Tag Archives: trust

Do you Believe?

Posted in Bible Study by

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

img_1555It isn’t our sin that condemns us; it is what we do with Jesus. If we believe He is who He says He is, and trust in Him as our personal Lord and Savior, we will be saved (from eternal death and punishment.) Jesus has already paid for EVERY sin mankind has or ever will commit. It is finished!

John 3:18 came up as the ‘verse of the day” on the YouVersion  Bible app the day after my pastor preached a wonderful message on “Finishing Well.” In his message he talked about the two end of age judgements. (1) The judgement of the unrighteousness (lost) to eternal death, and (2) the judgement of the righteous (saved) to eternal life. In the judgement of the righteous our works are what come under judgement. They will be tried by fire and we will be rewarded based on what survives the fire. (John 5:24)

The timing of this was confirmation to me that God wanted me to be at peace. As Christians we will battle our sin nature as long as we are on this Earth.  Most of my life I have struggled to understand this whole issue of sin, because let’s face it — NONE of us are perfect. Being a believer does not give us a license to sin (Romans 6:1-2), yet we have confidence knowing if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. (1 John 1:9) 

The Bible say no one is righteous, no.not.one. (Romans 3:10) So how many sins does it take to send us to Hell? Just one … rejecting the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) 

If belief in Jesus is the condition of salvation it stands to reason we must truly understand what it means to believe. I love John 1:12 in the Amplified version of the Bible: “But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name–” ‭‭JOHN‬ ‭1:12‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Let’s look deeper at these three definitions of true belief by examining them in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. 

They adhere to Jesus. To adhere means to support, to maintain loyalty, to bind oneself to.  Synonyms include: cleave, cling, stick, bind, fuse, unite. 

They trust in Jesus. To trust means to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of something, to place confidence in, to confidently hope or expect, to commit or place in one’s care or keeping : entrust, to place confidence in or to be confident of: hope. Synonyms include:  commend, commit, confide.  

They rely on Jesus. To rely means to be dependent on, to have confidence based on experience. Synonyms include: depend, lean, reckon  

True belief in Jesus demands action. Adhere, trust and rely are verbs. Is isn’t just a state of mind, it’s a state of being. Do you believe?  

Prayer: Lord, thank You for paying a price I could never pay. I can’t imagine carrying the weight of the sin of mankind on that cross, but I believe You did and I believe I have eternal life because You did. Thank You for purchasing my salvation. I will spend the rest of my life adhering, trusting and relying on you. Forgive me for the role my sins played in sending You to the cross. I repent — I turn around and run toward You, rather than from You. Lead, guide and direct me Lord. I surrender. 

 

The Power of Confession

Posted in Spiritual Growth by

IMG_1422Since Jesus is my ‘High Priest’ I never really thought about the need to confess my sins to others, except in cases where I wronged someone.

Confession takes humility and trust. Do you have people of integrity in your life you can trust enough to bare your soul? My Pastor often talks about the need to have 4 or more Christian friends in your life. 

If you’ve ever had a confidence betrayed, trust may not come easy for you. I understand. God does too. He doesn’t ask us to confess our sins to each other to shame us. So why does He advise us to do this? For our healing. When we confess our sins to Jesus we are forgiven. Our confession to others has nothing to do with forgiveness, unless of course we are asking someone to forgive us for a sin against them. I remember many times as a teen going to my Dad to tell him I had disobeyed him. It wasn’t because I was afraid he would find out; it was because the guilt I felt was worse than my fear of punishment.

Guilt and shame are a heavy burden to bare alone. God knows how therapeutic it is to share our faults with one another, in an environment of trust. I wonder how many therapists would still be in business if we took James 5:16 to heart. (Not that there is anything wrong with seeing a therapist.)

This scripture also confirms the power of agreement in prayer. “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” -Matthew 18:18-20 (NKJV) If you are struggling with a particular sin you just can’t seem to overcome, it may be time to call in reinforcements. You do not have to suffer alone. 

Another benefit of confession is accountability. When we share our sins with others we make ourselves accountable to them. We are not only asking for prayer support, but in essence we are giving them permission to follow up with us, to make sure we are walking in victory. 

Additionally, God wants to use your story to impact others. Revelation 12:11 tells us, “They overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their testimony.” Your story is powerful! If you allow shame to keep you silent you miss the opportunity to help others. I know from experience the joy of seeing someone moved by the transparency of sharing my testimony. Others need hope that they too can overcome.  

In closing, the power of confession brings healing, deliverance, accountability and influence. Find a trustworthy brother or sister in Christ and begin to build the kind of relationship that fosters authenticity. And remember, to have a friend, you have to be a friend.