What’s up with your BS?

So, you’ve read the title of today’s blog post and, some of you, if not all, have come up with an interpretation of the acronym “BS”. Some eyebrows might be raised, some brows furrowed, some may frown and others may chuckle, but each one of you would have made a decision about its meaning according to what you believe. Those of you who may have gone into the gutter for its meaning can climb out now…

”BS” here doesn’t stand for that, even though at times your BS can be BS, it’s an acronym for “Belief System”. We all believe in something – we all have our own BS and when it comes to what we believe as Christians, unlike acronyms, it cannot be shorthand, however, like acronyms, your Belief System has to stand for something of substance and value. Beliefs are personal and who or what you believe in is also personal – it is a matter of choice – a choice that no-one but you can and must make. It is up to you to decide.

Joshua and his household made their choice when he publicly proclaimed,

“But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. Today you must decide who you will serve…You must choose for yourselves. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15 (ERV)

If you consider yourself a Christian, what you believe is essential for the Christian life and plays an important role in your walk or journey. Your beliefs are rooted in where your faith rests and is fundamental in determining what your return will be. The Word of God tells us what to believe and lets us know the outcome, for instance, Jesus said to Martha,

“Remember what I told you? I said that if you believed, you would see God’s divine greatness.” – John 11:40 (ERV)

But many times we choose either not to believe or we believe some things and ignore the rest. Listen, if God says something “is” then that’s what you believe because whatever He says, He will bring to pass (Isaiah 46:11). You call yourself a Believer but what are you actually believing, and where is it taking you? 

The truth is, we have not been conditioned to completely believe God. We do not take Him at His word, yet we want others to believe that our word is our bond, even in our fickle state where we change our minds from one moment to the next. There’s a lack of persistent fidelity in our Belief System which causes the vacillation.

Your BS will drive your behavior and influence your life experiences. As passionate as your desires may be, you’ll never experience what you desire to be, only what you believe to be – change your BS, transform your life. Some BS, rather than lead you toward Christ is leading you away from Him and sadly, you are so resolute in your own BS that you do not recognize that you’re headed in the wrong direction.

People have a tendency to get so caught up in the church’s stated set of beliefs, they start believing the right things the wrong way and instead of establishing an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, they become deeply involved with church and its activities. Jesus is not a doctrine or an accumulation of rules, He is a real Person, with whom you must be involved by way of a personal encounter (see Revelation 3:20). Bare knowledge of the content of the message of Christianity does not a Christian make, your Belief System cannot be built upon a shifting-sand foundation or based upon outward behavior. 

The Word of God distorted by misinterpretation, incorrect teaching, and abuse and misuse of Scripture can only result in an unclear, ambiguous presentation of the Truth. We are warned, 

“My dear friends, many false prophets are in the world now. So don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God.” – 1 John 4:1 (ERV)

Understand that beliefs are very powerful, and you can be deluded not only by others but by yourself as well. So it is crucial for you to also examine your BS in the light of the Word of God, not on your own but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Author of the Word. 

Now, I am not attempting to foist my own BS on you, I cannot tell you what you should or shouldn’t believe, that my dear friend is entirely up to you. We are all varied in our beliefs, however, as it pertains to our walk with God, we can all agree on the basic belief that apart from Christ we are separated from God (John 14:6). This is a necessary starting point despite our certain theological differences. 

Amen†

What’s up with your BS?

Shelley Johnson July 31, 2017