This post will be a bit different.  I decided to list some of the core beliefs that motivate my life.  Feel free to comment or ask questions.

I believe :

• Jesus is coming back to earth to reign as King.
• His Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom.
• My life has an eternal purpose.
• My sins have been forgiven.
• When Jesus returns, I want the reward that is laid up for those whom he finds faithful.
• My marriage and my children are worth investing in.  I need to place high value on those God has entrusted to me.
• Purity is worth it.
• Integrity is its own reward.
• I need mercy every day – so do you.
• The Devil will gladly give me reasons to judge others or be offended with them, but in reality I can’t afford to waste time and energy on judgements and offenses.   Judgements poison our hearts and drive out the grace of God. Injustices and wrongs will happen, to me and to others – but I intend to choose daily to let Jesus look after my interests, and place my focus on His priorities.   That’s the only way to stay in His flow of blessing – which is where I want to be.
• I am not the centre of the universe.  Neither are you.
• Jesus is the rightful King, and I can only find true blessing by surrendering forever my supposed right to have my own way.
• Money is neither evil nor good.  It is only a tool.  The love of money is the root of much evil, but money itself can be used for good or for evil.
• I don’t love money but neither do I fear it or hate it.
• Prosperity is a blessing, but contentment is a higher blessing.
• The conscious practice of generosity, out of  gratitude to God, has power to free us from fear of poverty and addiction to wealth.
• When it comes to money, the key issue is always Lordship.  Have I submitted my finances to God?  Am I living for the Kingdom?  Then I can confidently call on Him for provision.
• The same thing applies to time.  Have I submitted the hours of each day to God?  He will give me all the time and energy to do what He has called me to do.  He’ll do the same for you if you make Him Lord over your time.
• I want to be a lover of God and his Kingdom.
• The best way that I can use the energy and time that God has entrusted to me is to love God – to spend time worshipping, listening to His voice, feeding on His Word.  I have other tasks as well, but every other good use of time flows from this one.
• Each person around me is valuable to God, and I need to honour the image of God in each person.
• For the Body of Christ to work well, I need to learn to place high value on many other God-lovers who are quite different from me – different personality, different gifts, different preferences.
• Not every need around me is my responsibility.  There are things God has called me to do and things he hasn’t.  But if I understand His grace and kindness, I won’t harden my heart to those around me even if I am not personally called to meet that particular need.
• Whatever God has called me to do, He will also give me the ability to do.  This is a form of His grace.  God doesn’t contradict himself.
• God is sovereign, but not everything that happens to you or me is his direct choice for our lives.   We have a personal enemy, who hates God’s people and God’s purposes, and he will try to stop me from fulfilling God’s purposes.
• I choose neither to ignore the Devil nor to give him too much credence.  Jesus is Lord – but it’s up to me whether his Lordship is reflected in my life day by day.  Despite the Enemy’s attacks, as a child of God I expect to be blessed.
• I still have a lot to learn – I am not finished growing.
• By the grace of God, I want to be more fully alive to God tomorrow than I am today.
• As a disciple of Jesus I’m not immune from troubles and challenges – Jesus told us to expect them – but I have the huge advantage of knowing my God.  I know that God is not out to get me, I know that He loves me and that He has a glorious destiny for me, and I know that how I respond to each challenge will affect my future and the lives of those around me.  All of this motivates me to seek to live by faith, hope and love.