We hear a lot about "belief" in the church today. The Scriptures also talk a lot about "belief." One passage of Scripture does say "believe" on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!" I do "believe," however, that we lose a lot in the English language from its original intent in the Scriptures. The word "believe" is certainly overused in our society today. We say we "believe" this and we "believe" that. We "believe" we like this dress or "believe" we like that car.

When the "believers" in the Scriptures said they "believed" in Jesus of Nazereth, it meant they were "followers" of Jesus even if it took them to prison or eventually into the arenas to be torn to pieces by wild beasts.

It appears that in American churches today that the cost of discipleship has fallen into the terrible decisions of whether you will go to the early service or the later service, or whether you should take this course or that course. Maybe our decisions are based on which service lets out earlier as to be sure to beat the other churches to the trough for lunch.

The Christian churches today in many parts of the world are under great persecution. The underground Church in China today it is under great persecution for their "beliefs." Whenever you pick up an item made in China today realize that the reason it is so cheap here in America, is that it is made by Communist slave labor. Yet our Government continues to give them the most favored trade status.