Belief is a Miracle

Most of the people living on earth don’t believe the good news of the Gospel. They tend to think that the unbeliever must simply have confidence in the invisible God. The truth is that most people already have some kind of faith in God. Simply believing is not salvation. Every born-again Christian has had a great miracle happen inside. It is the miracle of a new birth that happens when our spirit becomes connected to the Spirit of God. 

Believing is an intellectual activity that we control. But believing in the active Gospel of Jesus always takes a miracle. God does a miracle that humans cannot explain. We can only testify to the change in our nature and thinking. Many Christians have said that it seemed as though a “switch of belief” had been turned on inside of them. New Christians will usually ask “What do I do now?” Our part is to yield mind and body to the leading of God’s Spirit.

When Paul was a young religious leader he accomplished everything by his own power. But when God knocked him down into the dirt he learned that God is in control of salvation. Paul preached that the Gospel message can be explained to people but that it still takes the miracle of a special belief. This type of belief will change a person dramatically and their desire to obey God will increase amazingly. 

Part of the reason God uses a special “miracle of belief” is to keep people from entering Heaven by using their own power. On one occasion the disciples were rejoicing that they had been saved and Jesus said: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. Luke 10:21 (NLT)

In other words belief is a miracle. The Old Testament prophets spent a lot of time telling us that a Savior would come to the world. Then Jesus revealed that He was the special one that people all over the world had been waiting for. Paul wrote: And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Eph 3:6. Salvation is about those who can “believe” the Gospel! 

Remember that we cannot do it ourselves. The Bible says: This Good News tells us how God makes us righteous in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. Romans 1:17 (NLT). Once again, this verse is talking about the miracle of faith. As creatures of earth we have absolutely no way of knowing for sure if another person is truly a Christian. However the words that people speak allows us to know what is in their heart. 

Living as a Christian is a very specific profile. We must follow the path of our savior. One of the disciples asked Jesus the way to Heaven. Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” John 14:5-7 (NLT). No person will ever find another way in to God’s family.  

To follow the path of Jesus requires a desire to be like Him. The longer we follow our Savior the more we understand our new life. The Bible says: …grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Eph 1:17-18 (NLT). The wonders of Heaven await the faithful few. 

The opportunity for salvation is available to all. Paul said: This message about Jesus Christ has revealed his plan for you Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him. Romans 16:25-26 (NLT). In order to enter the family of God, we must find our miracle of belief. 

To know more about belief, the plan of God and walking as a Christian, check out a book called Pillars, by Phillip Lloyd, available on Amazon.  Even if you’ve been a Christian for a long while, this book uses the Old Testament Tabernacle to explain God’s plan for mankind from a beautifully visual perspective.

Victory Swallows Death

When Jesus came up out of “Death” the possibility of a real life after death became available to the people of this Earth. Every Christian should feel the excitement of this fantastic victory. One prophet said this: He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. Isaiah 25:8 (KJV). Let the celebration begin.

Of course, the celebration will not actually begin until the faithful are gathered together with Jesus in the future. Paul said: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own… Phil 3:20-21 (NLT). When we get our glorious new body we will really celebrate. 

There are times when a Christian will feel guilty that Jesus suffered so much pain for us and we will enjoy the happiness of going straight to Heaven. But no other human ever had the power to do what Jesus accomplished 2000 years ago. The Bible says: …you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. Acts 2:23-24. Jesus did it because He loves us. 

Jesus died and went into the horrors of death until the Father reached down and brought Him back on resurrection morning. This was a display of the immense power of God and proof that the victory has been won by Christ. Death could not possibly stand against the power of God. Because of this powerful event no Christian will ever enter into Death or Hell. When our time comes we will be taken right past death and Hell into the presence of Jesus. 

His victory is intended to bring us freedom from all sin. All we need to be part of this wonderful miracle is faith. Paul testified: For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. Phil 3:9-10 (NLT). The life of a Christian from start to finish is about faith. We begin with our faith and we will finish with an even greater faith. 

Every Gentile in the world should know that the New Testament includes us into the Jewish family of Jesus Christ. Their prophets can become our own prophets. The Bible says: I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.” Acts 26:22-23. The victory of Jesus is available to Gentiles. 

The first step in most Christian lives is our baptism. This is a witness to other people that we have embarked on a life of faith. But it also has great meaning to us. Baptism symbolizes that we believe God will raise us from our own earthly death. The Bible says: For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Col 2:12 (NLT). 

Yes, someday soon we will hear the trumpet sound and we are to look up. Our Redeemer will arrive in total victory to take us home with Him. We love this verse: It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die… 1 Cor 15:52-53.

Jesus won the victory over death in our place.