Believe: Simple Faith

What happens when we believe what we say we believe?

Believe

I love childlike faith.  It’s so easy for kids to believe.  

Over the years one of my favorite parts of being a dad is convincing my kids certain things are true.  So at different points they’ve believed beyond the shadow of any doubt that I had the ability to pull quarters from behind their ears, open doors with the wave of my hand (motion sensor doors at the grocery store), change the red light to green with a single magic word & so on.  

To this day they are still convinced our local Bass Pro Shops is the literal North Pole because that’s where we go see Santa.  Consequently we can only go to that store during the holidays.  Every time we pass it on the interstate someone from he back of the car says, “Hey, there’s the North Pole!”

But we live in a world where people often question everything, including what is truth.  As a result we often question what we believe in.  Which essentially means we question our belief in God.  

We question what we believe about God.  We question if what we’ve been taught about God is true.  We question what we believe about His Son Jesus.  We wonder if our believing in his death, burial & resurrection is really true or are we crazy?  We question everything.  

And people question us about what we believe.  And we often don’t have all the answers. That makes us question even more.  As if having all the answers makes our belief better, more solid, or more correct.

What We Believe

But have you ever thought about it this way?  If we actually believe what we say we believe, it literally changes everything.  Everything.

Here is, in a nut shell, what we say we believe.

This is what we believe!  This is what we call Good News.  The Gospel.

Jesus perhaps said it best when He said…

John 3:16-17
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

The question is, do you believe?  Do you believe Jesus is who He says He is?

Do you believe?

Have you had that moment?  That moment where you decided, you made the decision — you’re all in.  You’re going to believe in faith that Jesus is who He says He is.  That God is real.  That He is your Father.  That you are His son, His daughter.

And then it hits you.  You realize… if you believe Jesus is exactly who He says He is, the risen Son of the Most High God… it changes everything.

Doesn’t it?

It changes how we live.  How we talk.  How we make decisions.  How we spend our lives.  How we think about the future.  How we think about death.  How we think about other people who are not like us . It changes literally everything.

Because…

We live with hope. No matter what may come we know something better is on the way.  We know God is in control.  We know how the story ends.  We know that no matter what one day we will be in Heaven with Jesus forever & ever.  And nothing can change that.

Nothing, nothing can ever get us down because everything here is temporary.  Everything here will only last for a moment.  But life with God in Heaven is perfect.  No more pain, sickness, tears, etc.  This is why Christian funerals aren’t so sad.  It’s why most are celebrations!  We don’t grieve as the world grieves.  We know this isn’t the end of the story — there’s SO MUCH more.  We believe it.  We have unparalleled hope.

And believing in God everyday does something to us, in us…  God does something in us everyday as we keep on believing.  We grow.  We change.  We become more like Him.  More like His Son Jesus.  

We can’t explain it.  But we have joy even when we should be sad.  We have hope even on the darkest day.  We realize we never walk alone because God has promised He would always be with us.  And He is.

Everything Changes

When we believe what we say we believe, everything changes for us.  So the question is, “Do you believe, I mean really believe what you say you believe?”

If so, let it change everything about you.  Realize & remember that God is with you & for you.  That He is always working for your good & for His ultimate glory.  That no matter what happens in this life you have a God who is your Heavenly Father & His love for you is unconditional.  That means He can never not love you.  Even when you feel unlovable.  He still loves you.

God is God.  Anyone who believes in Him will never die but have eternal life.  Don’t let anyone tell you different.  Believe it!

Question:
What is one way that your faith in Jesus changes the way you live your life?