John 4:46-54   Jesus "came therefore again to Cana of Galilee".   We just read how the Samaritans came to believe in Jesus as the "Savior of the world" because of His word.   Now, as He returns to His own people, Jesus says, " Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." 

John writes that a "royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum"  came down to Cana and requested that Jesus come with him and heal his son.  Jesus tells him that his son would live and the man believed His word.  He heads home, is met by his slaves that report the sons recovery and finds that it happened at the exact time that Jesus had spoken.  Now we are told that the man and his household believed...because of the miracle.   

"This is again a second sign that Jesus performed, when He had come out of Judea into Galilee."   The first sign was when He turned the water into wine and "manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him." 

In John 5:36 Jesus says that "the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me."  The signs and wonders that revealed His glory, along with His Word and the Word of the Father, which also bear "witness of" Him.. are given that we might believe in Him.


This word -  believe- is so important, essential to our relationship with God, our Father and to Jesus, our Lord.  The Holman Bible Dictionary gives us some thoughts on this:

Faith - trusting commitment of one person to another, particularly of a person to God.
Faith came to mean - loyalty to a person to who one is bound by promise or duty.  Fidelity.
Belief came to be distinguished from faith as an intellectual process having to do with the acceptance of a proposition.

In the Old Testament to word faith is not used very frequently .  There are several Hebrew words that can be used that express the idea of stability and steadfastness.. One stands firm in one's convictions.. in relationships, one trusts persons and believes their testimony or promises.  It is used only as a verb.
However, the idea of "fear of God" describes faith -  The Habakkuk 2:4 passage that the "righteous live by faith" prepares the way for God's people in mercy and grace.. to accept the responsibilities of God's covenant was to trust His word that He alone was God and to commit one's life to His promises for the present and the future. That is faith. 

In the New Testament the word faith is the Greek noun pistis or the verb pisteuo.  It is used primarily with the meaning of trust or confidence in God.  The word believe comes from a form of this word for which we have no translation.  To have faith is to place one's confidence in God.
Confidence or allegiance to God is the way to be made whole.  ( Thy faith hath made thee whole.)
"Faith is an attitude toward and relationship with God mediated by Christ Jesus. It is surrender to God's gift of righteousness in Christ rather than seeking to achieve righteousness alone." 
It is "the sense of intellectual acceptance of a proposition,belief.. To have a right relationship with God, it is necessary to believe that God is, that God has revealed Himself in Christ, and to accept God accepts you.
To walk in faith is to live the totality of your life according to the religious piety of Christianity and to  the trust and confidence one puts in God. It orders the standards and priorities of life.
It is a personal conviction.. a personal relationship with God.  A relationship of love that is built on trust and dependance. We receive it by trusting the saving work of Jesus.  It is a decision for Jesus. It is the acceptance of His lordship.. His authority.  It is allegiance to Him alone.

Father in Heaven,  we come to You, because we believe that You alone are God and there is no other. You are the Creator of heaven and earth. We believe in Christ Jesus, Your only begotten Son who came to earth as the Son of Man, to live a perfect and holy life, to die on the cross as the Eternal Lamb of God, to take away our sins and to give us His righteousness. He rose again on the third day, just as He said and He sits at Your right hand as our Mediator.  Hallelujah!  What a Savior.
Fill us with faith.. forgive our unbelief.  Make us whole, Lord.  We love You and desire to know You more and more. Amen.