Share the post "Affirmation of God: I believe that Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead."
We sure complicate things. Paul provides direction here in Romans 10:9 where this affirmation is taken:
If you declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God brought him back to life, you will be saved. (God’s Word Translation).
Seems simple enough for me; just confess with my tongue that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead then I will be saved. I find that so easy today. So easy to say YES, I can say and believe that!
Do you recall or have you ever experienced the complexity of this decision? After experiencing God’s wonders and hearing God’s voice in so many things this is an easy decision. But do you recall when it wasn’t so easy and you didn’t hear God’s voice? Are you there now? Do you remember the life you were saved from?
In the center of God’s will we tend to be blinded to those who just can’t buy it. Can we remember the fears? Can we have empathy for those who just aren’t there?
Life is complicated. There are hurts. There is opportunity. There is peer pressure. The world sends mixed messages as to what it means to be complete, to be successful. We are so easily misdirected.
I have recently been reminded of the anger, resentment and confusion that can come with this Jesus thing. Some just can’t believe and can not say this seemingly simple statement.
I see anger. I see a fear of committing. I see excuses. But look at those hypocrites, those mean sour faced church people. They are so judgmental and mean spirited. They just want my money. You can probably add to this list.
I pray those of us who have found it easy to proclaim Jesus as Lord are reminded constantly of the complexity in which some people are still held captive. Can we better understand their hostility and their confusion? Can we remember when we were there? God, remind me of the battle between flesh and spirit and good and evil. Remind me from where you have saved me. May I lovingly share my story of how you took my sins and cleansed me and filled my heart with Your Spirit.
May we all show the love of Jesus so others will feel comfortable to proclaim these words with no hesitation. I pray we can relate to those who doubt in love and understanding and just share our story. I do not have to convince anyone. All I can share is my story of God’s grace in my life and pray that you will find yours. May I keep it simple and encourage others to seek and challenge them to search and explore the power of our Lord and Savior. Just be real that it is ok to be angry and see if we can talk through this and better understand why they are angry.
Can you pray for someone right now who you know is not willing to make this proclamation? May we start there and share our lives and our empathy with them. God remind me and thank you for Your Son and for saving me.
Tom Raines
Christian Affirmations 4 Life
Very good post! Thanks for sharing this. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Letting go of the fact that I don’t have to convince anyone has been HUGE for me! We serve a big big God. And He is able to move a persons heart … if He wants to use me along the way, I’m willing…I just pray I’m His hands, his voice, his loving expression to everyone I come in contact with…
This is a great post…great gut-check.