My son was playing store today and invited me (aka insisted) that I come as a customer to visit. As I made my purchase, at first it was cash required. Then, I was provided with two play credit cards and was promptly told to hand one over for payment. What gives? I just paid. Then he requested (aka insisted) that I return for another visit later in the day. He swiftly held out his hand for the next credit card informing me that I needed to pay to return. Wow. The audacity of a five year old shopkeeper. Okay, I comply and then was informed that unfortunately there was a problem. Seriously? This was becoming way too much effort, and I’m hungry. Make that hangry. The problem apparently as it was explained (yes, this is still my five year old we are talking about) was that I “wasn’t on the list”. To return to the store? Yup. “Well”, I asked, “What does it take to get me on the list?” “Not sure”, he responds, “You’ll need to be approved.” This is my morning.
So, my point in going through the agonizing fake store visit that I experienced is this: God doesn’t play games. There was one payment made. The ultimate payment. I do not have to keep putting up more and more funds, although it did remind me that no matter how I would try to get “on the list” with God on my own, it would never be enough.
Romans 10:9-11
“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. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. Now the Scripture says, No one who believes on Him will be put to shame,”
It’s that simple. And yet that hard. Because while salvation is free and only has the requirements above, faith is a more of a long-term commitment verses a one-time declaration. Don’t hear me wrong, I am by no means suggesting that there are other “requirements” for your salvation. I am merely saying that once you choose to believe, you must continue to choose to believe. That word “righteousness” refers to a covenant thing. Having a “right relationship” with God. Let’s look at Abraham.
Don’t get lost in some of the outrageous details (very aged people being promised to get pregnant) but I want to highlight one individual thing. He chose to believe when God told him he would be the father of many (to say it lightly, lol). And if you are familiar with the story, it’s not like they had a baby the following year. This was a process of faith. He and his wife were trying to understand this promise made to them, which they believed, but didn’t at all look like was getting anywhere. There was a point where they thought “maybe God meant this…. (result: Ishmael)” but there doesn’t seem to be the documentation that they stopped believing the promise.
Gen. 15:6
“Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”
Conclusively, I think that I need to put much more dependence of faith in the things God has promised, and much less credit on my circumstances. Again, there is no “roll of the dice”. No games. God’s word says that when we believe with our heart it results in a “right relationship” with Him. And by confessing with our lips, we will be saved. It is a sure thing.
Prayers and Petition 