What do you believe?

Monday December 15, 2014

Near the climax of the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a villain shoots Indiana´s father to motivate the distressed son to enter a booby-trapped temple and retrieve the Holy Grail. "The healing power of the Grail is the only thing that can save your father now," he said. "It´s time to ask yourself what you believe." I deplore what the evil man did, but he was on to something : what we believe determines what we do.

The world belief  means to commit or trust, and it´s used in two different ways :

The weak sense of belief merely means "I think so." We say, "I believe it is going to rain" when we don´t know for sure. But if it does rain, and if we had good reason for thinking it would, then we may say we knew it. So we often use belief as a first step towards knowledge. This is what James means when he says even demons believe that there is one God (James 2:19). They know that Yahweh is the only God, but they don´t fully acknowledge this knowledge.

Then there´s the second meaning for belief. This belief, that saves, goes beyond simple knowledge and commits our whole being to what we know is true. Paul expressed this higher faith when he said, "I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him" (2 Timothy 1:12). Martin Luther explained that this saving faith is "a living, daring confidence in God´s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times."

Indiana Jones chose to commit to the Grail, so he entered the temple and retrieved the healing water for his father. What do you believe? How does it affect the way you live before a world that needs God´s healing touch? - Mike Wittmer

Read 
James 2:14-26
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily . If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God´s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Mark 9:14-29
When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
"What are you arguing with them about?" he asked.
A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and become rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy´s father, "How long has he been like this?"
"From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
"If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
Immediately the boy´s father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."
The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He´s dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn´t we drive it out?" He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."

Question to Ponder
What do your actions, or inaction, reveal about what you really believe?
How can you grow in your belief in God and His Word?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue