Marie’s daily verse: Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. ROMANS 15:7

DAILY DEVOTION, November 14, 2022

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

This is another of the great verses giving us clear directions on how to receive salvation. It begins with the words we speak. We are not to say these words casually but with heartfelt conviction. To confess Jesus as Lord is to believe that He is God the Son. It is to state our intention to follow Him as our Lord (Master). Some confess Jesus as Lord with little understanding of what that means. We should never speak those words lightly but from the heart. If you spoke those words sincerely when you first came to Christ, do you still voice them today? If Jesus is Lord, He is Lord every day of our lives and forever.

Then Paul adds that we are to believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus was the final proof that He is the Son of God, Savior, and Lord. I was taught in theological seminary that no intelligent person believes Jesus literally rose from the dead. I was told the resurrection is a myth invented by the early Christians to give more status to Jesus. I assumed my professors knew what they were talking about, and so for several years, I rejected the resurrection of Jesus. I did not understand that failure to believe that Jesus rose from the dead is a fatal error. One cannot deny the resurrection and remain a redeemed soul. That is what Paul says. If you do not believe in the resurrection, you do not believe Jesus is Lord.

Prayer: Father, I thank You that You have repeatedly stated the way of salvation. I do confess to You and to the world that Jesus is my Lord. I do believe with all my heart that He triumphed over the grave. Thank You for the assurance I have that salvation is Your precious gift to me. In Jesus name I give You thanks, Amen.