The Lord of All

Assuring Hope
Jesus, the Promised Servant-leader

Romans 10:5-13  (The Message)
 ^4-10The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it's not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story— no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?

   The word that saves is right here,
      as near as the tongue in your mouth,
      as close as the heart in your chest.
It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"
 ^11-13Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."


For Reflection
As a child, following the rules was essential.  As a teenager we discovered that following the rules was more difficult.  As an adult we questioned the rules.  The only way to survive Christianity is to let God shape the right living for us.  Trust and hope are essential.  We must bear our own cross and walk with Christ.  Cry for help and it will be there.  How much do you trust God?

Pray
That you will live the life god intends for you by trusting in Him to show you the way -- to hold your hand-- to complement you and to instruct you.