It is time we started believing what we believe.

Either television writers have finally run out of ideas for bad situation comedies or the baby boomers' nostalgic longing for their 60s youth is simply in control of the airwaves. Whatever. In our retro-chic craziness, there is now a resurgence of some of the corniest and kitschiest of 1960s programming.

One of the biggest new/old hits is that silly spy-spoof, "Get Smart." Perhaps no other show except "Laugh-In" coined so many catch phrases that worked their way into 60s conversations. "Sorry about that, Chief"; "... And loving it"; "Missed it by that much ..."; and most famously, "Would you believe...?"

In the TV show, secret agent Maxwell Smart would inevitably come up against some brick wall of a bad guy from whom he had to escape. Smart would try to intimidate his foe by scaring him off with some hopelessly transparent exaggeration: "Right now, there are 50 armed police officers surrounding this place." When the adversary doubted him, Smart would counter with: "Would you believe 20 police and an angry dog?" With the crook still not impressed, Smart would finally suggest: "How about a troop of Girl Scouts on a cookie-sale drive?"

How many of us are willing to put what we believe on a similar sliding scale? When we were young in years or young in faith, we were able to believe almost anything we were told. Our parents, our teachers and our pastors were unimpeachable sources of truth and integrity. If any one of them said something, it must be true.

But when we grew older in years and more "sophisticated" in thoughts, we learned to stop believing things simply because an authority figure told us it was true. Our own intelligence, skepticism and curiosity forced us to go out and make inquiries for ourselves. While this process results in the gradual development of a healthy, well-informed, personalized faith, for too many others, the entire concept of "believing" can eventually erode completely away.

- Doubts about a real ark filled with smelly animals lead to ...
- Doubts about a real dry land crossing at the Red Sea, which lead to ...
- Doubts about the walls of Jericho falling down at the sound of trumpets, which lead to ...
- Doubts about God's active involvement in the life of Israel, which lead to ...
- Doubts about God's new covenant in the person of Jesus Christ, which lead to ...
- Doubts about the place of Jesus in history, which lead to ...
- Doubts about the relevance of the Bible itself in the microchip-paced world of the 21st century.

This kind of doubting can be either conducive to or corrosive of faith. Yet such doubts are pretty much a leisure-time activity. We need time to sit and stew and fret and ponder the extent to which we are willing to let the fingers of either belief or doubt twine their way through our lives. But when faced with the need for action, doubts must be squelched. When you are up to your neck in water, you do not doubt whether you really learned how to swim. You cannot doubt; you just have to do it.

Martha was clearly a woman of action who was willing to strap her faith to her feet. Sitting still and musing on the truth was evidently not Martha's cup of tea. In the other gospel story about Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), Martha bustles about, busy at her hostessing duties while Mary sits quietly at Jesus' feet listening to him speak. In Luke's story, Martha typically gets "bad press" - her busy-ness is less valuable than Mary's piety. In John's story of Lazarus' resurrection, Martha is once again on the move. Instead of remaining seated in her house of mourning, as custom instructed her to do, the moment Martha hears Jesus is nearby, she is out the door.

At this stage, Martha has already witnessed her brother's death, prepared his body for burial, placed him in a tomb and sat with for him for two days. There is no way that Martha's belief in Jesus' healing powers, her faith in his restorative capabilities, could not be mixed with a healthy dose of doubt. Martha has stared death right in the face. She had wiped perfume onto a cold corpse. But when confronted with this crisis, it is Martha's faith that sends her running to meet Jesus before he could even reach the boundaries of Bethany. When push came to shove, when it was a matter of life and death, Martha believed.

Yet Martha did not even know the depth of her convictions. Not until she stands before Jesus and hears his messianic confession - "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die" (v.25) - does Martha realize that this is indeed what she believes.

What is it to which you can stand up and boldly say "I believe"? The Bible is full of the most extravagant promises, the most expansive gifts. Do you read those texts and nod, asserting that "I do believe this"?

Would you believe ... the Bible says this: The same spirit that worked wonders at Pentecost dwells in you today?

Would you believe ... the Bible says this: You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you? (Philippians 4:13)

Would you believe ... the Bible says this: You can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you can ask or think?

Would you believe ... the Bible says this: To as many as received him, to them he gave power, even to become the sons and daughters of God?

Would you believe ... the Bible says this: The resurrection power that raised Lazarus from the dead can be at work in you today?

Is there anyone here this morning who will believe what they believe?