How Will I Know?

As I begin this new adventure of seeing how well I am (or am not) truly following Jesus, (AKA. living for God), I also want to make sure that I set some level of measurement that is consistent with the teachings of the Bible. As I explored God's Word and the teachings of Jesus, Paul and others, there was really only ONE measurement that works. The question "am I living for God" can only be answered interestingly enough by another question: "Is my life bearing good fruit."

I won't go into the rational of this connection or try to justify the Biblical truth of this "unit of measure" right now, but instead will simply provide just a few relevant verses from God's Word for your own evaluation:

"A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." (Jesus in Matthew 7:17 and 20)

"...you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing." (Jesus in John 15:4b-5 NLT)

"When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples." (Jesus in John 15:8 NLT)

Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. (Colossians 1:10 NLT)

That's God's measurement for a life lived for Him. The good fruit that makes Him known and brings Him the most glory and honor.

I Believe...

As I begin a new year (and a new blog) I find myself looking for ways to better live for God. I've read lots of helpful Christian books and many Bible passages in my preparation, but probably the most helpful resource I stumbled upon was a magazine article talking about the creeds of the earlier believers. You know the ones. They start with "I believe..." and go on to make foundational statements about God, Jesus, the Bible, the Church, etc. I've read many of them and agree with most of them (at least the more foundational Bible-based ones) and if anyone asked me I'd tell them with confidence and conviction that of course I believe them. But do I really?

That is the question I am going to be asking myself this year and hopefully beyond, not simply (and safely) from a mental affirmation of theory and theology standpoint, but from a living it each day standpoint. Do I really believe that God answers prayer? Do I really believe that God hates sin? Do I really believe that God simply and completely loves stupid (at times), unfaithful (too often) me? And if I REALLY believed the answer is not just "yes," but "definitely, no-doubt-about-it" to these and many more statements of Christian faith/belief how would my life be different? No, it's more "how WILL my life be different" because I'm going to challenge my beliefs in a practical, foundational, follower of Jesus type of way, one day, one belief at a time.

Let's get started. ("Let's" as in "let us" because it's my hope and prayer you'll join me in this exciting and somewhat uncertain journey somewhere along the way!)