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Believing and Saying
Romans 10:8-9 'But what does [the word of God] say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.' (NIV)
 According to the Bible, there's a very close link between what we believe in our hearts and what we say with our mouths. In fact, salvation itself involves an inner believing and an 'outer' speaking. To be really saved, you can't just believe in your heart – you must also confess with your mouth. You must be quite open about your faith in Christ and what he's done for you. Your religion can't be just a personal thing – it has to find a way out through your words and actions. If that's true of salvation, which is the first step in a new life with God, then it's true of everything that follows. We can't receive any great gift from God without believing it in our hearts and then speaking it with our mouths. So many Christian people believe something secretly in their hearts, but they never speak words of faith to line up with that belief. They feel some great dream or purpose is born in their minds, but they don't adjust their conversation, they keep speaking down about themselves and their future, or about other people. Then they wonder why, after a while, the dream within dies. When God speaks into our hearts, he wants us to speak the same word with our mouths – because he is trying to teach us, his children, how to operate the same kind of faith he has. Right from the very creation of the world, God has been showing us that faith is a creative force based on a belief and then a word. God envisioned the universe he wanted to make, then he spoke it into being. Whatever God has spoken into your heart, guard that inner belief and combine it with a new way of speaking. The believing and confessing together will unlock the full benefit of God's promise in your life.
Prayer: 'Father, help me today to speak words of faith, repeating the awesome promises you have made to me. I want to be a person motivated and upheld by faith, not pulled down by fear.'
© 2003-2004 Mal Fletcher
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I take much so interest in your Next Wave monthly e-news. Thanks a lot.
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Mal, I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU for your wisdom & grace in writing the article on why Christian leaders sometimes fail. I'm sure it has helped many people to be able to answer questions from others...
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