BELIEVE!
What everyone calls BELIEVE today, well; that's not really believe at all.
Nowadays believe is just a statement of acknowledgement.
When we ask someone; do you believe in Jesus, or do you believe in God, and if they answer with a "yes"; what they most likely mean is that they acknowledge that there is such a person Jesus Christ or, yes there is a God.
Acknowledging Jesus and believing in him are two very different things.
Don't people say; Seeing is Believing?
Well, tell that to the magician who is able to fool you into believing that his magic trick is real. Or all those optical illusions - they look pretty real, don't they.
Or haven't you, just like me and the rest of us been in this situation;
from far away - something looked real good, but when it got closed - upon closer examination, it proved not at all to be what it had looked like...
so you see - seeing is not believing, maybe it would be better to say;
Believing is seeing!
I Believe in you.....
Says the father to his son,
says the coach to his quarterback when he sends him in on a forth down play....
or says the teacher to his students
or says the boss to his worker...
What do they mean by "I believe in You"?
What the father means is that he trusts that his son can do the task at hand,
the coach trusts in his quarterbacks ability to get them a first down,
the teacher knows that the students can learn and pass the test,
the boss has confidence that his worker can do his job well....
and with God....
Do you believe he is able to do what he says? Do you believe what he says? Do you believe who he says he is?
Let's back track for a moment; for the father, the coach, the teacher and the boss to believe what they believe, what did it take? What did they have?
A connection!
Because of that connection, they gained knowledge, trust, came to believe in and had confidence in...
and if you say you believe in God without being connected to him; that's not belief at all.....