Believe, Believe, Believe! Search engine results show that word used 98 times in John alone! The other Gospels of Mark show nine uses of believe, 14 in Matthew and nine in Luke.

Jesus continues in verse 29 in his revelation to Thomas with, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

That includes you and me. We have not seen Jesus' wounds or his miracles, but we believe. Maybe we believe because we went to Sunday School as a child, maybe because a parent took the time to read Bible stories to us, or maybe someone in our lives modeled the love that Jesus commands us to do.

There are any number of reasons to believe. Jairus of Capernaum believed, and it saved his daughter's life.

Mark 5:22 to 24 tells us, "Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came to Him, and when he saw Him, fell at his feet and begged Him repeatedly, My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live. So He went with him."

As continued in Mark 5:35 to 36: While He was still speaking some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further? But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to Jairus, "Do not fear, only believe."

Jesus also said in Luke 18:16, "Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs."

Believe! Believe as a little child. Don't try to analyze it all. Believe! Believe and walk the walk that demonstrates your love for your neighbor. Do not live the hate and violence that makes the headline and leads the latest media story. Love! Jesus commands us to love!

God above, fortify us to demonstrate that we believe in You by sharing our love for others through our actions. Actions that we take NOW, and hurry up as Mark tells us to over 40 times! Amen.

This devotion was written and recorded by Sam Barto.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.