering is a very short form of blogging answering the question, "What are you doing now."
- Did I say how much I love this weather?
- I really want to see Expelled.
- Charlene's Dell computer died. Well, I'm not sure if it's completely dead but it's not looking pretty. I'm going to take it to the office tomorrow and try to at least get our MS Money data file off of the hard drive. The girl needs to get a Mac!
- Mother's Day is coming. Any good ideas for the girls and I to get Charlene? Last year we got her a nice photo book from Apple that we created. Looking for something original . . .
- Looked at the south side of the house today, and we're definitely do for a major paint job on the exterior. Anyone interested in a fun experience painting with me??
- I wonder if the violent weekend in Chicago has anything to do with the full moon? What a great place for the next great revival. John just did an amazing post about the moon.
The Marriage Myth
I just got this info emailed to me this morning by Pastor Dr. Pretty interesting!
One of the common myths about marriage in America is that "50% of all marriages end in divorce." But that figure is derived not from long-term analysis but from the fact that the raw number of new divorces each year is roughly 50% of the raw number of new marriages. These numbers are distorted by the fact that people with successful marriages usually marry only once, while people with failed marriages have often married and divorced multiple times. Fortunately, new data from pollster George Barna included a more meaningful statistic. Of all Americans who have ever married, only one-third have ever been divorced. This two-to-one ratio of marital success should encourage young people who may actually fear the "50-50" marriage myth. Another misconception is that a person's religion and values have nothing to do with marital success. Barna found that the percentage of people who have been divorced after marrying is lower among Catholics, evangelicals, and conservatives than it is among non-Christians and liberals. That's not to mention the fact that more born-again Christians (84%) have been married in the first place than atheists and agnostics (65%). For those just embarking on the adventure of marriage, be encouraged--your chances of making it "until death do you part" may be better than you've been told.
Subscribe
Twitter Updates
Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page.
Tags
Download Music
