I have been studying “believe” for the past few weeks and until this morning, I have appeared to see the inward heart action of belief. This morning I was reminded that I not only should believe in my heart, I should also confess with my mouth.
“8But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in you mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your hear that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” – Romans 10:8-10 (ESV)
Over the past 3 years with the guidance of God, I have chosen a word to live out for each year. Stand, Example, Authentic in that order. Each year builds on the previous and leads me to my Kingdom Purpose. I have been more of each of them as the days and weeks and months and years have passed and with that I have been more vocal. I have confessed more and as a result have been met with more and more adversity over the past year or so.
Paul writes to guide the readers of the approach to Christ-like living. He encourages and guides me to the way of Christ. He gently, and sometimes not so gently, tells me the truth of what I should be doing and the right way to do it. I am charged with reading and listening and understanding and doing.
Believing in my heart is hard, especially when the adversity continues and even ratchets up. Confessing with my mouth is even harder as I share with those around me the reasons for my actions and the what is in it for me and them. Knowing that my confessions will likely generate even more adversity does not make confessing any easier. But, God is there to provide the actions to take, guidance for those actions, protection against the enemy, and reward in heaven.
Are you one that truly believes? Are you aware of just how hard believing is? What about confession, will you confess with your mouth? Are you able to believe and confess daily?
Trevor's Thoughts 