Josh1Eight

Scripture: Romans 10:8-10 "And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 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. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved."   Observations: Paul here outlines the essence of the Christian message and what it means to be "in Christ" or "saved". He says that right standing with God is conditional and requires two things: confession of Christ's Lordship, and belief in His resurrection (vs. 9). In vs. 10 he seems to imply that belief always precedes confession and that confession is the best evidence of true belief. Obviously if you don't believe in Christ you can't be saved. But how do you know if my belief is really genuine? How do you really know that you're "saved"? Confession is the key. If you conf...

Scripture: 1 Kings 13:8  "But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. 9 "What is your advice?" he asked them. "How should I answer these people who want me to lighten the burdens imposed by my father?"   Observations: Although King Solomon was the wisest and most successful Kings in history, he was not immune to bad decisions. Perhaps his worst decision was his failure to listen to God. Unfortunately, his failed legacy was picked up by his son Rehoboam who made one huge mistake that cost him his Kingdom. Early on when he was asked by the people whether or not he would continue his father's policy of forced labor, he sought the advice of two groups of people before making his decision. However, instead of listening to the wisdom of the elders (whose advice was correct), he followed the advice of his unexperienced friends whose wisdom was severely lacking...