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Written by Deanna Brooks, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas
“I believe Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
We make that confession or something similar before we are immersed for remission of sins, and we come out of the water to live a new life, filled with the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:38 and Romans 6:4.
In confessing Jesus as the Christ, we are yielding our lives to His control where He is the ultimate Power and Authority in our lives. We have turned our lives over to Jesus, knowing He is walking with us as we face the ups and downs of life.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV) Paul wrote, “…your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.”
When we choose to confess Jesus, it means we reevaluate what success means. It means we have a different way of thinking about life. We no longer make decisions based on our wants. Our decisions reflect our Savior. We speak and act differently from the world.
Paul tells us in Colossians 3:1-5: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Think about that…Christ is our life, and we will appear with Him in glory!
Because of this confession, people leave the life of sin dominated by Satan. Thieves no longer steal; the immoral change the way they view others and pursue a life of purity; the liar seeks to speak truth, and all who confess will see the Almighty as HOLY, HOLY, HOLY… all because they have turned their life over to Jesus the Christ. We remember John’s words, “He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world,” (1 John 4:4 ESV) as we face the ups and downs of life.
Life happens, and even though WE are changed, circumstances around us may not be changed, and that sometimes creates problems as we try to walk with Jesus. Satan continues to roam the earth, looking for our weaknesses, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8.)
This confession is something we renew daily… we continue to confess Jesus is the Christ by the life we live… in little things that are part of everyday life… as well as bigger things that have long-term consequences.
When I’m struggling, it helps to think back to when I made that confession. Do you remember what was whirling through your mind? For me, I was a few months past my 12th birthday, and I remember a mixture of fear and joy. I realized I was making a lifetime decision, but I didn’t know what the future would hold for that decision or what kind of struggles I might face. The joy came from realizing I was a child of God, adopted by Him, and Jesus was my Brother (Heb. 2:11.)
This confession does not prevent sin from entering our lives, but the apostle John wrote, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that He is the Way, Truth, Life… and no one comes to the Father but by Him, and later in 1 John 4:15 we read, “Everyone who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God.”
The culture around us may change and see evil (sin) as good. Long ago Isaiah wrote, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (5:20.) This is part of our struggle.
This confession leads to baptism for remission of sins which puts us into God’s family… we are children of the Creator… we have a Brother, our Advocate, to stand beside us.
The day is coming when “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11).
At that time, we will rejoice, because we have lived our lives confessing Jesus as the Christ!
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #confession #salvation #JesusisLord #yield #blog
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Written by Eliuth Araque de Valencia, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colombia
“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.” (Heb. 11:11)
I can assure you that both you and I have passed through a variety of seasons in our walk of faith. In particular, I have experienced seasons of fruitfulness and I have also experienced seasons of suffering where I did not understand how God could redeem it. And yet, He did.
In my family devotional life, each night we pray for our deepest needs; it is one of the most anticipated moments, opening our hearts, recognizing that we have our struggles. Each one participates giving their requests… that is the dynamic. My turn comes. I once again made a recurring and embarrassing request for a woman who longs to receive the praise of her husband and children, and at the end of a day with a hectic and busy schedule I said: “I ask that God work in my life as the woman He wants me to be, with a soft and quiet spirit pleasing in His eyes.” My son replied and said: "You have been asking for the same thing for a long time." And this was my starting point of affliction, of pain and anguish. "Yes son, it's time."
It is not that God does not always answer my prayers exactly the way I want Him to, nor how many times I manifest them, it was time to not stand there waiting for something magical to happen, but to trigger change and truly take advantage of every opportunity as a mother, wife, daughter and sister to show Christ, even when His very nature is to redeem.
And this is what I see today in this passage. Here Sarah, wife of the great patriarch Abraham, tends to be seen in a frame of dignity and honor. But reading the biblical description of her life, it is impossible not to notice that at times she acted very badly. She may throw fits and tantrums, be impatient, moody, scheming, fierce, mean, fickle, bad-tempered, jealous, erratic, irrational, a winner, complaining, and nagging. However, it has always been a reference or the perfect model of godly grace and meekness.
So, it's easy to start from praise, thinking that we're good Christians, that we read our Bibles, that we pray regularly, that we congregate faithfully and obey all the rules. This is an inaccurate version of ourselves. We fail daily, we are unfaithful every time we choose to sin, we are weak and easily distracted. We can have it all by appearance, but our heart tells the truth. When our life is not according to God's plans and purposes, all we experience is pain, misery, and much regret. At some point it can seem to work in our favor and at the same time be far from God, in slavery, stagnant, without significant changes.
Sara was a creature driven by carnal problems like us. There was one thing she wanted above all else, and that was having children. But she was barren from the beginning to the end of her childbearing years. In fact, this is pretty much the first thing scripture mentions about her in Genesis 11:30, obviously grieving over barrenness. Each episode of bad humor or conflict in her family was preceded by her failure due to her infertility. This consumed her. She spent many years dealing with the frustration and depression that her reality produced. Her desperate desire for motherhood was ended by accepting the fact of her barrenness (Gen. 16:2). She wanted her husband to have an heir so badly that she came up with a plan between him and her maid.
Conceivably, the aftermath of such a carnal alibi was nearly life-tearing and seemed to leave a permanent scar on her personality. Her bitterness infuriated her for thirteen years, until she finally insisted that Abraham expel the other woman, and the child they had fathered.
Her defects are notorious and enough, there is no doubt, she had fallen. Her faith weakened, her heart led her down a wrong path, flaws visible and unquestionable. And we wonder, could there be something more? Fortunately, yes, there was much more to Sara than that. She had both strong points and glaring flaws. The scriptures actually commend her for her faith and steadfastness. The apostle Peter points to her as a model of how each wife should submit to the authority of her husband. Her life is characterized by humility, meekness, hospitality, fidelity, deep affection for her husband, sincere love for God and hope in all trials.
After making this contrast and contradiction, I can conclude that Sarah was a woman who received redemption, because she learned what was valuable, she believed, giving birth to a son after the years of her fertility, being old, a precedent in Hebrew history. The most relevant aspects are her unfailing fidelity to her husband, her perseverance against incredible obstacles and the firmness of her faith; they became the main feature of his legacy. Indeed, the New Testament admires her in the hall of faith: "Because she considered him faithful who had made the promise." (Heb. 11:11)
The full spectacle of Sarah's faith is not fully appreciated until the many seemingly insurmountable obstacles to that faith are considered. The happiness of God's promise fulfilled, not because of Sarah's perfection in obedience or faith, but because God is faithful to His word. Some promises of God are conditional on us doing something. But others are unconditional and are fulfilled not because of what we do, but because of who God is.
“Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many.” (Is. 51:2)
Now, dear reader, a life of faith is what God appreciates. You and I are not perfect women, we cannot be. God is not indifferent, He sustains us. Today, believe despite your struggles by remembering Sarah. She, against hope, trusted that the impossible for her, that which caused her laughter, would become true. And because He is faithful, we who believe in Christ are justified and redeemed.
That is why God shows His love in that, even though we were sinners, Christ died for us, to enjoy righteousness, believing in Him; being rich in mercy, He not only had a redemptive plan with Sarah and her family but also a plan for us. With the name of Jesus, enjoy, laugh embracing the value of each moment in faith and redemption in the hope of the glorious gospel that sustains us.
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #faith #hope #Sarah #againsthope #trust #redemption #imperfectredeemed #blog