Daily Devotions

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Marlaena Dobbins.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them. ” But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);  because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”   Romans 10:1-13

As a child my faith was not something of question. I was told that there was a man in the sky that would let me into heaven if I was good and a man in the ground that would punish me if I were bad. It seems that I was too scared that I would go to hell if I questioned my faith. I later learned that all that didn’t matter if I did not confess Jesus Christ as my Savior, which meant getting baptized.

My mama told me she never baptized me because my religion was something that should be decided on my own. I’m glad that she decided this. I got to experience being saved and witness how many people truly cared about me.

The weird thing is that I didn’t feel any different after I got baptized, yet there was a sense of knowing where I belonged. This was a big deal for me because in all of my life I never stayed in a place for more than two years, and knowing that I would always have a home that could never be taken away from me gave me a sense of satisfaction.

Something that I’ve learned through all of this is that it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get home, you’re always welcome . God will never deny you his love or exclude a soul from his grace. It does not matter your race, sexual orientation, total income, or past in order to be a part of God’s family.

Let us pray:  Jesus, we pray that everyone is shown your unconditional love.  And let people realize that we can not save ourselves. Amen.

This entry was posted on March 12, 2013 at 4:46 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.