Quote from Forum Archives on July 18, 2005, 10:33 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Tue, 19 Jul 2005: Confessing What We Believe
Dear friends,

There are plenty of things that we say we believe, but there is
something about acting upon our convictions that speaks volumes
about what we actually believe and put into practice in our
lives.

If we believe that our car will start in the morning, chances are
we will go out and attempt to use it. If we believe that it will
rain, we might get out a rain jacket or some other kind of rain
gear.

We take action in the things we really believe in.

The Bible recognizes these principles and states some clear
things about matters of faith. If we really believe that Jesus
Christ is really the Son of God, that He lived on earth as a man,
but was a very unique man - the only God-man ever, our actions
will show what we believe. We have to say it, we also have to
act as if we believe it.

Most of us have heard about "salvation". It means being saved.
What are we being saved *from*? We are being saved from the
power that self centered sin has in our lives. Who has saved us
from the power of sin? It is Jesus Christ Himself.

It took coming to earth, shedding His Godly body and taking on
the form and essence of a real man. It then took living among us
- without sin - then dying to pay the price of OUR sin, in
essence, becoming sin in our place. It then took His burial,
burying the shame of our sins forever. Finally, it took His
resurrection from the dead to completely demonstrate that Jesus
Christ Himself fully, completely, once and for all, conquered sin
and death.

Do you believe all of that? Have you ever publicly confessed
that to anyone? If you have, and you honestly believe your own
confession, then you ought to know with absolute certainty that
you are saved. If you were to die this very moment, you would
know that there is a home reserved for you in heaven, that you
will face the judgement seat of Christ instead of condemnation at
the Great White Throne judgement.

Have you heard of "The Gospel"? That means "Good News". You
have now read the Good News. If you believe it in your heart and
act on it, you are 100% saved, and that can never be taken away
from you.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

___________________________

by Neil Anderson
July 19

CONFESSING WHAT WE BELIEVE

Romans 10:9, 10
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for
with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with
the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation

One primary means by which we express our belief is
confession -- verbally expressing what we believe. In fact, God
requires us to take our stand in this world. Jesus says, "For
whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and
sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him
when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels"
(Mark 8:38).

In rebuking the Pharisees, Jesus said, "For by your words you
shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned"
(Matthew 12:37). And in Mark 11:23, He said, "Whoever says to
this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not
doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to
happen, it shall be granted him." Notice that Jesus does not say
we shall have whatever we believe, but we shall have whatever we
believe and confess. Confession gives expression to what is
believed. The confession of the mouth must accurately express the
belief of the heart.

To defeat Satan, we must speak forth the Word of God, which
is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). In our English
translations, two different words are used for the "Word" of
God. The most common is logos and it indicates the whole revealed
Word of God (John 1:1). The other word is rhema . There is only
one Word of God, but the emphasis of rhema is in its
expression. We are to hide the whole Word ( logos ) in our
hearts, and when Satan attacks, we stand against him by
confessing God's Word ( rhema ).

Confessing what we believe gives proof to our faith.
Confession doesn't create faith; faith makes possible true
confession. Confession is agreeing with God. It is living in the
light by letting our life and our mouth demonstrate what we
believe in our heart.

Prayer:

Father, I desire that what my heart believes and what my
mouth confesses today line up with the truth of Your Word.

--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

____________________________________________________
Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page
www.yahoo.com/r/hs