Believe.....It's more than you think....

Believe:

What does it mean to believe in God? The way that you answer this question could make or break the faith that you have. This word, "believe", is what we base all of Christianity off of. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life". This is our trademark verse. This is what we find on bumper stickers, coffee mugs, and under Tim Tebow's eyes during a football game. My question for you is do we truly understand what it means? As I stated before, if we misunderstand this verse, it could bring our salvation into question.

Lets break down this verse into one word, "believe". By simply bringing some clarity to this one word, we can shed some light on what Jesus meant when He said this to Nicodemus. The Greek word used here for "believe" is pisteuō. The literal translation of pisteuō is to put all of our faith, all of our hope, and all of our trust in something. It is a lot different than just believing that God is real. James said in James 2:19 that the demons believe in God and "shudder at His name". We have to do more than just believe that He exist. We have to put all of our faith, hope, and trust in Him.

With this understanding of the word believe, let's evaluate where we are in our relationship with God. When troubles and trials come, are we full of worry and doubt or do we put all of our trust in God knowing that He will bring us through? With the financial crisis as it is in America, is our hope in our savings account or is all of our hope in the Father. When we get a negative medical report for us or a loved one close to us, do we have all faith in knowing that God is still in control? When you say that you believe in God, is it empty words or does it make something jump on the inside of you?

I challenge you to take your relationship with God to a new level this Fall. Really begin to believe in Him as Jesus requires us to do. Put all of your faith, all of your hope, and all of your trust in the God who holds all of us in His hands.

Trusting In Him,

Chris