A person’s worldview is what determines how they see the world and what they believe. It is the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. David Noebel says, "[It's] any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world and man's relations to God and the world."

According to Del Tackett, “A personal worldview is a combination of all you believe to be true, and what you believe becomes the driving force behind every emotion, decision and action. Therefore, it affects your response to every area of life: from philosophy to science, theology and anthropology to economics, law, politics, art and social order — everything.”

Everyone has some type of worldview. Today, some Christians compartmentalize their lives, which directly results in a disconnect between what they believe and what they do. You will even hear some Christians say, “I don’t want to hear about politics.” The problem with this, however, is that the Bible teaches that we should not only pray for all those in authority (1 Timothy 2:2), but we should also be informed about whom we vote for (Romans 13).

I don’t understand how any true believer can support someone who thinks it is OK to kill innocent babies or who believes in redistribution of wealth. Yet, our current president believes in both. As Christians, however, we can’t have both a biblical and a secular worldview. Either we have a biblical worldview of how we live life, or we have a secular one. Either we are true believers, or we are not.

If we truly have a biblical worldview, it supersedes everything else in our lives and should determine how we live, act and vote, because we understand that our primary purpose is to love and serve God. Once we’re born again, receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior, we must allow God’s word to transform us. I pray that, as believers, we will allow God’s word to shape every area of our lives.

Just a thought,

PSS

To receive the power that is available through the Holy Spirit, you must first ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. Then the Holy Spirit will come and live in you. The Bible says, “And you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, Helper, Strengthener, Standby; and He will help us if we ask.

Not only will the Holy Spirit help us deal with the hurts and disappointments that we encounter in this life, but He will also encourage us through the good as well. For instance, once somebody becomes successful, the next step is to become significant. Significant means: very important: large enough to be noticed or to have an effect: having a special or hidden meaning.

Whatever God expects of us, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to do. Who hasn’t needed strength to overcome sin, or encouragement to keep moving forward? We all make mistakes, but thank God for His power to forgive. As we go through life, we need to remember that we don’t have to do it alone. We have the Holy Spirit, our Helper, to help us every day — we just need to ask Him.

Just a thought,

PSS

In different areas of our lives, we are all required to meet certain conditions. For instance, there are conditions you must meet to improve your health, to work at a company or to get into a college. Interestingly, many of life’s conditions begin with the “biggest” little word in the English language — if. If can do many things. It is able to change your perspective, your direction or an outcome. For example, “If I had known then what I know now, I never would have done that.” Or, “If you continue down this path, the consequences will be awful.”

To receive the promises of God, however, the same principle applies — you must meet His conditions. In fact, the Bible says, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NLT). Unfortunately, so many say they love God, but don’t do what He says—they don’t honor His Word. But Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15 NASB).

If you want to receive all that God has for you, it’s all about your willingness to meet His conditions — if you love Him, you obey Him. Think about the ifs in your life and evaluate whether or not you need to change the way you are living, working, talking and treating others so that you may live in the blessings and promises of God’s Word. If is a little word that can make a big difference, but you must be willing to meet the conditions.

Just a thought,

PSS

Have you ever done something that you later regretted? Maybe you missed an opportunity or said something you wish you hadn’t. Whatever the case may be, regret is usually a result of a lack of focus and self-discipline. It is wishing you had done something differently in your past: a feeling often accompanied by sadness, shame, and guilt.

We must discipline ourselves so that we won’t have to live with the shame and guilt of our past mistakes. Nathan Whitley once said, “The pain of regret is much greater than the pain of self-discipline.” If you don’t learn to deal with it properly, regret will cause you to beat yourself up for making a bad decision, messing up or blowing an opportunity.

Although it is one of the toughest things to do, we must learn to forgive ourselves and keep moving forward in order to get out from under the pain of regret. As you live for Christ, purpose not to repeat the same mistakes, and you will learn to make better choices — choices you won’t regret later on. As I often say, “A life lived for Christ is a life with no regrets.”

Just a thought,

PSS

Grenville Kleiser said, “By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character.” But first, we need to learn to control our emotions. In fact, self-discipline is the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it. It is also the ability to make yourself do things that should be done.

Most think that serving God and living within boundaries is restraining, but in reality, it is liberating. Lacking self-discipline and self-control, however, is the real issue; you tend to make more mistakes and miss so many opportunities. In fact, we limit our own lives because we lack self-discipline, whether it’s not studying enough, losing our temper, procrastinating or giving in to temptation.

Harry Truman once observed, “In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves … self-discipline with all of them came first.” We need to realize that boundaries are healthy; they keep us safe and actually open the door for more opportunities. Ultimately, it’s when we practice self-discipline and self-control that we are truly able to accomplish great things.

Just a thought,

PSS