Romans 10:8-13 The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
No, today’s lesson is not about pedicures, although it does involve your feet. We often try to complicate the gospel message with rules and mandates. However the gospel message is incredibly simple and it is available to every person. Declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe that He lives. Forgiveness for sins and past mistakes follows this declaration, and no one who declares Jesus is Lord and believes that He lives will be denied; for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Somehow we place the cart before the horse, to use an old expression…and we strive to clean up a person’s life before we invite them to know Christ as his/her Savior. That’s backwards. Acknowledgement of who Christ is, comes first. Understanding that He lives and loves us comes first. He will forgive us—we have His promise, then our lives are cleaned up and matured. Our churches are not solely for Christians. Our churches should be the modern day “safe spaces” for non-Christians to come—just as broken, sinful, and messed up as they are—to hear the gospel message. The hard question is this: How many non-Christians do we invite to our church? How will they hear the gospel message unless we invite them? And this is where our feet make their appearance in today’s lesson.
Romans 10:14-15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Make no mistake, this passage does not apply only to Pastors, but to entire congregations. This passage does not apply only to missionaries in foreign lands, but to every person who steps into neighborhoods, schools, stores, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, or friends’ homes. We are the beautiful feet with the gospel message that others need to hear.
Gracious Heavenly Father,
Forgive us for the selfishness of wanting our churches to be for our benefit. Forgive us when we fail to welcome, or even invite, those who do not know Christ to our fellowship. Remind us that we are the hands and feet of Christ in a lost world headed for destruction. Give us boldness and courage to be a witness for You.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.
The devotional Beautiful Feet appeared first on Write From My Heart at
https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com
email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com
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