“Believing is a lot more than just shallow hope.”

A thought by James MacDonald (2015-06-18) from his book, Lord, Change My Attitude: Before It's Too Late (p. 193). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I’m sure you understand that but I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to reinforce the thought would it?

Here is what James says, “That word believing is not ‘I hope so’ as in, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if …’ It’s much more than that. Believing is a lot more than just shallow hope. Believing is, ‘I have all my eggs in that basket. I’ve got all my dreams in that place. I’m 100 percent in, and I don’t have an escape route.’ That’s faith. But faith is not believing in a vacuum; it’s belief based on the Word of God.”

He goes on, “That’s the key. Faith in what? My faith is in the Word of God! I’m not believing the newspaper or the television or my neighbor or my boss. God wrote a Book! I believe in a God who wrote a trustworthy Book.”

He continues, “I know the Bible is trustworthy because God cannot lie. The apostle Paul wrote in Titus 1: 2, ‘In the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago.’ Think about that: God cannot lie! Not won’t lie, like the promises we always hear. Not doesn’t lie, as in could but hasn’t yet. Cannot lie! Everything God has said is true, and it will happen exactly as He said. So it’s not foolish at all to put your confidence in a God like that. Faith is believing the Word of God. You say, ‘Well, if I think I believe— is that faith?’”

He then answers the question, “Here’s how you’ll know for sure: By acting upon it. Faith without works is dead. Genuine faith always downloads into life. There are all kinds of things that we say we believe— but must not really believe them because they don’t show up in the way we live… Faith is how we come to God and faith is how we grow in Him, too. Faith is believing the Word of God and acting upon it. The litmus test of genuine faith is ‘Do I act upon what I say I believe?’”

So, believing is a lot more than just shallow hope. It is acting on what I say I believe.

So how is your acting going?

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