What Do I Believe
Have you ever just wanted to ask someone why you think the way you think or why you struggle to believe what you are told to believe? I get asked questions about this frequently and felt that it is time to explore the answers.
Obviously these questions pertain to our faith or lack there of. Faith in my opinion should be a learned behavior and not something we are told we should have. When we are constantly told to just have faith, it is probably coming from people that are wanting you to be like them or at least believe what they think they believe. To have faith in anything extra-ordinary you first must have some sort of faith in the ordinary. That means believing in yourself enough to trust your heart and soul.
Do you believe in God? Do you really believe in God? Do you believe in God the way others describe him/her to you? If you are Christian do you believe in Jesus as described or preached to you by family, friend, and clergy? These are all good questions that deserve some good answers or at least friendly debate. By the way friendly debate means all sides have an equal voice. Do understand that it is okay to question what you think you believe. You can never grow in your love for self and God if you do not explore what you believe. The exploration is what proves or disproves, it isn't what is preached to you by others.
I often get asked how I believe. My response is usually the same in that my believe system is a work in process. I see God in the daily ordinary circumstances of life. There was a time that I tried to find God where others told me he resided. I used the old tried and true methods of faith by pressure or faith by misinformation. Finally I came to the conclusion that God dwells in me as I do in him and that his love for me transcends a belief system that society has forced on me for life. Does that mean what everyone else believes is wrong? No of course not, in fact they may be exactly right, but the only way to know is to seek.
By now you are probably asking the question, do I believe in anything spiritual and the answer is an unequivocal yes. I believe very much in faith, spirituality and religion that draws me closer to God in ways that make sense. God created us to be human, with all the faculties that go along with that. I am fairly confident that God created us to understand his love for him and his creation without being bullied into a belief system that is driven by greed, power, and money. The road map for salvation is in our hearts. Why can I say that? Because I believe God created me out of his true agape love.
Is it ok to question what we have been told to believe? ABSOLUTELY YES. The only way to have faith is seek your spiritual existence and being. That can come through many forms. For some it is loving Bible based churches that share the message of Christ. For others it may be seeking ways to express love in the world by helping those in need. God moves in us through amazing ways once our heart is fully open to his reception.
I have spent various segments of my life questioning, seeking, searching, and exploring what I thought I believed. In hindsight my belief system was rooted in what I was told to believe NOT what my heart and soul led me to believe. I finally, after many years, found the courage to fully explore who I was and why I existed. The answers were not in the church I attended, nor were they in the belief system friends and family tried to lovingly force upon me. The real God that I sought was dwelling in my heart, body, soul, and mind. All I needed to do was open the door and allow him to join my life. What that meant was accepting who I was, where I was, and who others are as well.
God is love pure and simple. Anything that goes against our love for creation and humanity is not from the God who created us. If you belong to a church, organization, family, or foundation that tells you how to believe, you are probably in the wrong spot in life. Faith, spirituality, and religion are life long journey's that should stir in our hearts the ability to grow and love. They should also prepare us for the exit from this life into the next.
With love in your hearts, and please hear me clearly on this, keep searching for spirituality that creates fire for your faith to become clear. It is out there just give yourself permission to blaze the trail. DO NOT however pour cold water on anyone else's belief system. When it comes to sharing religion, faith, and spirituality it should always be done with amazing amounts of gentle love. I believe each person finds God in their own way. Our religious institutions should facilitate that love and if for any reason you do not feel it then prayerfully ask God to guide you to where the feeling does exist.
Let's all keep that fire for faith burning. Once the ember becomes a flame you will be able to set the world on fire. Faith in action is like love in service. The more we seek the more we find. Never settle for what you are told to believe, create it yourself. God moves in mysterious ways and I firmly believe that for him to move in you, the door must be open.
peace and love
Dale
Obviously these questions pertain to our faith or lack there of. Faith in my opinion should be a learned behavior and not something we are told we should have. When we are constantly told to just have faith, it is probably coming from people that are wanting you to be like them or at least believe what they think they believe. To have faith in anything extra-ordinary you first must have some sort of faith in the ordinary. That means believing in yourself enough to trust your heart and soul.
Do you believe in God? Do you really believe in God? Do you believe in God the way others describe him/her to you? If you are Christian do you believe in Jesus as described or preached to you by family, friend, and clergy? These are all good questions that deserve some good answers or at least friendly debate. By the way friendly debate means all sides have an equal voice. Do understand that it is okay to question what you think you believe. You can never grow in your love for self and God if you do not explore what you believe. The exploration is what proves or disproves, it isn't what is preached to you by others.
I often get asked how I believe. My response is usually the same in that my believe system is a work in process. I see God in the daily ordinary circumstances of life. There was a time that I tried to find God where others told me he resided. I used the old tried and true methods of faith by pressure or faith by misinformation. Finally I came to the conclusion that God dwells in me as I do in him and that his love for me transcends a belief system that society has forced on me for life. Does that mean what everyone else believes is wrong? No of course not, in fact they may be exactly right, but the only way to know is to seek.
By now you are probably asking the question, do I believe in anything spiritual and the answer is an unequivocal yes. I believe very much in faith, spirituality and religion that draws me closer to God in ways that make sense. God created us to be human, with all the faculties that go along with that. I am fairly confident that God created us to understand his love for him and his creation without being bullied into a belief system that is driven by greed, power, and money. The road map for salvation is in our hearts. Why can I say that? Because I believe God created me out of his true agape love.
Is it ok to question what we have been told to believe? ABSOLUTELY YES. The only way to have faith is seek your spiritual existence and being. That can come through many forms. For some it is loving Bible based churches that share the message of Christ. For others it may be seeking ways to express love in the world by helping those in need. God moves in us through amazing ways once our heart is fully open to his reception.
I have spent various segments of my life questioning, seeking, searching, and exploring what I thought I believed. In hindsight my belief system was rooted in what I was told to believe NOT what my heart and soul led me to believe. I finally, after many years, found the courage to fully explore who I was and why I existed. The answers were not in the church I attended, nor were they in the belief system friends and family tried to lovingly force upon me. The real God that I sought was dwelling in my heart, body, soul, and mind. All I needed to do was open the door and allow him to join my life. What that meant was accepting who I was, where I was, and who others are as well.
God is love pure and simple. Anything that goes against our love for creation and humanity is not from the God who created us. If you belong to a church, organization, family, or foundation that tells you how to believe, you are probably in the wrong spot in life. Faith, spirituality, and religion are life long journey's that should stir in our hearts the ability to grow and love. They should also prepare us for the exit from this life into the next.
With love in your hearts, and please hear me clearly on this, keep searching for spirituality that creates fire for your faith to become clear. It is out there just give yourself permission to blaze the trail. DO NOT however pour cold water on anyone else's belief system. When it comes to sharing religion, faith, and spirituality it should always be done with amazing amounts of gentle love. I believe each person finds God in their own way. Our religious institutions should facilitate that love and if for any reason you do not feel it then prayerfully ask God to guide you to where the feeling does exist.
Let's all keep that fire for faith burning. Once the ember becomes a flame you will be able to set the world on fire. Faith in action is like love in service. The more we seek the more we find. Never settle for what you are told to believe, create it yourself. God moves in mysterious ways and I firmly believe that for him to move in you, the door must be open.
peace and love
Dale
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