EXPAND TO READ: ROMANS 10 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 10, 17): This has been a struggle of mine most of my faith, Father. I have struggled here and there with my faith being what’s in my heart and what I hear as the core of my faith. I often try to relate the strength and maturity of my faith with the tangible things that I can see and do, but that is not what You tell us our faith should be based on. Please forgive me for this earthly way of thinking, Father. Forgive me for still relying on my flesh instead of my Spirit for carrying my faith forward. Help me to be better at truly embracing my faith in my heart with what is heard from other believers as well as from reading Your word.
PROMISE (verse 10): This verse actually holds two promises in it. The first is that those who believe in their heart will gain righteousness. The second is those who confess with their mouth will gain salvation. It only takes two steps that seem so simple yet can be extremely difficult for me. The first is to simply embrace You fully in my heart and I’m promised righteousness. Help me to be better at FULLY embracing You in my heart through ALL things in this life, Father. The second is to be better at confession/profession from my mouth about my faith. This has by far been my biggest struggle since coming to faith. Help me to be better at confidently confessing with my mouth my faith in You, Father.
ATTITUDE (verse 13): I struggle with relinquishing control in my life, Father. I feel I always need to be in control of situations, and I fail to go to You through it for Your guidance and wisdom in the moment. Please help me to have a more humble attitude in the moment, Father, so that I call out to You for Your wisdom and guidance through ALL things in the moment instead of as an afterthought. Help me to relinquish this need I have for control in my life, so that I allow Your name to be glorified in all that I do.
COMMAND (verse 9): In this verse, You give us the command on how we are to be saved. Quite simply, we must believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with our mouths that Jesus is our Lord. I have followed this command, Father, although I have struggled in my faith quite often in general when it comes to follow many of Your commands for how I should be living my life. I do have Jesus in my heart and I have confessed Him as my Lord and Savior many times. Thank You for keeping things simple for me, Father, even though I often try to make them so difficult.
EXAMPLE (verses 11-13): You give us a great example of how Your love and embrace has no boundaries like what we tend to put on ourselves in this life. Oftentimes this world puts boundaries on faith such as where you’re from, what you look like, what language you speak, whether you’re a man/woman, etc. You tell us in these verses that the only distinction You hold on Your followers is whether or not they believe in Jesus and that none of Your followers will be put to shame by other followers as a result of “worldly differences” since their faith and belief in You is all that matters to You. Thank You so much for this amazing example of Your kindness, love, and grace towards us, Father. Without this, I’m sure we would all be lost far more than we already are.
*DAILY NOTE: My heart has been a constant struggle of mine for most of my life due to all the pain and hurt I’ve felt and experienced over the years, especially in my youth. I have tried so hard to “bottle things up” in my life to where I don’t release any of that outward but have failed horribly at that because that is not what You’ve asked of me. Unfortunately, this has led to a very hardened heart that has been broken, torn, and crushed over and over again without any healing, restoration, or redemption from You because I have not allowed You to do so. I am sorry for my resilience to the healing and restoration only You can provide to my heart, Father. As soon as I truly let You into my heart, I felt so much weight lifted off of me and began to feel Your joy and peace in my heart. I am still a work-in-progress as I slowly but surely begin to release more to You, but I am moving forward now and that’s far more than I can say about my past. Thank You, Father, for always being there for me to help me restore my heart even through my stubbornness, rebellion, and resilience to You.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
Comments