Believe

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” James 2:19 ESV

Francis Frangipane in his book, The Three Battlegrounds wrote something that stopped me in my tracks. I was reading the book as part of my morning time with Jesus. It was literally in the first couple of paragraphs that I read and when seeing this truth, I stopped. That is all I got and it was enough. It changed the way I was thinking, what I was believing about things in my current trials, frustrations. I could not go on with the book and simply nod in approval of this nugget of wisdom written decades ago. It demanded more respect. I caused me to stop and think about how I really do my everyday life with Jesus. When we reads scripture it is so easy to simply believe that God said it. Jesus did it. The Bible declares it. We nod our head in agreement. We go to church and listen to a preacher preach about it. We have Bible studies, and we talk about it. We pray about it. We blog about it. We blow up social media with it. We spend time in our devotions and meditate on it. We wear t shirts with what we believe. I think you get the picture. So what was the quote?

“We must allow the increase of His presence to be so absorbed into our spirits that we not only believe in Him, we believe like Him. His love, thoughts and desires flow out from within us as naturally as fruit from a vine.” Francis Frangipane (emphasis mine)

The word believe is powerful in scripture. It is more than an agreement. The popular verse of John 3:16 says that those who believe will not perish but have everlasting life. Two things we must pay attention to. One is the fruit of what believing produces. It brings forth life. “Zoe” life like fruit from a vine. This is the life that comes from God that changes us on the inside that impacts the outside. It makes our hearts new, and the power of sin is broken. The power of death no longer is a threat. True life is what we receive when we believe. Now let’s go back to that word “believe”. To believe in John 3:16 is to be convicted of the absolute truth of who Jesus is and what He did on the cross. So much that it changes you. Believing is powerful.

So many of us are content with believing in Him thus our scripture today. Demons believe in Him. Believe me, they know about Jesus very well. There is no doubt to them of the reality of Jesus Christ. They know they are defeated. They know their time is short. They know what scripture says. They believe. They do not need to be convinced of it. Demons do not care that you believe in Jesus, they care that you begin to believe like Him. Your thoughts start to be more like what Jesus says and because your thoughts are more in line with Jesus, what you think begins to change what you do and how you do it. James says it is our works that come from our faith. It is no more just sitting around talking about it or getting up from your devotions and say “Thanks God” and then go on through the day without Him. The more our mind comes into alignment with the Kingdom of God, the more we become active in the Kingdom. This is what scares the demons. They do not care what you believe. It is what you do with what you believe they work so hard against.

Today, think about this. How much of your life, your perspective and your positions on issues, trials and frustrations are in alignment with what Jesus thinks? Are your actions following what you think and believe? What is flowing out of your life today? Look at the fruit of your thoughts, your conversations with others and yes yourself. May you allow God’s presence to increase in you to the point that your belief changes you to be more like Him.