This is a great start but is there
more? Can we further improve our lives with the benefits of Christianity and
the Bible?
The answer comes from the Bible’s 5-step
approach to maturing our relationship with God which helps us access additional
benefits to our wellbeing. I call this method the ‘5 tools to maturity’ and
they are taken from Acts 2:42 and 47. They are as follows:
·
Prayer
·
Praise
·
Fellowship
·
Receiving
Biblical teaching
·
Reach
others with Biblical truth
These five tools describe the
activities in the very first church in Jerusalem and provide a model to us
today for what actions individuals and the church should perform routinely.
Importantly, these five activities are confirmed in later verses in the
epistles.
Why are these 5 tools important? When
implemented consistently, and in balance with each other, these activities appropriate
God's Word into our daily lives. We will consider them individually in upcoming
blogs.
For now it is important to emphasize
that the 5 tools may enhance personal wellbeing, not only when performed
individually, but even more so done in aggregate. A number of studies have
shown that church attendance, which would allow for these five tools to be expressed
in a community setting, may enhance personal wellbeing (1-4). Further, several
studies sponsored by Teleios also have noted that individuals who perform these
activities have enhanced wellbeing and especially when performed in aggregate
(5-6).
This is exciting news! Consequently,
scripture tells us that we can have a sure and certain relationship with God,
guilt free, and He provides us measures to propel our spiritual growth leading
to better personal wellbeing. What great promises! Join us in upcoming blogs as
we look individually at these 5 tools, and why and how they can promote wellbeing.
Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to seeing you next time. Please
tell me your questions and comments and please share this blog with your friends.
To consider, does Scripture suggest
enhanced wellbeing based on a Biblical Lifestyle?
WC
Stewart
1. Parsons S, Cruise P, Davenport W, Jones V. Religious beliefs, practices and treatment adherence among individuals with HIV in the southern United States. AIDS Subject Care STDS 2006;20:97-111.
2. Reed P:
Spirituality and well-being in terminally ill hospitalized adults. Res Nurs
Health 1987;10:335-44.
3. Keefe F,
Affleck G, Lefebvre J, Underwood L, Caldwell D, Drew J, Egert J, Gibson J,
Pargament K: Living with rheumatoid arthritis: the role of daily spirituality
and daily religious and spiritual coping. J Pain 2001;2:101-10. 4. Cotton S, Levine E, Fitzpatrick C, Dold K, Targ E: Exploring the relationships among spiritual well-being, quality of life, and psychological adjustment in women with breast cancer. Psychooncology 1999;8:429-38.
5. MacIlvaine WR, Nelson LA, Stewart JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of community service to personal wellbeing. Community Ment Health J 2014;50:577-82.
6. MacIlvaine WR, Nelson LA, Stewart JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of religious adherence to quality of life measures. Complement Ther Clin Pract 2013;19:251-5.
Response policy - The purpose of the comment section is to promote discussion that is encouraging, propels the further search of Scripture and raises interesting and thought provoking Biblically related questions. You may feel free to disagree with me in a constructive manner using appropriate language. I reserve the right to remove your comments if they are profane, pornographic, libelous or I do not consider them constructive or consistent with the policy stated above. By posting you no longer own your comments and you are granting me an unrestricted worldwide license to use your comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment