Do You Now Believe?

Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.

John 16:30-33
"Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? "Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." NASU

Do you now believe? It is a pertinent question for us today. Do you really, really believe, or do you just say that you do? Do you really believe in the authority and dominion of Christ over all of Creation and all that you see and know today? If you do then you can have peace, but without it we are hopeless.

The disciples in John 16, were in the presence of Christ, a place of easy belief, a place without an air of danger or testing. In these places it is always easy to rest. Until your faith is challenged and it appears to you that you may have been mistaken. It seems to me that in today’s world, the church is failing the test of faithfulness in those trials. Withdrawing in fear in times when Christ would step out boldly in faith.

Our faith is seen in how we react to times of testing, it was seen in how our Savior responded to a crisis, and it will be seen in us also. Mahatma Gandhi said this of Christians; “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.” You see what you really believe and who you really are is found through trials, and today is our time of testing, it is our day to shine for Christ…God Bless.

Pastor William