“Belief is always limiting and binding; faith is expanding and releasing. Belief fixates, faith liberates. [ . . .] Beliefs may become group possessions, but faith must be personal.” [UB 101:8:2]

Thought Adjuster: “The above contrasting depiction of Beliefs versus Faith presents a vast topic of inquiry.  Many of you lend a blind faith in hand-me-down types of belief systems.  Jesus Himself dealt with that predicament in His sincere endeavor to get to the bottom of the tenets of His religious education.

His inquisitive mind scrutinized the belief system imparted to Him as a child, pinpointing its many glitches. Because He asserted Himself as an independent thinker, He could liberate humankind from the restrictive grip of flawed and unchallenged belief systems.

“Ask, and you shall receive” is the principle He validated for Himself through diligent practice.  Whenever puzzled by life happenstances, He turned to His reliable Inner Informant—the Father’s Presence within His mind.  After articulating His questions, He placed His mind in a receptive neutral mode, contemplating any enlightening thoughts that would bubble up in His mind—seemingly out of nowhere.

It is how He sculpted His belief system—chiseling away the raw edges that offended both the intelligence of His wide-open heart and His keen mind.  His unwavering faith was the natural outworking of that in-depth research project and was practical in all its applications. 

Just as you tone your physical body by subjecting it to regular and challenging work-outs, the same applies to your faith muscles.  They get strengthened through drills that are ALWAYS practical—orchestrated for your highest good. 

In the end, your faith will shape your belief system—no longer the other way around.  As you take one brave leap of faith after another, you are caught in its safety net, harvesting dividends from your successes and failures, meted out in the premium currency of wisdom.”