Believe Him?
By Mike Rule

“Jesus said to them, Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, This sanctuary was forty six years being built, and do You raise it up in three days? But He spoke about the sanctuary of His body. Then when He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled that He said this to them. And they believed the Scripture, even the Word that Jesus spoke.” John 2:19-22

So many Christians have walked with Jesus for years; they have a form of faith, but truly no substance. We try continually to fit Jesus into a two dimensional flat written text and then set out with all our strength to whip up some form of belief in what is written. However, the written word will never save us nor bring us peace deep within our souls. We cannot fit a living three dimensional word onto a flat page. There is so much more to Jesus than just what is written. (See John 21:25) By clinging to written text and not letting that text reveal Him, we are clinging to a form of Godliness and rejecting the means to the true substance. (See 2 Timothy 3:5 & 7)

"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me!” (John 5:39 MSG)

Look at Jesus own disciples. Why did they have so much unbelief? Did they not know the scriptures? Had they no faith? They walked with Jesus everyday for three years but they really didn’t understand or believe the scriptures, or what He said. They didn’t believe because no one can understand the words of God unless He first opens blind eyes.

True belief did not come to the disciples until their experience with Jesus brought them to Faith. Then they believed, not only what was written, but what He said. But they were not able to make themselves believe – it was not possible until He opened their eyes to Himself - it was not until they had a supernatural experience with Him. It is Jesus alone who transforms a life – it is Jesus who empowers us. It is Jesus who opens our eyes. It is Jesus alone who quickens His word and makes it alive. (See Luke 24:13-53) We can only understand and believe the written word when Jesus originates that belief. He authors our faith, and He perfects it. Anything less than Him is simply my attempts in the flesh to name and claim something that is powerless apart from Him.

Verses for Reflection

Then He opened up their mind to understand the Scriptures, (Luke 24:45 )

And a great crowd coming together, and those in each city coming to Him, He spoke by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, the one fell by the roadside and was trampled; and the birds of the air devoured it. And other fell on a rock, and sprouting, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And other fell amidst thorns, and springing up with the thorns, they choked it. And other fell on good ground and sprang up, and bore fruit a hundredfold. And when He had said these things, He cried, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And His disciples asked Him, saying, What might this parable be? And He said, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. But to others I speak in parables, so that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not understand. And the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. Those by the roadside are the ones who hear; then the Devil comes and takes the Word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy. And these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And those which fell among thorns are the ones who, when they have heard, go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of life, and do not bear to maturity. But those on the good ground are the ones who, in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. (Luke 8:4-15 MKJV)