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…..Belief…..

Belief…so often we take for granted that we really understand “belief” as it relates to the faith and belief in the way of Yesus Christos/Yeshua HaMashiach. I will say from personal experience that I had been in fellowship with religious organizations for years, but I did not come to truly understand the power of belief and actually “BELIEVE” until what I can say is recently over the last several years. Prior to that my life had been filled with rigorous keeping of the physical laws and practices of a Hebrew Christian coupled with my tremendous desire to learn and truly contribute to my personal growth. I fell under the sway of some of the slightly watered down concepts of “be a good person, your not perfect and will make mistakes”. Even with the beauty of the Sabbath, High Sabbaths and having some understanding of “The Way”, I found that there was something amiss, something was not right in terms of navigating the world from a physical “religious” stand point and developing an understanding of true “spirituality”.

As my research into Sabbath keeping and Hebraisms in the East took shape, and I began to fellowship heavily with members of African and Eastern/Asian Orthodox Christian fellowships, my perspectives and understanding began to change. My mentors and advisors along with guiding my physical steps began to help me see the scriptures in a way I had not considered before or been led to consider before. I believe that God through his servants in the Americas and Africa made for an awakening to the deeper aspects of “Belief” and just what “Belief” is and what it brings to the believer. Pauls writings in the book of Ephesians lay bear the power and dynamic nature of the believers relationship with the Divine as a result of true “Belief” in and through Yesus Christos/Yeshua HaMashiach. In Ephesians 1:11 – 15, Paul says it is Christ “[11] In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: [12] That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. [13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, [14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. [15] Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints…”
“ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,“….

I came to understand that Belief carries a weight and significance that was largely conveyed as a lesser philosophical construct as people look for more outward proofs of their “spirituality and Christianity”. Call me crazy, but people I encountered as well as myself in the early years of my faith walk approached faith by casually and emotionally acknowledging the being of Christos and throwing the bulk of the proofs of their “Christianity” behind physical outward activities. It was more about the fact that you kept the Sabbath, the High Sabbaths, that you ate clean food, how well you performed rituals and how “Holy” you sounded and looked, as opposed to how Holy and righteous and just you were from the heart in your inner person. It seems that it definitely was not just confined to the Hebrew Roots Movement rather it is a problem with Christendom at large. In essence, we don’t SEE Christos in a lot of “Christians” because they simply acknowledge the being of Christos, but don’t BELIEVE in Christos. A BELIEVING believer is an empowered believer, and empowered believers change their environments and the world through the power of action and witness. The empowered Believer sees the ills of the world and seeks to affect change in the world to bring justice to unjust situations, without bias or qualification. The empowered believer is empowered and in a relationship with the Father and Christos because not only is the power to do given but spiritually the believer is in essence seated in the very presence of the Father and the Son THROUGH the Holy Spirit. Believers are in essence according to Ephesians 2:6, “seated together in the heavenly places IN Christ Jesus”, in essence because of TRUE BELIEF.

What it all boils down to is, what do you and I believe when it comes to Christos. Do we actually BELIEVE in Christos or our own concept of Christos. Do we have a life changing, morality defining belief in Christos that is constantly shaping and transforming us as we develop into the Christ kind? Or do we simply acknowledge the historical figure of Christos and believe we are saved by our religiosity and our appearances of being righteous. In my opinion, looking at the fruits of the community at large in the U.S., too many people fall into the latter category. Call me judgmental? Fine, then please answer for Skid Row, the homeless vets and civilians at Venice Beach, Hollywood Blvd, Lafayette Park directly in front of the White House, every tunnel, underpass and abandoned building where the poorest and sickest Americans seek refuge and shelter in the richest country in the world. Please tell me why people who claim Christos and “belief” find it so hard to stand on principles of justice COMMANDED from the pages of Torah through to the New Testament and fight for justice for other races, ethnicities and genders, especially in the face of withering racial or ethnic violence, whether it is here or in Ethiopia or Nigeria. The scriptures call on us to “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement” (John 7:24) so yes we are to judge. Sorry, Jesus said that, I didn’t.

True Believers BELIEVE and are to achieve with power from on high to bring change and justice to a world that so desperately needs it. If all who claimed Christos really BELIEVED in Christos true relief and rest could be bought to ALL OF THOSE suffering in the world. Our poor, our homeless, our orphans, our abused and oppressed could be uplifted with changed lives and restored sense of humanity and purpose. Lofty and naive? A wishful thinker? If you believe so then you have just given yourself personal proof that YOU DON’T BELIEVE in the words and teachings of the Christ. Sadly, I find myself allied with and supported by more agnostics and others then I do “Christians”, especially among the Hebrew Roots Movements I was a part of and still have some fellowship with.

Christians of all walks have real decisions and a lot of soul searching to do. Those believers in the trenches fighting to make things right and bring justice are largely overshadowed by those who claim Christos in name only and not deed or morality. As the ills and conflicts in society and the world lay bare the ineffectiveness and failures of Western Christendom and the shortcomings of others, I want to echo the sentiments of Yesuah when he said in the Gospel of Luke 18:8, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”.

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