Can You Believe It?: 15 Key Christian Beliefs About Life That Will Transform Your Understanding of God’s Purpose for Your Life!

By Mark Vee

Due to the constant hustle and hectic pace of daily modern life, and the massive changes that have taken place over our lifetimes, people more than ever need to have a set of biblical beliefs to maintain a clear focus on what the purpose and meaning of their life is. Mark Vee offers clear and concise biblical concepts that can take people from confusion and despair to a focused life of meaning and purpose.

Those who embrace these beliefs will:

Understand God’s purpose for your life.

Know the biblical foundations for a Christian worldview.

Know how to experience the comforting presence of God daily.

Know how to increasingly become a spiritual blessing of God to others.

Know how to live a meaningful and rewarding life.

Know how to release the transforming power of the spiritual love of God in and through their life.

The fifteen Christian beliefs presented in this book will help you dramatically change your life for the better. By renewing your mind with these Christian beliefs, you will experience the transforming reality of the power of God’s love for us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664212107

Mark Vee

Mark Vee is a down-to-earth, highly relatable Christian author, speaker, teacher, and spiritual advisor who speaks to and from the heart. Since receiving a Master of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, he has helped thousands experience the presence and loving power of God. Mark lives in Grand Haven, Michigan, with his wife, Susanne. They have five children and seven grandchildren. For more information go to: www.markvee.com

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Copyright © 2021 Mark Vee.

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©

1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights

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trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1211-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1212-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1210-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020922262

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/15/2021

CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1     Is There Anybody Out There?

Chapter 2     How Can You Trust a God Like That?

Chapter 3     Who Wants to Be a Spiritual Blessing?

Chapter 4     God Didn’t Create Puppets!

Chapter 5     It’s Only Human Nature

Chapter 6     A Light in the Darkness

Chapter 7     Spirituality Is All About Heart

Chapter 8     The Spiritual Path to Eternal Life!

Chapter 9     We Can Trust God with our Lives!

Chapter 10   Wisdom and Spiritual Power through the Gift of the Holy Spirit

Chapter 11   Ushering in the Kingdom of God!

Chapter 12   Arm Yourself for Spiritual War!

Chapter 13   Focus on Heavenly Treasures!

Chapter 14   Good News! Jesus Is Coming Again!

Chapter 15   God Is Trying to Tell You Something!

Personal Note from Mark Vee…

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my father and mother, Jay and Betty Vredeveld. Two of the greatest influences in my life has been you. My understanding of unconditional love and what it means to become a spiritual blessing, has come from you. Your willingness to hear and care, to do whatever you can to help, has given me the ability to understand what a life of meaning and purpose is.

INTRODUCTION

What do you believe life is all about?

Do you realize what you believe changes your experiences in life?

We are born into this world not having a clue about why we are here or what we are here for. Why is there this planet called earth with people on it, and what are we supposed to be doing here?

Not knowing the answers to these types of questions can make life confusing. Not knowing the purpose of doing anything makes it difficult to know what success even looks like. The fact that our time here is limited in that we all are going to die someday, puts even a greater sense of urgency on discovering what life is all about before it is too late to do anything about it! Why do we exist? What is our purpose for existing? What does it mean to live a successful and meaningful life? What does it take to feel good about who I am and what I am doing here? How do we understand the kinds of things we see happening in this world? Why isn’t this life paradise, right here and right now? How do we understand the reasons behind the things that happened to us in our lives?

Since becoming an ordained minister with a Master of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary in 1982, and during my nearly forty years of being a Christian minister, I have talked to thousands of people about these types of questions concerning life. What has always amazed me, and given me concern, was the number of people both within and outside of the Christian faith circles who struggle coming up with any clear answer as to what they believe about these mysteries of life. Most of those I have talked to were not quite sure what they believed or what they could trust to be true.

This gives me concern because they are missing out on so many blessings in their lives that simply come from trusting beliefs that are true! I long for them to know and trust some of the things I have learned are true because doing so will give them a much higher quality of life!

I have learned that what we desire and believe in life completely transforms what we experience in life, what happens to us, and what effect we will have on others in our lives. Conversely, I have also learned that putting our faith in beliefs that are not true can be dangerous and potentially devastating to our ability to cope and succeed in life. A simple example would be believing a suspended bridge is safe when it is not. That could be a real letdown! Believing we have no value as a person or any hope for a better future leads some people to suicide! Believing God will buy us a Mercedes Benz and deliver it free to our front door because we call ourselves a Christian can lead to a crisis of faith. Likewise, just believing you cannot do something often results in someone not even trying. What we believe changes what we experience in life!

What I offer here, in a clear and easy-to-understand way, are fifteen key biblical beliefs that unlock the mysteries of life. These beliefs serve as a solid foundation for defining in detail what we call the Christian faith.

I have personally discovered that these biblical beliefs offer the keys to understanding life, ourselves, and other people. It has been my experience that these same beliefs can unleash the presence and spiritual power of God in and through our daily lives.

When I have shared these beliefs with others, many have experienced one of those ah-ha moments of a deeper understanding of what is happening and has happened in their lives. I have likewise witnessed people who embrace these beliefs eliminate all kinds of unnecessary fears and experience a higher quality of life that they had never thought possible.

When I was preparing to write this book, I visited my mother to share with her what I was planning. I explained to her that I was going to write a book that would offer a clear and easy to understand account of what the bible teaches us as to what life is all about.

We talked about how so many people today don’t have a clue as to what life is all about. They do not know why they are here or what is causing all the problems they face; nor do they have any idea on how to deal with it.

We likewise discussed how different and difficult life is for young people growing up in the world today and about how powerful the influence our beliefs have been in our own experiences in life. After just a short discussion about these things, my mother said, If you can do that, I will buy twenty-seven of them!

Parents and grandparents are afraid for young people today who are growing up in this world. What is going to happen to them if they don’t have a clear understanding of what life is all about? How are they going to deal with all the different types of stress they are forced to face in their lives today? To what will they turn to when the thrill of a pleasure-seeking life is gone? Most of them will not even hear about these biblical beliefs in that most do not regularly attend churches. How will they cope with the media messages the world is sending as truths about life?

People are being bombarded with massive amounts of information every day that paints a picture of life with no absolute rights and wrongs and where no one is responsible for what they do or what happens in their lives. Collectively, life is often presented as no more than a quest to seek pleasure, be entertained, and look for new ways to satisfy our wants and needs. Is that all life is about?

Now don’t take me wrong. I like to experience pleasure and like to avoid pain as much as the next person. Doing so at times is a good thing, but it is not the purpose of life. People who live their lives just to be entertained will end up living a life of quiet desperation to just survive. People who have no more to live for than that will struggle to maintain any healthy sense of self-worth.

Living a good life that is fulfilling and satisfying—that makes a positive difference in the lives of other people—cannot be found in simply