Belief

It's one thing to say it. It's another thing to do it.


Countless times a day, we speak, act and choose based on what we Believe. What we truly Believe impacts

...how we act.
...what we say.
...how we vote.
...what we buy.

All determined by what we Believe.

But then there's those other things we "believe". Those things we claim to believe that never really show up in our words or actions.

We "believe" in the importance of friends and family, but our date books say different.
We "believe" God can be trusted with our money, but our checkbooks say different.

Peter believed he would follow Jesus through anything, including death and beyond. When the time came to stand for Jesus, rock-solid
belief turned to jelly-kneed lip service. We can't be too hard on Peter. If we're honest with ourselves, we must admit we're guilty of the same
thing over and over again.

We don't always mean to lie when we profess beliefs which aren't evident in our lives. O.K., sometimes we do. But sometimes we profess
such beliefs because we know we should believe. Other times, it's because we want to be the kind of people who do believe, whether we
do or not. And in most cases, the problem is that we never take the time to examine our hearts to determine what we really Believe and what
we only profess to believe.

Once we identify where our "belief" comes up short, we have to be willing to give those things over to God. Jesus doesn't expect perfection and
he's able to deal with our lack of faith (Mark 9:24), but we must be willing to give it all to Him. To ask for and accept the strength and courage He
offers.

Finally, after we've figured out what we don't really believe and we ask for help with our unbelief, there's only one thing left to do. Do it. Pick one of
those things you've spent so much time thinking about and talking about and avoiding and do it. Start small and work your way up. Success in
small things will embolden you and help you to tackle bigger challenges.

Before you know it, not only will you claim "belief", you really will Believe.

blessings,

Pastor Jason