A Journaling Guide

Belief Statements
Believe -> Think -> Feel -> Fruit What you believe produces fruit in your life (note: Unbelief IS a belief and will produce bad fruit) Approach Gods Word with a desire to discover Who He is and What He says is true The esh wants to work in reverse: if I do (fruit) something long enough I will believe it The Holy Spirit is your Teacher A Teacher reveals his subject. The Holy Spirit reveals/teaches Jesus. Keep Belief Statements concise and focused on the verse/context at hand. Example: Joshua 1:1, After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses assistant, Belief Statement: The Lord speaks. Keep it as literal to the Word as possible. In your belief statement, use the same name used in the Word (Lord, God, LORD God, Holy Spirit, Spirit, Jesus, Christ, etc) Look for God the Father/Son/Spirit rst. Who He is, His ways, what He loves, what He hates, how He responds/moves, what He commands, etc After rst looking for God in the passage then expand the Belief Statements to other areas such as man, esh, heaven, hell, angels, Satan, etc.

Application Questions
Choose several of your belief statements and form an application question(s). Example: Belief Statement / The Lord speaks. Application Question / Am I listening? Let the Holy Spirit continue to lead you in the forming of Application Questions.

Journal
Begin your journaling by choosing 1-3 of your Belief Statements. Expound upon each of them through declaring the validity, worth and eects of the Belief Statement. There is now condence in prayer because you are praying what God says is true! Example: Belief Statement / The Lord speaks. Journal entry: I praise You oh God for being a God who speaks. Your words are life. Your words are true. Thank you for speaking in a way that I can understand. Oh, how You know me! ....... Now move to the coordinating Application Question. Let the Holy Spirit lead you to a heart-examination. This will give way for confession, intercession, surrender, obedience, etc. Example: Belief Statement/The Lord speaks. Application Question / Am I listening? Journal entry: Holy Spirit, I confess to you that my ears have been listening to my own esh and not Your Spirit. Why do I give ear to foolishness? Bend my ear back to Your voice. Your voice calms and satises my deepest parts. Speak O Lord as I come to You ........

Example:
Psalm 100 1 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth Belief Statement Praise is to be energized with joy Praise is to be unto the LORD Praise to the LORD is not to be kept quiet All the earth is commanded to praise the LORD 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing Service to the LORD is good and desirable Service to the LORD is to be lled with gladness The LORD is approachable Approaching the LORD is good good and desirable

Psalm 100
Applicaton ?

Who receives my loudest praise?

Am I approaching, avoiding or ignoring the LORD today? What kind of song am I approaching the LORD with today: joy-FULL or joy-EMPTY?

3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name

The LORD is our covenant keeping Creator We are the created. The LORD is the Creator We have been created to be identied with Him As His sheep, we are never alone As His sheep, we are always protected As His sheep, we have every needed provision The LORD is approachable The LORD protects His name The LORD knows the state of my heart when I approach Him The LORD is ruler of His Kingdom (gates, courts) The LORDs kingdom is stable and secure Thanksgiving consumes the heart of the true worshiper The LORD is the object of our thanksgiving and blessing The Lord is a giver of good things

Am I fully dependent on Him as my Shepherd today?

Do my eyes look for the goodness of the LORD? Whose kingdom am I living in: the LORDs or mine? Am I thankful for things or Him?

5 For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations

The LORD is good There is no end to the loving-kindness of the LORD Every generation has seen the faithfulness of the LORD

Do I believe the LORD is good?