Blue Lake near Ouray, Colorado Picture by Therisa Lany
Our blog is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Brothers and sisters:
If you confess with your mouth 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.
There is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon him.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Emphasis mine Romans 10:9-11
I have a confession to make. I have read the above passage many times over the years and didn’t fully understand what, Calls on the name of the Lord meant.
I Googled the text and found out I always knew the answer.
Calling on the name of the Lord is our recognizing that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.
What we will say next was not in the Google text. Recognizing Jesus is our Lord and Savior started at the Cross of Jesus.
Remember, the criminal on the right said, You are innocent; I deserve to be here. Remember me, and Jesus said to the criminal on His right that he would be in Paradise TODAY. Luke 23:43
I noticed that I was starting to take this important step of calling Jesus my Lord and Savior for granted in my prayer life.
Never forget, the opposite of Love is not Hate because both Love and hate are actions; no, the opposite of Love is indifference.
I felt my not acknowledging Jesus as my Lord and Savior led me down the road of indifference, and this had to stop.
The fix, if you will, was acknowledging every time I, we, pray that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.
Easy,
But effective.
I pray the Rosary, and at the end of each decade of the Rosary, I pray,
“Oh my, Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven. “
This prayer also goes on to say, especially those who are in need of your mercy.
The Holy Spirit pointed out that I thought I wasn’t that bad, so the tagline at the end of the prayer didn’t involve me. That line was for the sinner sitting across the aisle from me.
Not always recognizing Jesus as my Lord and Saviour is very dangerous because I felt it reduced my need for Jesus to be my, yes, my Lord and Savior.
And,
Of course, that statement is not true.
What also happens when you call on the name of Jesus is you are building a relationship.
Because
As you call on the name of Jesus more frequently, you notice God working in your life.
And as you notice God working more in your life, it only makes sense to call on Jesus more often.
Why wouldn’t I?
Life doing the will of God the Father, through His Son, filled with the Holy Spirit, is much easier.
Don’t forget how this reading started:
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
Calling on the One who wanted you, created you, and will save you sets the Christan apart from all other religions.
We should all be filled with Joy at the relationship the Triune God is offering us to enjoy.
“The nine” We pray you will grow in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit by growing in Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Sidebar:
As I explained last week, I am typing this blog ahead of time.
Thanksgiving is over, and I sadly missed offering you a day filled with the Triune God’s Love, Joy, and Peace.
Thanksgiving this year will be our last. Gail and I have hosted Thanksgiving for our family for the past fifty years. The only years we missed were the Covid years. We both love hosting the dinner, but we’re getting older.
It’s amazing to me how much Covid has affected our society.
In years to come, People will be amazed that we took the Blood of Christ from the Chalice it was Consecrated in. I now think we will receive only the Body, which is a shame. I, for one, enjoyed taking the Blood of Jesus.
Society has also pulled back, and we are not as social as we used to be.
Our church is starting new programs, which are being attended but not with the number of attendees we had before Covid.
We also have fewer volunteers, which is a shame because this is OUR church, and our attendance, participation, and work in OUR church help build a vibrant church body.
Like Thanksgiving for Gail and me, life is changing, and that’s good,
But,
When it comes to the worship of The Triune God, change should bring about increased participation, which I believe is our responsibility.
Jail update:
The first week, when we went back into the Jail, we had two people; the second was the same; the third week, I was in Mississippi; the fourth week, we started with five men and lost two halfway through the meeting.
I was getting frustrated! We had few attendees, and the meetings didn’t have the pop they had before Covid.
satan!
This Thursday, we had eight men.
Wow!
The Holy Spirit charged me up as I hadn’t been charged up for two years, and the hour seemed to be only fifteen minutes.
All eight men said they would learn the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, including Sam, and be back next week.
When we left B1, where the meeting was held, I don’t think my feet ever hit the floor; I was so high.
Doing the will of the Father and living in The Holy Spirit is a high, and I had forgotten during the Covid years how much I had missed this particular high.
Picture:
Blue Lake near Ouray, Colorado. Mineral deposits give the water its beautiful turquoise color. Picture by Therisa Leny
Thank you, Therisa, for your three pictures. They are beautiful and bring back, as you all know, many happy memories.
I pray that sending in pictures, as Therisa has, is a high for you because they add significantly to our (Holy Spirit, YOU, and me) blog. Keep snapping!!
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph; in the comments section at the bottom of our blog, tell me you want to submit a picture, and I will send you my email address in our reply on Thursday.
I will reply to your comments on Friday or Saturday.
