This I Believe

"Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?" we asked a woman Thursday night after she noticed our battery "card protector" at the final table.

"I have my own beliefs," she answered.

We said nothing further at the time.  But now, the first response we're tempted to offer to this is - duh.  Everyone with a functioning brain has their own beliefs.  Even the devout skeptic does, even if he or she doesn't want to admit it -- a belief that he or she should be skeptical of everything.

Did you ever consider there's a "belief system" of sorts at poker tables?  Unless they're flat-out bluffing, players make decisions based on the belief they have the best (or potentially best) cards.  That's why players are far more likely to raise or push with pocket Aces before the flop, as opposed to 2-4 offsuit.

In poker, of course, sometimes your beliefs don't reap the reward you expect.  (Pocket Aces can lose to a flush, after all.)  And in life, things sometimes can turn out the same way.  So as 2012 begins, this might be a good time to reflect about what you believe -- and ask whether or not it matches what God wants you to believe.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9

You can know the ways of God by studying His word, the Bible.  Spending time in careful daily reading might bring some surprises -- because God could ask you to do something you're not doing, or stop doing something you've done for years.  If that's the case....

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. - Isaiah 55:6-7

So what does God want you to believe?  We'll leave that for you to discover from the Bible.  But we recommend this for starters:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9

Would anyone like to add to this list?