The Real Deal: True Confessions

Shalom.

Grace and Peace to all who find themselves reading this blog entry. I trust all is well for your wherever, and however, you are at this time. If you are feeling a little down, I hope what you read here in this entry, or another entry, will lift your countenance to a better place.

At Open Hands Evangelistic Ministries today, the Lord used Pastor Tony Smith to speak to our hearts. God, through Pastor Smith, talked to us about being associated with God and how we arrive (or can arrive) at that association. We were told about true confessions and the real deal as it pertains to God and His son Jesus Christ.

Pastor Smith took his text from Romans 8:1-4, Matthew 19:16-22 and Romans 10:9.

Pastor Smith talked about how we all may have associated our salvation with a grandparent, or a parent or a relative. He talked about how we all knew the right things to say in the church and knew how to act in the church. And by "in the church," we mean in front of people. We know how to let people see what we want them to see. Pastor Tony talked about how God wants us to be transparent. Pastor Smith illustrated this with a brown paper bag and Ziploc(r) bag. The brown paper bag represented how we have a cover over us so that no one see what is going on in the inside. (We even think that God Almighty can't see through the paper bag). The Ziploc bag represented someone that is transparent -- they let God see what is going on with them on the inside.

Pastor Tony reminded us that we can have the real deal -- Jesus Christ -- for ourselves. We no longer have to live off of what grandma had/has or what our mother has. We can know Jesus for ourself. We can experience his unconditional love for ourself. We can (and will) be saved by association with Jesus Christ and not an association with our grandma, an uncle, or a step-parent. We need to make sure the only association we have when it comes to salvation is with Jesus Christ, because any other association is not real, and will only hurt us in the long term.

The scriptures Pastor Tony referenced help us to change our thinking when it comes to salvation and obtaining the real deal for ourselves. The scriptures remind us just how powerful, helpful and needful, the spirit of God is to us. The scriptures tell us just how powerful God's love is for us and that we can experience that love continuously. The scriptures tell us that we receive that love with a confession.

Be encouraged saints.

Blessings.