10-27-2024

Good Morning All,

   Romans 10: 9-10; “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” 

    How long does it take?  Have you ever asked that question?  How long does it take to take this test?  How long is the service going to be?  How long do I have to stay in the hospital?  How long is rehab? How long before we get paid?  We ask that question often usually because we associate the “cost” of doing something by the time we spend doing it.

    If you go into a restaurant, how long do you wait in line to get a table?  This depends on how good the food is and how much time we feel we have.  We place a premium on our time.  This is why people are often amazed at how long it takes you to accomplish some goals.  To be a doctor or a dentist takes college, med school and then internships or residencies totaling 10-15 years.  Some people spend most of their adult lives trying to find certain species of butterflies or certain types of stamps.  Some things take years to complete.

     For someone to study the Hindu or Buddhist religion, they will spend most of their life in study and contemplation at different schools of thought within the religion.  It takes years to be one of the respected scribes who study the Torah and the Talmud.  It takes a long time to be involved in these religions.  This is usually because of the in-depth intricacies involved in the study.  It takes years to be able to clearly understand the nuances of the different teachings.

     That fact is one of the facets which make our Christian faith so unique.  It is easy because it doesn’t depend on us, our knowledge or wisdom plays no role.  “If we confess with our mouth and believe with our heart, we are saved.” This is one of the reasons why I think so many people will be surprised by who is in heaven.  People, that the “religious” types viewed as suspect, will be sharing at the table of the feast with everyone else.  It is not our actions or our knowledge, but it is through our faith that we are saved and only God can see faith. 

   This is part of the reason why we should be very careful in how we judge others, especially our Christian brothers and sisters.  We do not know what is in someone else’s heart so we can only trust in God for his truth and allow them to live their life.  At times, we may have to address them if they are engaged in public sins, but we can only say what the Bible teaches and not what will happen to them.  We can say, “This action is contrary to God’s teachings” while we cannot say to someone, “You will go to hell for that.” 

    The really good news is that we, too, only need faith.  We only need the faith which God gives us through his Holy Spirit.  We don’t need degrees or letters after our name; we need Faith in our heart and a confessing mouth.

Father of all tender mercies, we give you thanks for the blessings which you shower us with daily.  We especially give you thanks for the simplicity of our faith.  Give us a free and willing spirit to surrender our lives to your will and serve you with joy everlasting in your kingdom.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret