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Achieving the Christian Psychosocial Balance​

Social Cognitive Psychologist Albert Bandura is best known for his work explaining the correlation between Social Learning Theory and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a personal belief that you can accomplish your goals. It's an energy and attitude of confidence that pushes you through the required resiliency and applied learning that produces goal attainment. In describing well-being, He describes the psyco-social personality concept like this;

There is a growing body of evidence that human attainments and positive well-being require an optimistic sense of personal efficacy. (The belief that YOU are the source of the power to change into intentional conduct.) This is because ordinary social realities are strewn with difficulties. They are full of impediments, failures, adversities, setbacks, frustrations, and inequities. People must have a robust sense of personal efficacy to sustain the perseverant effort needed to succeed. Self-doubts can set in quickly after some failures or reverses. The important matter is not that difficulties arouse self-doubt, which is a natural immediate reaction, but the speed of recovery of perceived self-efficacy from difficulties. Some people quickly recover their self-assurance; others lose faith in their capabilities. Because the acquisition of knowledge and competencies usually requires sustained effort in the face of difficulties and setbacks, it is resiliency of self-belief that counts (Bandura, 1989).

Professor Susan Fiske agrees that the core components of personal success in a social world takes a unique combination of psycho-social motives. She identified five; Belonging, Understanding, Control, Enhance self, Trust others (Fiske, S. T. (2018, 2010, 2005, 2003)). The development of trust is essential to the skill-building process that leads to successful goal attainment in both Fiske and Bandura's theories. Secular psychologists, like Erick Erickson, and these social-psychologists rely on logic, learning and will power to overcome inevitable difficulties that come your way as you strive to succeed in life.

Do your actions reveal who it is you trust? 

Reading the Bible defines and teaches a Christian world view (Genesis 1:1, 1 John 4:16, Micah 6:8, James 1:27, Philippians 2:2-8, 14-15, 4:6-7, Matthew 7:24-27, Isaiah 55:8-9, Ephesians 1:17-18, etc). When you freely choose to trust God, as a Christian, you learn to rely on the love of God to fuel both the energy (attitude) and actions needed to rest (psychologically) while working (social) revealing both thinking and doing intentionally kind actions of living (Romans 15:13, 1 Peter 2:12, Philippians 2:15-16, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Isaiah 55:12, Matthew 5:16). It is your reliance on God's sufficiency in you, rather than your reliance on self or others, that maintains the Christian psycho-social balance in you (2 Corinthians 3:5, 4:7, 12:9, John 15:5, Luke 12:16-21, Titus 3:3-5, Romans 12:3, Proverbs 16:9, 2 Peter 1:3-4, Acts 17:25, Philippians 4:13, Revelation 3:17).

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​​Your willingness to accept the truth of God and show it through your decisions (bending your own will to think and act like Christ) is a Christian's "self-belief" and leads to eternal life (E  ) in heaven and on earth D(A + B) = C .

Interpreting circumstances through Biblical principles before determining a response leads you through a world influence by culture, fads, lust, greed, envy and people-pleasing with your Godly integrity in tact (Mark 7:22, 1 John 2:15-16, Colossians 3:5). For example, Jesus warns, “The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches . . . choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).  As a child of God on earth, it’s up to you whether you’ll choose to be rebellious or compliant in acting out you new identity in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17, Luke 15:11-32). When you make the commitment to do life His way and actively rest in His love, you share in the inheritance of the family of God (Ephesians 1:11-1:14, Hebrews 4:11).

 

​The King James Version uses the term “mammom” to describe something that you could choose to value more than your relationship with Jesus Christ. The English Standard Version translates this word as “money,” as does the New Living Translation. Personalize the term mammon so that it represents to you anything that you value higher than God (because “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”; Matthew 6:21-24). Monetary transactions are a good example of value-based decision making because it's worth is indicative of your beliefs in this physical world.

 

What you spend your money on reveals a belief that money is a means to an end, or it can reveal a belief that it is the be all and end all goal for your life ("I want what I want when I want it.") When you, as a Christian, rely on God, not "mammon", to sustain your lifestyle, you are making a value decision that communicates your belief and trust is in God and that He will supply all your needs (Luke 18:18-23, Philippians 4:19). In the gospel of Luke, Jesus explains that trust (faith rather than fear) is a cognitive process that stems from a heart that understands the love and care God has for you (Matthew 6:28-34, Luke 12:22-34). Trusting God happens when you choose to see and do with the eyes of your Christian heart and rest in the Holy Spirit while living life (Luke 6:45, 12:34, Psalm 121:1).

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  • Accountability instead of Greed, it yields wisdom​

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  • Acceptance instead of Anger, it yields maturity ​

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  • Integrity instead of Dishonesty, it yields transparency ​

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  • Peacemaking instead of Territorialism ​

Faith is the currency used in God’s kingdom to unlock the promises of God (Hebrews 11:1, 6). That’s why “no one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13). You are double-minded and become unstable in your ways when you try to please man and self or God and self instead of prioritizing God and others above self (1 Corinthians 10:21, James 1:8, 4:8, Romans 15:1, 5-6). You'll only be fooling yourself if you say, "Peace, peace when there is no peace"  in your soul (Jeremiah 6:13-14, Ezekiel 13:10, Hosea 10:12-13). Trust is the outcome of a hope-filled Christian faith and the more you test the Word of God, the more your trust will develop into wisdom in the latter part of your life as exemplified as acts of care or kindness, as noted in stages 7 & 8 of Erickson’s Step development theory (Matthew 6:24, James 1:8, Proverbs 3:3-5, James 4:8, John 5:44, Syed, M., & McLean, K. C. (2017, April 24)). Most of the New Testament is written to explain Galatians 5:16: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the​ desires of the flesh”. This scripture also summarizes why you can’t overcome addictive habits without the listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit’s leading. A self-effacing Christian is a person who does what is right in God’s eyes.

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Loving God is a cognitive process but it can only be initiated when "the eyes of your heart are opened" and you gain a new perspective (https://www.gotquestions.org/eyes-heart-enlightened.html, Appendix 1G). A “mammom” mentality (anything you have that you value higher than God) is common in human behavior in a world dominated by self-reliance. When you have experiences in life that you can’t make sense of or you face problems that you can’t solve, you start evaluating what might be missing from your life. When you hear/sense God inviting you into a relationship with Him, you respond and engage- hoping that this was the missing element. With God positioned as first in your life, you can see the wisdom in overriding your own logic with His principles producing actions of love because your faith is grounded in trust (Galatians 5:1-6). As a simple example; you are involved in a disagreement with another and if either one of you possess a mammon mentality, a stalemate will result (Hebrews 13:5-6).

 

The work of a Christian is to let faith fuel your hope so you act lovingly and resiliently, as you journey through life (Matthew 7:7, John 16:33, Luke 11:13). God awakens your spirit by changing your heart which ignites the behavior of this Christian world view for all to witness. Hope sees when you read the scriptures so you know whom it is that you choose to believe in (Romans 15:4-5). Faith believes that God has equipped you with the faith and power to change your physical conduct to match His Spirit in you. Trust acts when you can discipline your mind and body to do what you believe (rather than over-indulge in fleshly-driven desires). The more you practice these new habits, the more natural it feels and inevitably becomes your new normal behavior (Galatians 5:13).

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Choosing to do this is a free-will decision. You need to want to align your soul and body with the heart/spirit of God - in both public and private. Christ's Spirit in you enables you to see these choices clearly and then leads you, but doesn't force your decision, to do things His way. Choose to learn of God and, in so doing, you will develop a relationship that motivates you to follow the way of love and forgiveness rather than to live in self-driven pride walking “in the way of Cain” (Obadiah 3, Matthew 13:15, Romans 12:3, Jude 1:11). You make the decision to persist in self-sacrificing love because you know (realize and accept as true for you, without any unbelief) that God's Love and strength in you never runs out (1 Corinthians 13:7-8)! When you pray and read the Word of God it's like hoping for and getting access to a never-ending river of fresh water, free from pollution and bounded by justice (Amos 5:24, Isaiah 43:2-3, Revelation 21:6). 

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A posture of gratitude to God opens your mindset to see old things new. One successful Christian business CEO shares what he implemented into his work style (Harper Jr, J. D., (2014)):

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  • Humility instead of Ego, it yields influence​​

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  • Empathy instead of Busyness, it yields perspective​​

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  • Attentiveness instead of Distraction, it yields productivity​

 

 

Most of the New Testament is written to explain Galatians 5:16: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the​ desires of the flesh”. This scripture also summarizes why you can’t overcome addictive habits without the listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit’s leading. Only through knowing the Triune God will you want to make these intentional behavioral choices to deny your flesh and feed your Spirit. It takes your courageous decision to use your faith to trust and hope so you can achieve what it is your hoping for. With faith, your hope is built on the truth of God's Word.

 

When you follow God's directions, you make wise choices that sometimes look foolish to non-believers (1 Corinthians 2:12-16). They see you postpone your own desire for instant gratification and, instead, see you choose to act in faith with love demonstrating "humility over pride, servanthood over competition, selflessness over selfishness, compassion over contempt, kindness over rudeness, gentleness instead of harshness, patience instead of anger, forgiveness instead of bitterness and self-control instead of self-indulgence" (Vernick, L, 2003, p156,​ Galatians 5:18, 

Matthew 7:24-27, Ephesians 4:22-24). Only a mature person can see the wisdom in the practice of these traits (James 1:4-8). 

  • Read more about the learned and Holy Spirit empowered skill of patient endurance @

https://www.gotquestions.org/patient-in-tribulation.html.

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These decisions on how to act are all deliberate choices as a result of goals, not short-term desires. The Apostle Peter advises us to follow Proverbs 12:24; to be diligent (conscientious) and vigilant (watchful) about what you see and hear (2 Peter 1:10). Christian Personality Psychologists have honed in on the importance of the trait of “conscientiousness” and how it motivates the implementation of the rest of the secularly-recognized “Big Five Personality traits; agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and neuroticism. The trait of conscientiousness in a Christian, causes you to remember and to honor God with your tempered (rather than extreme) actions.

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The Apostle James says that wisdom for those who love and respect God flows from an intentional decision to use patience and self-control in choosing what words to say and what actions to take (James 3:1-5). When you are a child of God, your choices are a reflection of your beliefs and these guide you not only your speech and behavior, but in your selection of friends too (Ephesians 2:15-16, 1 Corinthians 15:33). Godly wisdom gives you insight to know which friends will eventually lead you astray and which ones will encourage you to show integrity to the Lord (Proverbs 12:26, 13:20).

 

The Apostle Paul adds that to maintain harmony with others, let your Christian conscience rule your conduct, rather than other people’s opinion (1 Corinthians 10:23). The psycho-social balance for a Christian means that you are grounded in your identity in Christ and together with a sound mind (from reading and implementing the God's principles found in the Bible), you’ll drive your social decisions based on moral confidence - not popularity, bringing glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31, 24-30). The Apostle Peter ties this daily strategy to the longer term goal of pleasing God in 1 Peter 1:13; "So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world". The Apostle Paul, in Romans 14:17-19, says to cherish and embrace this change in yourself by realizing,  

"... the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up."

 

The story of Job in the Bible is an example of the Christian faith in progress. Even Job, respected by God as "a humble and an upright man", didn't have the right to expect answers from an All Powerful, Creator God (Job 1:1). Christian author Philip Yancy uses Job as an example of standing firm in faith under trials even when you don't understand what's happening and when your friends offer opinions that do not reflect Biblical truth. Job's faith was steadfast and unmovable, yet it became elastic/ growing/ stretching, not static, because of his ability to persist in faith.​ Job went through a season of devastation that changed his "psycho-social" reality, but this season strengthened his faith. He moved on from that time and continued through life with a more accepting and less controlling mindset which brought him an inner joy and peace so that his hope could not be shaken regardless of circumstances (Psalm 16:8, 62:6, Hebrews 12:27, 6:19-20).   


Job tried desperately to understand why this devastation happened to him. When Job couldn't figure it out on his own, he listened to the advice from friends.  After getting their opinions, Job was left frustrated from a lack of understanding. But His loyalty to God kept him searching. He could detect misinterpretations about God spoken by others, but Job had not yet discovered that even his own reasoning was limited in comparison to that of a Holy God, which caused this struggle with his faith (Romans 11:33, Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 14:12). After hearing from God (we, as new testament believers, hear from God by reading/knowing the Bible), He compared it to what he believed to be true of God and made his own faith decision (Job 34:1-4, 1 Peter 3:15, Acts 26:23-24). Yancy says, “well intentioned advice may sometimes do more harm than good. The behavior of Job’s friends gives a classic example of how (human) pride and a sense of being right can stifle true compassion” (1999, p 71). After getting opinions from His friends, Job was left still buried in doubt from a lack of understanding. But His loyalty to God kept him searching. He could detect misinterpretations about God spoken by others, but Job had not yet discovered that even his own reasoning was limited in comparison to that of a Holy God, which caused this struggle with his faith (Romans 11:33, Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 14:12).

 

Job didn't keep spinning his wheels by trying to figure things out by himself. Instead, Job turned his questions to the “Author and Finisher” of his faith (Hebrews 12:2). Because of this act of faith, Job got a response directly from God (chapters 38-42 of the Bible book of Job). God never explained the reasons for Job's season of misfortune but he did reveal His Sovereign Majesty and, in doing so, Job saw that his human understanding was limited in comparison to God and that's when he realized what it meant to fully trust God (Psalm 112:1, 7, Jeremiah 32:17, 1 Chronicles 29:10-13, 1 Corinthians 1:30). Job made the decision, based on his new understanding, to teak his theology (2 Peter 1:3, 2 Corinthians 4:16).

 

Job shows New Testament believers that respect (awe with knowledge) of God frames your decisions within boundaries so you can adjust any outlying attitudes or behavior. Job’s renewed faith gave him more elasticity, humility and discernment, resulting in less of an entitlement mentality (James 5:11, Job 40:3-5.) Job, much like the Apostle Paul, learned an attitude of humility towards God which led to a resilient, calm and content life, free from perfection and comparison (1 Corinthians 6:12, Galatians 5:13, 22-23, Ephesians 3:14-19, Philippians 4:11, Hebrews 12:11). 

Christ In You.png

Although he believed in the goodness of God, Job is just one of many men and women in the Bible who demonstrate that pride (just like other emotions like anger) can linger in the heart of a believer. Your perfection is not required to please God, only Christ’s righteousness in you is. King David was not a perfect man, but he too although "a man after God’s own heart” was occasionally swayed by fleshly desires (2 Samuel 11, Psalm 51:1-2, 51:10-11, Acts 13:22-23)! His experience with Bathsheba is evidence of this tug of war between self-satisfaction and self-denial (being viewed by others as a hypocrite rather than a person with imperfect integrity).

  • Take a closer look at Jesus's description of trusting God to do what is right in His sight, as explained in the New Living Translation of the Sermon on the Mount.

  • Job, along with the other Old Testament believers mentioned in Hebrews 11, were faithful but weren’t covered fully yet by the perfect righteousness of Christ and so could not rest, as New Testament believers can, in the imputed righteousness of Christ (Hebrews 11:39-40, Romans 4:5-9).

  • Read more on imputed righteousness @ https://www.gotquestions.org/imputed-righteousness.html.

 

The full and abundant Christian life (E  ) that Jesus spoke about in John 10:10 comes from a decision (the deliberate intention of your will) to actively rest in your imputed righteousness, yet another way to describe the Christian faith

(Romans 8:1-3, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 3:18). The imputed righteousness of a born-again Christian is the spiritual reality of Christ in you, and this marks you as a child of God (Romans 8:1-5). However, it’s in deciding to change your attitude and behavioral patterns to be consistent with your Holy Spirit in this physical world, (reflecting the attitude of meekness and expressing the moral character of Christ in your behavior) ) that reveals God as Father/ Abba and brings you “the peace that surpasses all understanding” (Psalm 91:1-2, 119:92-93, Romans 8:15, Proverbs 19:23, Mark 4:20, John 15:9-12, Acts 24:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:5-9, Philippians 1:6, 4:7). 

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Living Your Life on Purpose is Freeing!

God values and loves you. How do you respond?

When you become aware of God's truth and the choice you have to serve God rather than your sinful desires, the aim and the sincerity of your heart, not performance perfection, is all that is necessary to make your choice known to God (Ephesians 5:14, Joshua 24:14-15). Christian faith produces a desire in you to comply (choose to use self-restraint) with the standards of performance / behavior of God, your selected "higher authority", born out of gratitude for His love (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

 

William James, considered the father of psychology, explains that our human will gives direction to how a free thinker directs his/her actions. He calls that which directs the human will, “belief”, ...  “a living hypothesis” ... “measured by the will to act” (James, (1896) pp 1, 3). At the Philosophical Clubs of Yale and Brown Universities, James said this in his public lecture; “Like a sermon on the justification of faith, the defence of our right to adopt a believing attitude in regards to religious matters” is a matter of opinion (James, W., 1896) p 1). “You must either believe or not believe that God is – which will you do? Your human reason cannot say" (James, W., 1896, p 5).

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This voluntary choice to respond to God’s love and authority is the undeserved grace of God. Grace - because your physical manifestation of Christ-likeness is not a mandatory requirement; spiritually you are the righteousness of God and this is a gift from God (this gift is called your “imputed righteousness”; 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:19). The benefit of being a knowledgeable Christian is that we can distinguish and extinguish our sinful thoughts, but even if we fail, we will only experience the consequences in this physical, not in the Spiritual realm (2 Timothy 2:13-15, 2 Corinthians 9:8). This means that when you are a Christian, it’s Christ in you (God’s gift) that makes you acceptable to a Holy God (Ephesians 2:8, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Peter 4:10). When you take the time to learn about God and mimic His Holy behavior in this life, with time and practice, you’ll be productive in body, soul and spirit (Appendix 1). Your gratitude for the gift of faith adds structure to and boundaries around your actions that spring from the hope your faith generates (Deuteronomy 33:3, Psalm 37:23-24, Proverbs 16:9, https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-faith.html). You are loved by God and your willingness to learn and implement His ways while resting in Christ’s righteousness (trusting that perfect holiness is not mandatory) is how you actively and peacefully rest in God. Personal accountability to God also promotes social unity among (2 Peter 3:18, Ephesians 4:15, 13-14).
•    Read more about the miracle of your salvation, below in the "Author's note" section.
•    When you are feeling stressed or anxious, what are you thinking about?
•    Do you turn deeper into God or do you choose to indulge yourself as a distraction to the source of your frustration? (Discussed further in the "STILL ANXIOUS" Tab.)  ​​

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SHINE   LOVE IN ALL YOU DO!

 Isaiah 60:1, 60:15, Matthew 5:1-16, Luke 1:37, Romans 8:1-17, Ephesians 5:13-17, Appendix 2U

 

Love one another and fulfill the law of Christ. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:8, Colossians 3:12-15, 1:27, Galatians 6:2.​​​​​​​

Read https://www.gotquestions.org/love-is-the-fulfillment-of-the-law.html.

A free-will Bondservant to Christ

Set your mind on the things of God,  allow the Holy Spirit lead you into living a full life in Christ, and be and do love despite the darkness and volatility of living in a self-absorbed, sin-filled world (Colossians 3:2, 1:9-15, Psalm 27:1, 29:11, 119:105, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, John 16:33, 1 John 5:4-5). Choose to be freed from the slavery of sin by becoming a free-will bondservant to Christ (1 Corinthians 7:21-24, Titus 1:1-2, Romans 6:16-18, 1:1, James 1:1, Jude 1:1, Appendix 1I). move The phrase “a free-will bondservant to Christ” is used in the New Testament to mean that you have made the decision to bend your own will to do the will of God. It can’t happen freely until you have a heart-felt desire to please God and have its matched by actions of self-sacrifice. You are willing to redirect your yearning for self-satisfaction to self-discipline, motivated by gratitude to God, not compulsion, so that your faith unites with the Holy Spirit of love and together, you build a new life by your actions of mercy, grace and justice (Ephesians 5:1-2, 1 Corinthians 11:1, Galatians 5:16, Ephesians 3:1-13, 20-22). The Apostle Paul writes about this heart and mind transformation like this in Ephesians:

1:17-19:

"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ..."

3:17-19: 

"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." 

 

With love in your heart (in sync with your personality style), walk with confidence as you display your faith - with the behavior of Godly integrity and the attitude of peaceful contentment because of your identity in Christ. Decide to walk down the straight but narrow Christian sidewalk that brings balance to this chaotic, psycho-social world (1 Corinthians 14:33, 2 Corinthians 5:20). Believing in your heart and confessing it in your behavior (words and deeds) is Christian Cognitive Consistency. The more you know God, the more you trust Him and the more realistic your expectations become, of not only Him but also, of yourself and others (1 John 4:6, 7-21).

 

Faith fuels actions of love because of the confident and structured hope you have in Christ, "a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Psalm 62:5, John 15:15, Proverbs 18:24, Galatians 3:1-3, 1 Peter 1:21, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Psalm 103). As a Christian, you choose to be free within the standards of a Holy God and your choice is seen by your love and service to others, according to the standards and principles of your selected “higher”/highest authority - the Sovereign, Holy Creator and Sustainer God (Matthew 7:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, Appendix 2G). Practicing the Christian faith makes your sure hope in God visible to you and everyone else (Colossians 1).

 

Fully persuaded faith is seen in your Divinely inspired A, B, C's. Why Divinely inspired? Because it is God who deposited patience, self-control, and faith into you to enable you to produce love; goodness, kindness, gentleness, joy and peace. Resting in your faith means that you’ll work at doing the right thing, but you can rest assured that it is God’s power in you, not you alone, who is working. When God is selected as your ultimate authority figure and you pray in dependency to Him (in faith, believing that He answers according to his will and foreknowledge), you will develop trust in Him and possess the courage to implement His standards of conduct without letting fear, worry, shame, loneliness, suffering or pride cause you to either harden your heart towards Him or cause you to doubt that He will do what His Word says for you (2 Chronicles 7:14, Mark 9:21-24, Matthew 14:28-31, 1 John 5:14-15, Psalm 15, 16, 17:1-9, Appendix 2A, Thorkildsen, K. M., Eriksson, K., & Råholm, M. B. (2013)).

 

Be an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5). Live life showing and telling others that your security is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ and that this relationship brings you peace from experiencing eternal life, physically, now and, spiritually, forever (Isaiah 40:3-5, 35:8-10, 35:4, John 17:3, Matthew 11:28-29, 6:9-10, John 17:3, Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 41:10, Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 23:4, 56:3). Show others what it means to work while resting in Christ using Godly wisdom and encourage them to join you as you walk along your new sidewalk (Ephesians 4:29-30, Hebrews 3:13, 10:24-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Psalm 31:24, John 14:27, 16:33, Romans 1:11-12, 15:5, Hebrews 13:1-2, Ephesians 4:1-4).

·       Listen the song "Child of Love", a testimony in a sang by the band, We the Kingdom. 

·       Summary of "Highway to holiness" at https://www.gotquestions.org/highway-of-holiness.html

·       Reread Appendix 2U to discover whether or not you can see with the eyes of your heart.​​

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Author's notes

  1. The Bible is God’s manual for healthy spiritual, emotional and physical living. Taking a detailed look into the Bible is like reading a car manual. It is necessary to know the workings of your car so you can accurately troubleshoot when problems arise. In most cars, the quick reference guide is stored in your car’s glove compartment. With the Bible, after you read it, you can make your own quick reference guide, stored in your heart! When you trust the instructions, you'll leave the results to God. This is walking in faith, believing (2 Corinthians 5:7, 2 Peter 3:15)! ShinE   Christ in you by choosing to express the Spirit of love in you (Romans 8:3-4, 13:8). 

    2.  I testify that what is written in the Create Your New Normal website is an outpouring of my transformed life in            Jesus Christ.

    3. How I understand My Miracle of Christian Salvation

God is Spiritual, consisting of three individual personalities, but God is One; the Holy Trinity consists of Father, Son and Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14, Mark 12:29). As God's creation and made in His image, man is also a three part being; spirit, soul, and body, but because we live in a physical world, all three need to be aimed at the same target-to have integrity to God and to live at peace with your neighbor (Genesis 1:26, Matthew 28:19, Revelation 3:2).

  • For mankind living in a physical world, the difference in outcome between spiritual justification and physical sanctification is seen in the consequences of the actions you decide to take today. The decision to act on God's Word and the persistence you need to change bad habits lies in your willingness to change your thinking so you can be open to retraining your physical habits. What may feel like risk-taking (changing your self-image) in this physical world is what God's Word defines as confident hope, derived from faith in God, which motivates behavior (as discussed in Appendix 1J, Hebrews 10:22, 3:6, Romans 8:24, 2 Corinthians 4:18). Hudson Taylor, who spent over 5 decades as a missionary in China in the 1800’s, once said, “Risks taken, that are motivated by trust in God, is using your faith! Unless there is an element of risks in our exploits for God, there is no need for God.” ​

  • While in this life we are held accountable for our physical actions, in the spiritual, God holds us accountable for our heartfelt beliefs (Hebrews 4:11-16). You, me, and all living Christians, are a work in progress. After confessing Christ as Savior, our habits of sinning can diminish and our habits of living rightly can increase with our knowledge of and reliance on the Trinity. Our decisions prompt the corresponding action. Christian actions reveal your belief is in God, that Christ is your Lord, and that you trust the leading of the Holy Spirit to act accordingly (John 3:18, 2 Peter 1:3-8, 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, Colossians 2:6, 1 John 5:1). It takes the decision to discipline yourself in mind and body if you want to see results from your faith. When you choose to implement what you know of the Word of God and use your faith to curb your thoughts, you gain the peace (confidence and security) that you need to keep yourself advancing through life (Acts 20:32, Proverbs 1:2, 2:1-2, 3:1, 4:1, 12:1, 16:1, 27:1-2, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Appendix 1A). 

 4.  Let Christ walk with you along the path to wholeness!

  • ​Your response to God determines what you think about. What you think about determines the options for your choices in life. Choose to enter into a relationship with the Triune Christian God and show it by freely placing your identity, opinions, emotions and practices under His authority (John 8:31-32). 

  • It’s never too late to repent and become a Christian. All of us are corrupted from sin ever since Adam and Eve’s original sin. Our fight of faith is won by staying in sync with the Word of God (1 Timothy 6:12, Romans 5:12-20).​

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My prayer for you

May your hope see God’s path; may your belief lead you to choose it; may you take action that shows your trust and love is in God alone. May the God of peace equip you with the power and Spirit of Jesus Christ to will and to do every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. God bless you as you journey through life.

The "next page" button below leads you to the next tab in the CYNN website called "Capture Your Vision". This tab provides you with a chance to use your hope and faith to design the details of your "new normal" life. Use these worksheets to evaluate your habits and crystalize your vision.

  • Aside from reading the Appendecies, you can also dig dipper into the Resources tab and you'll find hundreds of articles and other websites with articles on various topics that can enhance your perspective. 

  • If you find that you are still anxious, read the articles in the "Still Anxious?" Tab.

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